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C. 14

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	John Kopchik, Director, Conservation & Development Department
Date:	May 2, 2017

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Suribachi Hill Name Change

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 05/02/2017

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:

Kristine Solseng, (925) 674-7809

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: May 2, 2017
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

RECOMMEND to the Board on Geographic Names at the U.S. Geologic Survey to name the hill on which there is an Iwo Jima memorial, Rodeo area, to Suribachi Hill, as recommended by Supervisor Glover.

FISCAL IMPACT:

None.

BACKGROUND:

The U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BNG) received a request to name a currently unnamed hill in the Rodeo/Crockett Area, to Suribachi Hill. The BNG has requested an official opinion from the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, prior to their consideration of the request.

BACKGROUND: (CONT'D)

The proposed new name, Suribachi Hill, is for a 492-foot summit near the northwest intersection of Interstate 80 and Cummings Skyway, between Rodeo and Crockett. The name comes from Mount Suribachi on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima, where a U.S. flag was raised on February 23, 1945 during the Battle of Iwo Jima. This event has become an iconic photograph of World War II, which was used by Felix de Weldon to sculpt the Marine Corps War Memorial (Iwo Jima Memorial) in Arlington, Virginia. A Crockett resident, Vince Ramos, installed a small concrete replica of the Iwo Jima Memorial on the unnamed hill in 2006 to honor his brother Fernando who fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima. The applicant for the name change states, “Since the shape of the memorial is so strongly tied to the

picture of the flag raising, and since the raising is strongly tied to its location on Mount Suribachi, the name Suribachi Hill is suggested to recognize the presence of the statue.”

The subject property is owned by Conoco Phillips, and staff communications have indicated they do not have any objections to the naming of the hill to Suribachi Hill.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

A negative action would result in no recommendation on behalf of the County submitted to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.