For the purposes of Section 8, Chapter XV, Dallas City Charter, as approved by the citizens of Dallas at an election held on January 17, 1981, the thoroughfare plan of the City consists of Ordinance No. 20860, THOROUGHFARE PLAN - CITY OF DALLAS, TEXAS, as amended, and Ordinance No. 13262, CBD STREETS AND VEHICULAR CIRCULATION, as amended. These two ordinances, as amended, are hereby designated and will be referred to as the “thoroughfare plan.” (Ord. Nos. 19455; 21186)

   (a)   Initiation of thoroughfare plan amendments.

      (1)   Proposed changes in the thoroughfare plan may be initiated by the city staff, city plan commission, thoroughfare committee, or the city council by referring the proposed change to the city manager for study and recommendation.

         (A)   An application, on a form provided for that purpose, with all required information completed.

         (B)   The required fee.

      (3)   For the purpose of this article “city manager” means the city manager or his designee.

   (b)   Commission report and recommendation required.

      (1)   The commission shall make a report and recommendation to the city council on all proposed amendments to the thoroughfare plan. The commission may appoint a thoroughfare committee to study proposed amendments to the thoroughfare plan.

      (2)   The city manager shall conduct those studies necessary for the commission to make its recommendation and report to city council.

      (3)   The commission shall hold a public hearing to allow proponents and opponents of an amendment to the thoroughfare plan to present their views.

      (4)   Before the commission holds the public hearing on an amendment to the thoroughfare plan the city manager shall give notice of the public hearing in the official newspaper of the city at least 10 days before the hearing.

      (5)   In addition to notice by publication, if the amendment to the thoroughfare plan is a change in a thoroughfare classification or route description, the city manager shall send written notice of a public hearing on the proposed change to all owners of real property in the area of change lying within 200 feet of the existing right-of-way line if the proposed change will narrow the right-of-way, or within 200 feet of the proposed right-of-way line if the proposed changes will widen the right-of-way. The measurement of the 200 feet includes streets and alleys. The notice must be given not less than 10 days before the date set for the hearing by depositing the notice properly addressed and postage paid in the United States mail to the property owners as evidence by the last approved city tax roll.

      (6)   The commission shall make its recommendation on a proposed amendment to the thoroughfare plan from staff reports of the city manager, field inspections and the evidence presented at the public hearing.

      (7)   The city manager shall forward to the city council the commission’s recommendation and report as well as the staff recommendation on amendments to the thoroughfare plan.

   (c)   City council action.

      (1)   Before the city council holds the public hearing on an amendment to the thoroughfare plan, the city manager shall give notice of the public hearing in the official newspaper of the city at least 15 days before the hearing.

      (2)   In addition to notice by publication, if the amendment to the thoroughfare plan is a change in a thoroughfare classification or route description, the city manager shall send written notice of a public hearing on the proposed change to all owners of real property in the area of change lying within 200 feet of the existing right-of-way line if the proposed change will narrow the right-of-way, or within 200 feet of the proposed right-of-way line if the proposed change will widen the right-of-way. The measurement of the 200 feet includes streets and alleys. The notice must be given not less than 10 days before the date set for the hearing by depositing the notice properly addressed and postage paid in the United States mail to the property owners as evidence by the last approved city tax roll.

      (3)   The written notice of a hearing before the city council may be combined with the written notice of a hearing before the commission if the date of the city council hearing is known at the time of sending commission hearing notices.

   (a)   In cases where the city must purchase right-of-way to construct a freeway, thoroughfare, or a street in the CBD, before initiating purchasing procedures, the city manager shall present to the city council, the city staff recommendation for alignment of the roadway and its appurtenant facilities based on engineering criteria.

   (b)   If the city council determines that the nature of the proposed alignment does not warrant a public hearing, the city council may approve the alignment by majority vote of city council members present.

   (c)   If the city council determines that the nature of the proposed alignment requires notification of affected property owners and a public hearing, the city manager shall send written notice of a public hearing on the proposed alignment to all owners of real property lying within 200 feet of the proposed right-of-way line. The measurement of the 200 feet includes streets and alleys. The notice must be given not less than 10 days before the date set for the hearing by depositing the notice properly addressed and postage paid, in the United States mail to the property owners as evidenced by the last approved city tax roll.

   (d)   After a public hearing the city council may approve an alignment by a majority vote of the city council members present.

   (e)   After an alignment has been approved by the city council, the alignment may not be changed in a way that will require the purchase of additional right-of-way unless the change is approved by the city council following the same procedures for approval of an original alignment in accordance with Subsections (b) and (c).

   (f)   For the purpose of this article, “alignment” means the location of right-of-way lines, curb lines, and roadway placement of a freeway, thoroughfare, or a street in the CBD. (Ord. Nos. 19455; 21186)

   (a)   Before the city gives its approval of a construction plan for a freeway, thoroughfare, or a street in the CBD by the state or county, the city manager shall present the proposed construction plan to the city council for review.

   (b)   If the city council determines that the nature of the proposed construction plan does not warrant a public hearing, the city council may approve the construction plan by majority vote of the city council members present.

   (c)   If the city council determines that the nature of the proposed construction plan requires notification of affected property owners and a public hearing, the city manager shall send written notice of a public hearing on the proposed construction to all owners of real property lying within 200 feet of the proposed right-of-way line. The measurement of the 200 feet includes streets and alleys. The notice must be given not less than 10 days before the date set for the hearing by depositing the notice properly addressed and postage paid in the United States mail to the property owners as evidenced by the last approved city tax roll.

   (d)   After a public hearing the city council may approve a construction plan by the state or county by a majority vote of the city council members present.

   (e)   The public hearing on a construction plan of the state or county may be held jointly with the state or county. (Ord. Nos. 19455; 21186)

In this division:

   (1)   DIRECTIONAL PREFIX means an indicator of the direction a roadway passes from an official base line established pursuant to Article V, “Building Numbering,” of Chapter 43, “Streets and Sidewalks,” of the Dallas City Code, as amended. For example, in the street name “North Franklin Road,” North is the directional prefix.

   (2)   DIRECTIONAL SUFFIX means an indicator of address location. For example, in the address “137 Franklin Road W,” W is the directional suffix.

   (3)   FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION means the systematic classification of roadways in categories according to their access and movement attributes. Minor streets, residential and community collectors, minor and principal arterials, and freeways and expressways are functional classifications of roadways. Minor streets usually provide access to individual lots. Collector streets provide access between the minor streets and arterials. Arterials link areas of the city and carry traffic to freeways and expressways, which primarily provide movement to locations throughout the region.

   (4)   HISTORIC STREET NAME means a street name that commemorates:

      (A)   a person who significantly contributed to the cultural, economic, social, religious, or political heritage of the city;

      (B)   a site or area where there occurred historic events which significantly contributed to the cultural, economic, social, religious, or political heritage of the city; or

      (C)   a person or family founding or traditionally associated with the area where the street is located.

   (5)   LABEL means the portion of a street name that attaches a creative identity to a roadway. For example, in the street name “Franklin Road,” Franklin is the label.

   (6)   Reserved.

   (7)   MAJOR ROADWAY means a roadway on the city’s thoroughfare plan.

   (8)   MINOR ROADWAY means a roadway not on the city’s thoroughfare plan.

   (9)   ROADWAY means any official vehicular course for travel, regardless of length or service characteristics.

   (10)   STREET NAME means the street label together with the street-type designation, but does not include a directional prefix or suffix. For example, in the street identified as “North Franklin Road,” Franklin Road is the street name.

   (11)   TYPE means the portion of a street name that identifies the kind of roadway, but does not necessarily attach a functional classification. For example, in the street name “Franklin Road,” Road is the type. (Ord. Nos. 19832; 21186; 22224)

   (a)   Only public street names may be changed by the process contained in this division.

   (b)   A street name change application may be initiated only by:

      (1)   an owner of property abutting the street;

      (2)   the director of the department if necessary to address public safety concerns;

      (3)   a city council member with concurrence by two other city council members; or

      (4)   the city plan commission by majority vote.

   (c)   The definitions and standards in this division apply to both original street naming and street name changes. Applicable procedures for assigning original street names are contained in Article VIII, “Plat Regulations.” (Ord. Nos. 19832; 22224; 25047; 28073)

   An application for a street name change must be filed with the department on an application form furnished by that department. The application must include the following:

   (1)   The application fee. The city council may waive the application fee if the city council finds that payment of the fee would result in substantial financial hardship to the applicant.

   (2)   A statement of the reasons supporting a street name change.

   (3)   The existing and proposed street names.

   (4)   The roadway’s status as a major roadway or a minor roadway.

   (5)   For all applications except those made by the director, a city council member, or the city plan commission, a petition indicating that at least 51 percent of the owners of all lots abutting the street favor the name change.

   (6)   A site plan showing the location of the street. (Ord. Nos. 19832; 22224; 25047; 28073)

   (a)   In general.

      (1)   A proposed label in a street name may not duplicate any existing label.

      (2)   A proposed street name may not be similar to an existing street name so that it creates confusion or an obstacle to the provision of emergency services.

      (3)   If all of the standards in this section are met, a roadway that extends into the city of Dallas from a contiguous municipality must adopt the street name given the street by the contiguous municipality.

      (4)   A street name that uniquely identifies a particular tract, tenant, or product name is prohibited.

      (5)   A street name may not contain more than 14 characters providing, however, that the street-type designation may be abbreviated to comply with this requirement.

      (6)   Hyphenated and apostrophied street names are prohibited.

   (b)   Number of names for a roadway.

      (1)   Except as provided in Paragraph (2), a roadway must have only one name.

      (2)   Different names must be given to the same roadway under the following conditions:

         (A)   If a minor roadway deviates from its predominant course at a 90 degree angle for a distance of more than 300 feet, a different name must be used for the predominant course and for each portion of the roadway deviating from the predominant course.

         (B)   If two segments of a minor roadway are separated by an intervening land use that prohibits vehicular passage, and if future connections of the street segments through the use is unlikely, the segments of roadway on each side of the intervening use must have different names.

         (C)   If a street is interrupted and offsets more than 150 feet at a cross street, different names must be given to the offset street segments.

   (c)   Historic street names.

      (1)   A historic street name may not be changed.

      (2)   A street name commemorating a person or a historic site or area is prohibited until at least two years after the death of the person to be honored or the occurrence of the event to be commemorated.

   (d)   Street type and label designation.

      (1)   A street name may not contain more than one street-type designation. For example, the street name “John Doe Place Road” is not permitted.

      (2)   The designation of the street type must be based upon the features of the roadway, such as the traffic volumes carried by the roadway, its physical design and construction characteristics, and its role in the surrounding street network.

      (3)   No street name may have more than two labels before the street-type designation.

   (e)   Directional prefix and suffix.

      (1)   A directional prefix is permitted only when the roadway intersects one of the official baselines used by the city.

      (2)   A directional suffix is permitted as an indicator for address location.

   (f)   Guidelines.

      (1)   A street name may be based upon physical, political, or historic features of the area.

      (2)   The name of a subdivision and names thematically related to the name of a subdivision may be given to a street within the subdivision.

   (g)   Waiver. The city council, by a three-fourths vote of its members, may waive any of the standards contained in this section when waiver would be in the public interest and would not impair the public health, safety, or welfare. (Ord. Nos. 19832; 23407)

   (a)   Within 10 working days after receipt of a complete application for a street name change, the subdivision administrator shall request comment regarding the potential impacts of the name change on the operations of the following departments and other affected entities:

      (1)   Department of transportation and public works.

      (2)   Office of budget and management services.

      (3)   Fire-rescue department.

      (4)   Department of development services.

      (5)   Police department.

      (6)   Water utilities department.

      (7)   Department of sanitation services.

      (8)   Department of code compliance.

      (9)   Contiguous municipalities if any property abutting the street is within the contiguous municipality.

      (10)   Dallas County Historical Commission.

      (11)   TXU Electric, or its successor.

      (12)   TXU Gas, or its successor.

      (13)   Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, or its successor.

      (14)   U.S. Postal Service.

   (b)   The subdivision administrator shall formulate a recommendation on the proposed street name change based upon his own review of the application, the standards in Section 51A-9.304, and the comments received from those listed in Subsection (a). The subdivision administrator shall set a date for review of the application before the subdivision review committee of the city plan commission.

   (c)   Notice of the public hearing before the subdivision review committee must be advertised in the official newspaper of the city no fewer than 15 days before the date of the hearing. The subdivision administrator must also send written notice of the public hearing to abutting property owners as ownership appears on the last approved ad valorem tax roll no fewer than 15 days before the date of the hearing. Notification signs must be posted along the street for no fewer than 15 days before the date of the hearing.

   (d)   The subdivision review committee shall formulate a recommendation based upon their review of the application, the standards contained in Section 51A-9.304, and the recommendation of the subdivision administrator. (Ord. Nos. 19832; 22026; 23694; 24410; 24843; 25047; 27204; 28073; 28424; 30239; 30654; 31658; 32002; 32864)

   (a)   After review of the application by the subdivision review committee, the subdivision administrator shall set the application for hearing by the city plan commission.

   (b)   Notice of the public hearing before the city plan commission must be advertised in the official newspaper of the city no fewer than 30 days before the date of the hearing. The subdivision administrator must also send written notice of the public hearing to abutting property owners as ownership appears on the last approved ad valorem tax roll no fewer than 30 days before the date of the hearing. Notification signs must be posted along the street for no fewer than 30 days before the date of the hearing.

   (c)   The city plan commission shall make a recommendation to the city council of either approval or denial of the application based upon the testimony presented at the public hearing, the recommendations of the subdivision review committee and the subdivision administrator, and the standards contained in Section 51A-9.304. (Ord. Nos. 19832; 22224; 27204)

   (a)   If the city plan commission recommends denial of a street name change, the action of the city plan commission is final unless the applicant files a request for appeal to the city council within 10 days of the hearing at which the action was taken. The request for appeal must be in writing and must be submitted to the subdivision administrator.

   (b)   The subdivision administrator shall schedule a city council hearing on all applications for street name change in which the commission recommends approval, and in all applications in which the commission recommends denial if an appeal is requested in accordance with this section.

   (c)   Notice of the public hearing before the city council must be advertised in the official newspaper of the city no fewer than 15 days before the date of the hearing. The subdivision administrator must also send written notice of the public hearing to abutting property owners as ownership appears on the last approved ad valorem tax roll no fewer than 15 days before the date of the hearing. Notification signs must be posted along the street for no fewer than 15 days before the date of the hearing.

   (d)   The favorable vote of three-fourths of all members of the city council is required if:

      (1)   the street name change has been recommended for denial by the city plan commission; or

      (2)   a written protest against the street name change has been signed by the owners of 20 percent of all lots abutting the street.

   (e)   The city council shall either approve or deny the application based upon the testimony presented at the public hearing, the recommendations of the city plan commission, the subdivision review committee, and the subdivision administrator, and the standards contained in Section 51A-9.304. (Ord. Nos. 19832; 20037; 22224; 27204)

   If the request for a name change is approved by the city council, the city secretary shall notify those listed in Section 51A-9.305 and others requesting notification of the name change. The subdivision administrator shall send written notice of the city council’s action to abutting property owners. (Ord. 19832)

   Providing that all required fees have been paid by the applicant, a name change approved by the city council takes effect 60 days after the date of its approval unless city council sets a later effective date. (Ord. Nos. 19832; 27204)

      (1)   Lots containing no more than four dwelling units receive one application vote per unit.

      (2)   Lots containing more than four dwelling units receive no votes unless the application is signed by the owner or property manager, in which case the lot is allocated a number of application votes based on the following formula:

Number of votes = Length of street frontage of the lot containing the dwelling units (in feet) divided by the average single family lot width (in feet) in the area within 600 feet of the intersection at issue.

   (a)   Standards for installation. The traffic engineer shall grant applications to install four-way/all-way stop controls at the intersection of two or more streets if an applicant shows that:

      (1)   the intersecting streets are residential;

      (2)   the intersecting streets are local;

      (3)   the subject street is not a fire-rescue department emergency response route;

      (4)   the subject street is used by less than 6,000 vehicles per day; and

      (5)   it is in the public interest to grant the application.

   (b)   Standard for removal. The traffic engineer shall grant applications to remove four-way/all-way stop controls installed pursuant to this section if an applicant shows that it is in the public interest to grant the application.

   (c)   Notice required. The traffic engineer shall send written notice of his or her decision approving or denying the application to the applicant within 10 days of the date of the decision. Notice is given by depositing the notice properly addressed and postage paid in the United States mail. (Ord. Nos. 24177; 28424)

   The purpose of this division is to commemorate individuals who have made significant contributions to the community, but without causing any disruption of the existing street names and abutting uses. (Ord. 31040)

   (a)   Only public streets may be granted ceremonial street naming by the process contained in this division.

   (b)   A ceremonial street naming application may only be initiated by:

      (1)   an owner of property abutting the portion of the street to receive the ceremonial street naming if the property owner submits a petition showing 51 percent of the owners of all abutting lots of that portion of the street are in support of the ceremonial street name; or

      (2)   a city council member with concurrence of two other council members.

   (c)   Ceremonial street names must be a person's name. (Ord. 31040)

      (1)   The application fee for an owner initiated ceremonial street naming.

      (2)   A statement of the reasons supporting a ceremonial street naming including a showing that the prospective honoree had a minimum of 10 years community involvement and demonstrated an extraordinary and consistent voluntary commitment and dedication to the community, or has contributed significantly to City of Dallas.

      (3)   A map showing the location of the street and the portion of the street receiving the ceremonial street name.

      (1)   Prior to the public hearing before the city council, the director shall give notice of the public hearing in the official newspaper of the city at least 15 days before the hearing.

      (2)   Notice of the public hearing must be given to the abutting property owners not less than 15 days before the date set for the hearing by depositing the notice properly addressed and postage paid in the United States mail to the property owners as evidenced by the last approved tax roll. This notice must be written in English and Spanish if the area of request is located wholly or partly within a census tract in which 50 percent or more of the inhabitants are persons of Spanish origin or descent according to the most recent federal decennial census.

      (3)   Required notification signs must be posted along the street at least 15 days before the date of the hearing.

      (1)   Except as provided in this subsection:

         (A)   Prospective honorees must have had a minimum of 10 years community involvement and demonstrated an extraordinary and consistent voluntary commitment and dedication to the community, or have contributed significantly to the City of Dallas.

         (B)   Use of a ceremonial street naming is prohibited until at least two years after the death of the person to be honored.

         (C)   Individuals who have already been honored on one street, whether ceremonial or official, may not be honored on another street.

      (2)   The standards in this subsection may be waived by a three quarters vote of the city council.

      (1)   Ceremonial street naming cannot contain a product name or be used for a commercial purpose.

      (2)   Ceremonial street naming must be a person's name.

      (3)   A ceremonial street naming sign topper must have "In Honor of" as the top line.

      (4)   No portion of a street may have more than one ceremonial street name. (Ord. 31040)

   If the request for a ceremonial street naming is approved by the city council, the subdivision administrator shall send written notice of the city council's action to abutting property owners. (Ord. 31040)

   Providing that all required fees have been paid by the applicant, a ceremonial street name approved by the city council takes effect 60 days after the date of its approval unless city council sets a later effective date. The ceremonial street name ends 10 years after the effective date. (Ord. 31040)

   The purpose of this division is to commemorate City of Dallas first responders who have paid the ultimate sacrifice and died in the line of duty. (Ord. 32821)

   In this division,

      (1)   FIREFIGHTER has the meaning given that term in Chapter 614 of the Texas Government Code, as amended.

      (2)   FIRST RESPONDER means a peace officer or firefighter employed by the City of Dallas.

      (3)   LINE OF DUTY has the meaning given that term in Section 615.021 of the Texas Government Code, as amended.

      (4)   PEACE OFFICER has the meaning given that term in Section 2.12 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended. (Ord. 32821)

   (a)   Only public streets may be granted first responder street toppers by the process contained in this division.

   (b)   A first responder street topper application may be initiated when a peace officer or a firefighter:

      (1)   died in the line of duty; and

      (2)   was employed at the time by the City of Dallas.

   (c)   First responder street toppers must be of the peace officer's or firefighter's name, rank, and identification number, and a statement, "End of Watch" the date of that occurrence. (Ord. 32821)

      (1)   A statement of how the first responder died and supporting information of the first responder including the amount of service time the first responder spent serving the City of Dallas.

      (2)   A map showing the location of the street and the portion of the street receiving the first responder street topper.

      (1)   Prospective first responder honorees must have died in the line of duty while serving the City of Dallas.

      (2)   When more than one first responder has died in the line of duty at the same location, the applicant will assign the locations where first responder street toppers will go to best honor all the fallen first responders, if the honorees will not fit on the multi-honoree sign.

      (1)   First responder street toppers cannot contain a product name or be used for a commercial purpose.

      (2)   First responder street toppers must be a person's name, rank, and identification number.

      (3)   A first responder street topper sign must have the following:

         (A)   "End of Watch" with the date.

         (B)   For peace officer signs, "Gone But Not Forgotten."

         (C)   For firefighter signs, "Caring, Serving, and Protecting."

      (4)   Each sign must follow the format as designed by the Department of Transportation and approved by the chief of police, the fire chief, and city manager. (Ord. 32821)

   First responder street toppers approved by the city manager take effect immediately after the date of its approval unless the city manager sets a later effective date. The first responder street toppers have no end date. (Ord. 32821)