HomeMy WebLinkAbout653-OBDATE: July 21, 2003
TO: Planning Commission and City Council
FROM: Stephen C. Richardson, Planning Manager
UN
SUBJECT: Request for a street name change for Cedar Street to Reverend G. W. Daniels Avenue.
FILE: 653-OB
STAFF REPORT
The Planning Manager recommends approval of this request.
Sunlight Baptist Church approached the City with the idea of renaming Cedar Street, from 4"'
Street to Martin Luther King, Jr. Parkway, to Reverend G. W. Daniels Avenue as way to honor
their long time pastor.
After serving as a chaplain in the United States Navy, Reverend Daniels became the minister
of Sunlight Baptist Church for which he has served for the past 57 years.
Reverend Daniels has served as President of the Baptist Ministers' Union of Beaumont and
vicinity, Moderator of the General Bowen District Association of Texas, Past President of the
Missionary Baptist General Convention of Texas and a member of the Publishing Board of the
Missionary Baptist General Convention of America.
During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's, Reverend Daniels, along with the late
Reverends E. Brown and W. N. McCarty, fought hard against racial discrimination. Reverend
Daniels worked to provide scholarships and financial assistance for needy youth seeking higher
education and to provide decent housing for low income families in the city. In addition,
Reverend Daniels established the Sunlight Christian Academy, which is one of the few
predominately black private Christian schools in Texas.
This request is in compliance with the Street Renaming Policy for the City of Beaumont. The
name change will honor a person who has made specific contributions to the cultural, social,
religious and political heritage of the City of Beaumont. No other street in the City is named
Daniels. The name change will be for a continuous street segment and will not represent a
commercial endorsement.
Exhibits are attached.
FP'X1 140. : Jul. 06 21W'l 01:04AM F2
V%
Dr. G. W. Daniels
BiographicalSketch
A native of Horatio, Arkansas, our past president has been a resident of Beaumont. Texas
for most of his life. He attended the public schools of Beaumont, and gradwited from
Charlton -Pollard High School. Our honoree served as chaplain in the United State Navy)
and was honorable discharged in 1946. During this same year, upon the death of Rev.
J.N. Wesley, Dr. Daniels assumed the pastorate of the Sunlight Baptist Church, where he
has faithfully served for fifty-six years.
Adhering to the appeal of 11 Timothy 2:15, in recognizing the importance of adequate
preparation to effective leadership, Rev. Daniels utilized his QJ bill to further his
education. He matriculated at Conroe College, Bishop College, Texas Southern
University, and Inter Baptist Theological Center. He is the recipient of the following
degrees: B.TH, MXH, D.D, and LL.D.
Our honoree's professional affiliations are numerous, among which include: President of
the Baptist Ministers' Union of Beatimont and vicinity, Moderator of the General Bowen
District Association of Texas, Past President of the Missionary Baptist General
Convention of Texas, and a member of the Publishing Board of the Missionary Baptist
General Convention of America.
Our past President is a mmi of vision, who is genuinely concerned with all facets of
human existence. Some of his accomplishments include: leading, along with the late
Revs. F. Brown and W. N. McCarty, the fight against racial discrin-dnation during the
Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's; the purchasing of acreage to be used as
recreational grounds for the youth of the church, providing scholarships and financial
assistance for needy youth to seek higher education; providing decent housing for low
income families of the city, and the acquisition of the former Adam School for a
recreation and education center. ,
Our honoree is also a family man, He Is a widower, having been married for more than a
half century to the late Ruth Helen Cole Daniels. Dr. Daniels is the proud father of two
sons, Petry and Wayne, five grandchildren, and one great grandchild,
FROF1
FPX RD.
Jul, 06 2001 0'1:015PH F1
Y
made today, weextriPure much to the belts and sweat of 14al'onfil
Wwn we think of the progress Aftican-A tftric4w dativethese leaders played an integral par, In shapigg black hislorY,
heroes such as Dr. martin LWher King Jr. and Malcolm X 4%ile nized. Locally, sonte Warriors- 00"n or ,ne Big 77;,reel"
there we other soklien; in the civil rights lOwney who ")ften go unrecog
joined in the crusade for justice, forever having an impact on black life In Southeast Tiaras, It is because of
Becouse, of "71le Big Three, " nmy area blocks are able to participate in thefull pursuit Of haPf'flels� number
the sweat and tears of the Reverends William NeIS911 McCarty, Sr., Edward W. hrown, and G1. W. Daniels, that a large nw er
of Southeast Tam-5 now know a better way of life, started Ili the late 50's. Unsatisfied with the Ir earnze hi of b lacks, diepastorr -
77)ese three mitosters'jight for equality sta chmige. 71jey picketed, they fought, they faced threats, all 10 opell d0orS
e(xll at ilifferent churches , banded together to demand and'whiteowned estublishmenrolltr and demanPlaYdOf,
ed
for bWks on the ecawmic emPlOYMON al1d iegalffonts- JVy entered government
to know wily those bayines3es and organizations could take money from btatkF� yet not put blacks oil their pay
714Y ed
integral in the littegration oy-public schools- and ,Lamar University. They left no rock tutrurned. After much fleor(Oche, they
I "plate at lite table.
began 10 see die fruits of their labor us blacks were hired to handle key jobs and given a
77te late reverends" McCarty and Vrojvn have ended their journey here oil earth. However, Daniels, Bwho delivemay red both
McCarly's altaltrowns eulogies, remains to continue to spread their Message. Ile says tier memory of ,17le ig TFiree '
fading, bur their dream is not, gentlemen alid lite marry unsling heroes who
This edition of tile Texas Black Pages is dedicated tu
10 the svork of these ge
struggled behind the scenes and on the front lutes for civil rights for all Americans. regardless of race. ethnicity or religious
OVEREND G. W, DANIELS, Pastor
S,mligh( Missionary Baptist Church
often referred to as the last pioneer, Rev. G.
W, Daniels strives to beep the message of "The Big
nwer,, alive. He fondly remembers his colleagues and
their joumey for equal rights, saying the trio was fil(c
triplets, yet very different. 'We each had a different
approach to problems," he said. 'That's why it Worked
so well.* We never smgbt MY glory and we. made all
our decisions together. We had a unique relationship.
His assessment of why 'The Big Three' were
able to jnalcc an impact on the white communk?
,,whites during that time had not seen a situation where
three blacks would talk to them can the same level. And
that's what we did,' Daniels said. 'The bottom line is,
if there is a cause that you truly believe in, you have to
be willing to give your live and 'The Big Three' was
willing.'
Daniels started preaching in JunQ,, Of 1944-Jusi
four months after his first sermon, he. was drafted in to
the O.S. military, Daniels said that was one of the
hardest thMs with which he had to colne to grips-1
asked the Lod for forgiveness because I r-Ouldn't
understand how he permitted me to 90 to the services
when I had been called to preach," Daniels said. Later,
I)aniels realized more about the Lord's master plain, fie
credits his two years In the military with snaking hirn a
stron6w person and better able to do the Lord's word,
After the navy, Rev, t)artiels rmished his
academic studies at Conroe College, Bishop, Texas
Southern University and Union Theological Seminary,
Daniels, a widower, has 1101 only said good-bye
to his Big Three b ' rellifen, but also to his wife, HOW'
Ruth, whom he was married to for 52 Yeats, He his
two sous, Perry and Wayne.
Daniels, who has been the pastor of Sunlight
Church for about a century, hopes that his par ishioaers
will live by his message that ".-.if One puts himself in
the hands of God arid lots God direct their life, they'll
find they naturally serve the age to which they live,"
lie has not only built S"urdIght to be, One Of thei!
tnost respected churches in the area, he's also
established die Sunlight Christian Academy. Tbrough
the academy, Daniels works to'sec that oM child can
afford a quality Cluistian education, It is' one of the few'.
predorrunantly black private Christian schools in Texas,�,'
serving students starting at the age of three;
I
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97 S, - -2 CS /
R E S 0 L U T 1 0 N
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF BEAUMONT:
THAT the Street Renaming Policy, substantially in the form
attached hereto as Exhibit "A#" be and it is hereby adopted.
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL of the City of Beaumont this
the day of 1988.
Z,
- Mayor
PF-0 - 7-C-Al
0
)�- N -,;Hl / C/,) S /P=
A street name change may be initiated for dedicated streets
only by an abutting property owner, city council, Planning
Commission or Secretary of' the Planning Commission. An
application shall be filed in writing to the secretary of the
Planning Commission. The application shall include the
f ollowing:
a Name of the requester (individual, group, organization,
etc)
b. The location and description of the street requested to
be renamed;
C. The existing and proposed street names;
d. The reasons or significance of the name change; and
e. A petition indicating at least 75 percent of the
abutting property owners in favor of the request. The
City Council, the Planning Commission and the Secretary
of the Planning Commission shall be exempt from the
petition requirement.
f. An application fee of $150.00 will be assessed to the
applicant if not initiated by the City of Beaumont.
2. The proposed street name will:
a. Have historical or other special significance if the
person, entity or event has made specific contributions
to the cultural, economic, social, religious or
political heritage of the city.
b. Not have the same or -similar name or phonetic sound of
any other city street;
C. Be for a complete street or continuous street. If two
segments of a roadway are separated by an intervening
use land use that prohibits vehicular passage and if
future connections of the street through the use is
unlikely, the segments of the roadway on each side of
the intervening use may have different names; and
Not represent a commercial endorsement.
3. Historic streets may earn a protected status from nam
change requests. To be considered protected the existi
street shall be considered historic, and thus protected fri
a name change, based on satisfying one of the following
criteria:
a. Commemorates a person and his or her specific
contributions to the cultural, economic, social,
religious or political heritage of the city,-
b. Commemorates sites or locales of significant historic
events or of specific contributions,- to the cultural,
economic, social, religious, or political heritage of
the city.- or
C. Have original or traditional names of streets which were
named to honor family members or others associated with
a given locale.
City Council must identify specific, tangible contributions
to the city's historic legacy in satisfying the above
criteria. If Council determines that continued commendation
of those contributions by the existing street name are
appropriate, then the street name is historic and cannot be
replaced. The Planning Commission shall recommend to the
City Council the historic protected status of a street.
4. Seventy-five (75%) percent of the property owners with
street addresses on that street must agree to the
proposed change.
5. The Secretary of the Planning Commission shall notify by
letter all abutting property owners as listed on the current
year tax role of the proposed name change not less than 10
days prior to the Planning Commission review of the name
change request.
6. Following the collection and/or verification of items I
through 5 above, the -Planning Division shall prepare a Staff
Report including, but not be limited to:
a. Contacting the appropriate City of Beaumont departments
as well as effected outside agencies within the City,
and
b. Consideration of communication changes, changes in
street signing, street information signs and other
related matter along with address changes.
7. The Secretary of
the
Planning Commission
will submit the
staff report to
the
Planning Commission
and then to City
Council following
the
Planning Commission's
recommendation.
8. The Secretary of the Commission will notify the abutting
property owners of the City Council's action.
9. A name change approved by the City Council takes effect
sixty (60) days after the date of approval, providing that
all required fees have been paid by the applicant, unless
otherwise specified by City Council.
10. If City Council denies the name change request, the
applicant has the right to reapply for a street name change
request only after a minimum of twelve (12) months following
the date of City council's denial.
11. If City Council determines by a 3/4 vote -of approval that
special circumstances surround a street name change request,
then City Council may change the name of' a street without
approval of 75% of the abutting property owners.
REQUEST
BY APPLICANT
INITIAL REVIEW BY
PLANNING STAFF
PLANNING STAFF
REVIEW
STAFF REPORT PREPARATION
BY PLANNING STAFF
CITY COUNCIL ACTION
r R. il
il
r M i
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION
Notices mailed to property owners 24
Responses in Favor
GENERAL INFORMATION
APPLICANT:
PROPERTY OWNER:
LOCATION:
. Responses in Opposition
EXISTING ZONING:
SURROUNDING LAND USES:
NORTH: Church school, residential, industrial, vacant
SOUTH: Church, industrial, vacant
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN:
STREETS:
City of Beaumont and Sunlight Baptist Church
City of Beaumont
Cedar Street between Martin Luther King, Jr.
Parkway and 4 1h Street
HI (Heavy Industrial) District
SURROUNDING ZONING:
HI (Heavy Industrial) District
HI
Conservation and Revitalization
Cedar Street - local street with a 50'-60' wide
right-of-way and an 18'-20' pavement width
DRAINAGE: Open ditch