The renaming process for Santa Barbara’s Calle Cesar Chavez and the city-observed holiday César Chávez Day is officially underway. 

The Santa Barbara City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to begin the renaming process, following a recent New York Times investigation that shocked local leaders and prompted state leaders to call for a renaming of César Chávez Day.

In March, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law changing the holiday to Farmworkers Day.

The investigation uncovered through interviews, genetic testing and letters that Chávez, co-founder of the United Farm Workers, had a history of sexually abusing young women involved with the United Farm Workers movement.  

Chávez died in 1993 at age 66.

The council’s vote on Tuesday also directed city staff to seek community input in the process to rename the street and holiday, including local activists and groups such as the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy, farmworkers and city-recognized labor groups.

“I totally want this to be a community discussion, but I also just kind of want to get it done as quickly as possible,” Councilman Oscar Gutierrez said.

On the day the investigation was published, Gutierrez took to social media to propose changing the Santa Barbara street named after Chávez between East Gutierrez Street and East Cabrillo Boulevard. 

On Tuesday, Gutierrez suggested that the street be changed to its former name, Salispuedes Street, which loosely translates to “get out if you can.”

City staff and other council members said renaming the street and holiday is a multistep process and needs community input.

For the holiday change, City Administrator Kelly McAdoo said a discussion point is addressing concerns from community groups about still honoring farmworkers on that date.

A proposed alternative includes making the day a floating holiday for staff and potentially selecting another holiday to celebrate on that date. 

“I, too, would love to see this change as quickly as possible, but I am also very sensitive to (those) businesses and everybody along that corridor, (and) it’s going to take some time, and I want to do this right,” Councilwoman Wendy Santamaria said.

Local activist Jacqueline Inda warned that the process would not be easy.

“Many businesses and many folks in that corridor will have their input,” she said. 

Santamaria said residents have proposed to her that the street name could be changed to Calle De Los Campesinos, which directly translates to “Street of the Farmworkers.” 

Gutierrez, however, said the name doesn’t fit.

“When I think about farmworkers or farming, I don’t think about that part of town, to be honest, because it hasn’t been,” he said.

Councilman Eric Friedman also cautioned against renaming the street and holiday after a specific person.

“It could be problematic because you could run into something in the future,” he said.

As part of the process, the city’s Public Works Department will need to evaluate the number of businesses and properties affected by the street name change.

Additionally, an advisory body, which city staff recommended be the Neighborhood Advisory Council, will hold a public meeting to develop a recommendation to bring to the City Council.

City staff will conduct community outreach before the advisory council’s discussion, according to the city staff report.

Community members will have opportunities to share their input on the renaming process at an advisory body meeting at a future date.