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Bid abandoned to rename road as homage to old business

Zephyrhills' city manager considers adding the word Gore to Dairy Road, but a new city ordinance makes it an uphill fight.

By MOLLY MOORHEAD
Published December 14, 2005

ZEPHYRHILLS - Like many farms in Pasco County, Gore's Dairy is going the way of development. Soon, the pastureland atop a hill on U.S. 301 will be filled with houses and shops.

To newcomers, the street running along its eastern edge - Dairy Road - might not mean much.

City Manager Steve Spina considered seeking City Council approval to rename the road for the business that has been part of Zephyrhills for six decades: Gore's Dairy Road.

Then he changed his mind.

"We kicked it around, but it's pretty much been dropped," Spina said Tuesday.

He said he didn't want to start another fight.

During a meeting Monday night, the council approved final passage of a revised street-naming ordinance that sets down guidelines for city street designations.

No streets within the downtown grid are to be renamed. A three-quarters majority of property owners on a street must agree before an existing name is changed, although the authority to name and rename streets stays under the council's authority.

The ordinance resulted from the bitter battle over renaming Sixth Avenue after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In fall 2003, a resident presented a list of names in support of the name change. A divided city council approved it over the objection of many residents.

The following spring, voters elected Gina King to the council, who promised to bring back the old name.

Now, more than a year later, the revised ordinance ensures that any push to rename a street be given a far more rigorous review. But even this latest chapter involved a fight.

King voted against the ordinance, saying name changes should require all property owners' approval. Council member Liz Geiger objected too, but because she thinks the new law is deceptive, giving an illusion that street names can be changed while making it virtually impossible.

Spina said Tuesday that he still thinks a road honoring the 300-acre dairy would be appropriate.

"It was a big part of this community," he said. "(But) just going through the council meetings on the street naming, I just kind of thought it's not worth it.

"I just thought maybe it's not time yet."

Spina floated the idea last month with other city department heads, who supported him. But he said it will die on the shelf and he doesn't plan to present the idea to the council. He said he might pursue having one of the roads in the new development named for the dairy.

King was glad to hear it.

"I don't like the idea of changing any street name," she said.

Molly Moorhead can be reached at 352 521-6521 or toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6521. Her e-mail address is moorhead@sptimes.com

[Last modified December 14, 2005, 00:15:15]