PEP Island Coun­cil Member Julio Every recently presented a mo­tion to establish a struc­tured process for naming of streets, buildings, monu­ments and other landmarks after renowned individuals. During the Island Council meeting last week Thurs­day, Every explained that the motion he presented aims to recognise the im­portance of preserving Sa­ba’s cultural heritage and “honouring deserving indi­viduals through a system­atic and efficient process.” He noted that the current Monumenteneilandsver­ordening Saba 2010, which governs the preservation of monuments on the island, does not include provisions for naming locations after individuals.

The motion resolves that the Executive Council will develop clear criteria and policies for evaluating proposals to name streets, buildings, monuments, and other significant locations; formation of a heritage committee in collaboration with the Heritage Founda­tion to oversee the pro­cess; and to incorporate the naming process in the spatial planning and devel­opment framework for the island.

Governor Jonathan John­son alluded to the existing ordinance, acknowledging that it should be revised, and therefore gave an ad­vice to the Island Council to use the existing frame­work for naming and num­bering, but reappoint a naming committee, as some of the registered members no longer work for the pub­lic entity Saba. He advised inviting external experts to reflect the diversity of the committee.

In addition, he advised considering more policy rules to give more guide­lines for the type of names to be given; for example, more names related to the Saban culture, as currently most streets are named af­ter trees, fruits and vegeta­bles, with only a few places named after persons. Add­ing to this, he noted the rules for naming streets, which state that street names should not exceed 24 positions, street names may not be named after liv­ing persons and avoid using names already used.

Governor Johnson did not give an advice to pass the motion, but instead advised to amend the current policy by breathing new life into the ordinance and ensuring that the naming committee is incorporated in the spa­tial development bureau.

However, the Island Council members of both the WIPM and PEP fac­tions unilaterally agreed to pass the motion after hear­ing Every’s counterargu­ment in which he said that the points in his motion — developing the criteria and incorporation into the spatial planning bureau ­can be established after the motion is passed and con­sultation is sought before the law is implemented.

The Daily Herald.