Calle Sí Se Puede, Calle Dolores Huerta or Limuw Street.

The Santa Barbara City Council is expected to choose from those three names Tuesday to formally rename the city’s Calle Cesar Chavez, after initiating the renaming process in April.

The name change would apply to all of Calle Cesar Chavez between East Gutierrez Street and East Cabrillo Boulevard and would cost the city about $1,500 to change the signs, according to a city staff report. The half-mile distance includes 86 “unique” addresses in the corridor, the report added. 

The name change follows a New York Times investigation that shocked local leaders and prompted state leaders to call for a renaming of César Chávez Day.

The renaming process included getting input from the city’s Neighborhood Advisory Council that met in May. 

They selected Calle Sí Se Puede, Calle Dolores Huerta and a name to be submitted by the Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation.

The Limuw name option, which translates to “in the sea” or “in the ocean,” is supported by the Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation. 

“Our island of Limuw is directly visible from the end of that very street, looking out to the channel,” Mati Waiya, tribal chair, wrote in a letter to the City Council.

The Neighborhood Advisory Council selected the names with the intention that it should honor a movement and not an individual.

It follows a similar move made by Gov. Gavin Newsom to rename the state-recognized holiday on March 31 to be named Farmworkers Day instead of César Chávez Day. 

However, the Calle Dolores Huerta option would rename the street after the 96-year-old co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association and a feminist activist. 

The Sí Se Puede option is also closely tied to the United Farm Workers Movement.

While many people think Chávez coined the rallying cry, it was actually said by Huerta during a hunger strike in 1972 while protesting state legislation that barred farmworkers from organizing.

However, the City Council could choose a name not on the list and could even revert the street to its former name, Salsipuedes Street, which loosely translates to “get out if you can,” according to the city staff report. 

Additionally, business owners voiced concerns about the name change and the possible fiscal impacts at a community meeting earlier this month, the city staff report said.  

Businesses along the corridor would have to update various things, including vehicle lettering, packaging and printed materials to reflect the new name.

Business owners requested that Santa Barbara help them with the costs associated with the renaming through a grant program, according to the city staff report.

Additionally, residents and businesses would need to notify anyone in their mail network about the street name change, including the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration, the California Franchise Tax Board or the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the city staff report added.

The U.S. Postal Service will recognize the former and new name for a year after the name change.

Tuesday’s City Council decision will kick off a series of steps that need to be completed before residents see the name change officially on the street.

The first steps include city staff returning with a resolution that would set an effective date, allowing notice to affected residents and businesses of 90 days. 

Additionally, Santa Barbara’s Public Works will finalize the affected address list, and property owners will receive an address letter, the city staff report said. 

The city would then replace the official street signs before holding a public ceremony commemorating the change.

Renaming streets in Santa Barbara is not a new concept for the city. One of the most recent city street name changes was about six years ago. Santa Barbara renamed Indio Muerto Street in the city’s Eastside neighborhood to Hutash after city and community leaders deemed the original name offensive. 

The Santa Barbara City Council meeting is hybrid. Community members can attend the meeting in person at 735 Anacapa St., starting at 2 p.m. To watch remotely, click here.