City proposal would let mayor approve naming-rights deals up to $3 million without council vote

A proposal to streamline San Diego's naming-rights process would sharply reduce City Council oversight of deals to put private names on public assets, raising the threshold for council approval from $250,000 to $3 million and eliminating sign-offs from city department heads and volunteer advisory boards.

The Economic Development Committee voted 3-0 last week to forward the changes to the full council for a vote next month. Councilmembers Raul Campillo, Kent Lee and Henry Foster all supported the proposal, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Christina Bibler, the city's economic development director, told the committee that San Diego's current process is so bureaucratic that the city turns away most naming offers.

"It's the inability of the city to move quickly," Bibler said. "Even on our most expedited items, it still takes upwards of six months."

She cited several lost opportunities: the city could not respond fast enough to an offer from George Foreman Grills to replace every public grill at no taxpayer cost, took more than five years to complete a deal for downtown advertising-supported wayfinding kiosks, and collected only $4,000 for naming rights on the new Ingraham Street Bridges in Mission Bay Park.

Under the proposed changes, the city could also begin soliciting naming offers instead of only reacting to them, and could name assets after organizations — not just individuals.

The individual council member whose district includes the asset would get 30 days to gather community feedback and could request a delay.

Campillo, the committee chair, expressed concern about the reduced council role, noting the Ingraham Street Bridges deal likely would not have happened if it hadn't bypassed council scrutiny by falling under the $250,000 threshold.

"That seems surprisingly low," Campillo said of the $4,000 deal.

But he also supported the need for change. "We get interesting offers that we have to slow roll when we could be helping our constituents by entering into partnerships," Campillo said. "This gives us a way to support public services and spaces without raising taxes."

The city's Race and Equity Division, now housed in the Independent Budget Analyst's Office, raised concerns about reduced scrutiny, noting past instances where public landmarks were renamed after their namesakes were linked to discrimination or other harmful actions.

If approved by the full council, the new policy could take effect as early as January.