GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids will hear from residents next month on whether to restore the name Grandville Avenue to the street now called César E. Chávez Avenue. A resolution approved Tuesday, Nov. 10, calls a public hearing for 7 p.m. on Dec. 1.
The proposal would make Grandville Avenue the primary name again for the stretch from Clyde Park to Weston, replacing the commemorative designation. The street carried the Grandville name until 2022, when the city adopted the Chávez name after a push by a community committee.
The request came from the Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association, which says neighbors began asking for a change after allegations of sexual abuse against the late labor leader surfaced in March. The association held community meetings and delivered about 100 petitions from residents and business owners.
A city official told commissioners the review follows City Commission Policy 1020 for street renaming requests. The city will mail notices to everyone who lives along the street and to neighborhood associations in the area. Comments gathered at the hearing will go into an engineer’s report, and commissioners can vote afterward.
Cindy Irving, the city engineer, said community comments are central to the process, and First Ward Commissioner AliciaMarie Belchak encouraged residents to share their views at the hearing.
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