OXNARD : Group Wants City to Rename Street

A group of residents has accused the Oxnard City Council of acting improperly when it changed the name of Colonia Road to Camino de la Raza last year and is asking the council to rename the street Camino del Sol.

The council will consider the request after a public hearing at 7 p.m. today at Oxnard City Hall.

According to the group, which calls itself the Homeowners Committee to Rename Camino de la Raza, the council brushed aside the recommendation of a city committee last May in selecting the name Camino de la Raza.

The city’s Street Naming Committee had recommended the name Camino del Sol, one of six names submitted to residents when the change was proposed last year.

The council instead selected Camino de la Raza, even though the name was not among the six that residents reviewed.

The group accuses the council of ignoring the city’s street-naming policy, which calls for name changes of existing streets “only when it can be clearly demonstrated that a majority of inhabitants favor the action.”

The group cited several objections to Camino de la Raza, saying it was too lengthy, difficult to spell and capitalize and sounded too harsh. The Spanish-language name--which translates to Street of the People--is also objectionable to some residents, according to a letter the group sent the city.

“Many people are offended by the name,” the letter to the council said, and referred to “the variety of meanings the name ‘La Raza’ holds for a variety of people.”

The request is accompanied by a petition with 427 signatures, including members of 16 of the 20 households on Camino de la Raza and the street’s largest property owners.