City: Petition to change Lafayette Street name now withdrawn

December 10, 2014 at 1:59 p.m. | Updated December 10, 2014 at 11:33 p.m.

Residents including planning committee member Glover Brown, center, gathered at Second Christian Church in Jefferson City on Tuesday evening to discuss their dissatisfaction with a proposal that would change the name of Lafayette Street to University Avenue along the portion of the street that coincides with the edge of the Lincoln University campus. According to those speaking, the change would in effect take away the last piece of black history in the Lafayette Street area.
Residents including planning committee member Glover Brown, center, gathered at Second Christian Church in Jefferson City on Tuesday evening to discuss their dissatisfaction with a proposal that would change the name of Lafayette Street to University Avenue along the portion of the street that coincides with the edge of the Lincoln University campus. According to those speaking, the change would in effect take away the last piece of black history in the Lafayette Street area.

A proposal to change the name of Lafayette Street is being withdrawn without a meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission after Jefferson City officials found the petition did not meet the standards of city code.

Lincoln University had filed a petition to change Lafayette Street, from the 600 block to the 1200 block, to University Avenue to "enhance the presence and importance of the university in the community." But a legal opinion from the city's associate attorney, Jeremy Cover, states the petition "must be rejected by administrative function" because it is signed only by a single property owner - the university.

City code states the process to change a street name has to be initiated by city staff or a majority of affected property owners on the street.

"Including LU, there are currently 24 individual property owners along that specific section of Lafayette Street," the opinion states. "This would require that any petition to change that section of street be signed by at least 13 property owners."

On Tuesday evening, many area residents gathered at a town hall meeting at the Second Christian Church on Dunklin Street to discuss the proposal. Residents were not in favor of the proposed street name change, saying the proposal ignores the history of Lafayette Street, which once was the heart of the black community, as one resident noted.

A street name change also would require residents to change mailing addresses and legal documents, something many saw as an unnecessary financial burden.

Shortly after the legal opinion was received by the News Tribune, the planned Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, scheduled for tonight was canceled, and Lincoln University withdrew its petition.

In a statement from the university, officials stated they withdrew the petition after hearing the concerns of residents.

"We have heard the concerns of the community in terms of the historical and fiscal effects of such a change, so at this time the university will revisit other ways to brand this area as the university corridor, while still maintaining the historical integrity of this vital part of Jefferson City," the statement read.

Earlier coverage:

LU irks residents with bid to change Lafayette Street to University Avenue

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