Santa Barbara Council Votes 6-1 to Rename Calle César Chávez to Limuw Street
The new name is the Chumash name for Santa Cruz Island, visible from the corridor's end. Staff will return with a formal resolution and an implementation plan covering about 86 properties.
The Santa Barbara City Council voted 6-1 on Sept. 29 to select "Limuw Street" as the new name for Calle César Chávez, the corridor running between East Gutierrez Street and East Cabrillo Boulevard, according to the city's meeting recap. Councilmember Kristen Sneddon led the motion, and Mayor Randy Rowse cast the lone dissenting vote in favor of Calle Salsipuedes, the Santa Barbara News-Press reported.
Limuw, pronounced lee-mooh, is the name the Chumash people have used for Santa Cruz Island, recognized as their birthplace. The literal meaning is "in the ocean," and the island is visible from the end of the corridor, the city said.
"To look out to the ocean and remind people that as you look straight from across the street, this is Limuw," Mia Lopez, founding director of Su'nan Protection, Art & Cultural Education, told the News-Press. "This is our island of origin. This is the birthplace of the Chumash people who are still here today."
The council directed staff to return with a resolution formalizing the name, which will start an implementation plan giving affected residents and businesses about 90 days' notice. The change requires updates to street signage and address records for approximately 86 properties, according to the city.
Council members also directed staff to explore a small business assistance program to help businesses cover direct costs of the change, such as vendor registrations and equipment replacement, and to explore a proposal for a Heritage Square honoring the farmworker movement history of the neighborhood.
The vote caps a renaming process that began this spring. A May 11 public meeting produced three finalist names: Calle Si Se Puede, Calle Dolores Huerta and Limuw Street, the News-Press reported. Some residents wanted Calle Salsipuedes, the street's original name from 1851. The process followed sexual assault allegations against farmworker organizer César Chávez that surfaced in March, and statewide calls to remove his name from public works.
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