Renaming Roads with Derogatory Names in Clear Creek County

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Why is Clear Creek County Changing my Road's Name?

In 2021, the Board on Geographic Names renamed Squ*w Mountain to Mestaa’ėhehe Mountain. The change comes after filings from the Northern Cheyenne Tribe's objections and hearings of the Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board to change the term Squ*w, which is a dated and derogatory term formerly used to represent Native American women.

Although the mountain name has officially changed, this derogatory term remains on several roads throughout Clear Creek County. Currently, there are three County roads that include that name. They are:

  1. Old Squ*w Pass Road (170) – This road has 49 residential addresses along it.
  2. Little Squ*w Pass Road – This road has 8 residential addresses along it.
  3. Squ*w Mountain Trail– This road has 17 residential addresses along it.

Additionally, Colorado 103 from Little Bear Creek Road east to the Jefferson County line, has, in the past, been referred to as Squ*w Pass Rd. The County GIS only uses the name Colorado 103 for this stretch of road. Also, all

Colorado 103 at the Witter Gulch Intersection

addresses along this stretch of road are assigned to the name “Colorado 103." This segment of road is not technically a State Highway, but rather a County Road. This stretch of road has 10 addresses, but again, they are all assigned to “Colorado 103." The County has already replaced signs along this section to reflect the initiative.

The Clear Creek County Board of County Commissioners requested that the Road Research Team create a process to change these derogatory road names. See below for more information on this process and its criteria.

Current Renaming Policy: R-21-101

  • The Clear Creek County Board of County Commissioners has the authority to change or assign road names; this policy allows the Mapping Department or Site Development to do so as well.
  • Renaming roads administratively.
  • Mostly used for assignment of a name, but it does provide for name changes too.

Criteria for Assigning or Changing a Road Name:

  1. Any street/road/driveway 1/8 of mile or longer.
  2. Any street/road/driveway serving as access for 2 or more residences.
  3. Any street/road which has been accepted by the County for maintenance.
  4. Emergency Services requests the street/road/driveway to be named/renamed.
  • Name review/approval
    1. Cannot be a duplication or similar in name in existence within Fire Protection District or Zip Code
    2. Cannot be excessively long or difficult to pronounce or spell
    3. Generally stay away from using a person or family name, but it is not part of the policy
  • Citizens seeking a road name assignment procedure
    1. Petition with 75% of owners of records of improvement must be signed and submitted to the County Mapping Department
    2. BOCC may waive the application requirements
  • Signage
    1. As the above 3 roads are County, the County should be responsible for replacing signage.
    2. The current policy does indicate that at intersections with a State road that CDOT will pay for signs, however Staff feels that it will be more efficient for the County to complete all signage.

The Process

Clear Creek County is working with local property owners to come up with new names for each road. You can make your voice heard throughout this process. Below are the steps Clear Creek County is encouraging you to take when it comes to your road being renamed.

  1. Discuss suggestions and brainstorm new road name ideas with your neighbors.
  2. Take the survey at the bottom of this page to provide your feedback.
  3. Reach out to Clear Creek County if you have questions.
  4. Once a road name has been agreed upon and the County assigns a new address, letters will be sent to each homeowner. Included in this will be a guide on who the County will notify and who the homeowner should notify of the address change.

April 2024 Update on Road Renaming Process

After receiving and compiling the results of Clear Creek County’s Road Renaming Survey, the County has come to a decision on the new road names to replace the formerly derogatory ones. You can see the new road names below.

1. Pine Valley Road will replace Old Sq*w Pass Road
2. Blue Sky Trail will replace Little Squ*w Pass Road
3. Raven Ridge Road will replace Squ*w Mountain Trail Below are the response rates for each of the roads.

We are pleased that we were able to get nearly 70 percent of the residents that live on each of these roads to give us their valuable input on this topic.

1. Old Squ*w Pass: 67.3%
2. Little Squ*w Pass: 87.5%
3. Squ*w Mountain Trail: 64.7%

Due to the amount of write-in votes, we are unable to list all of the names that were submitted for each of the roads. That being said, we picked winners on which name was voted for the most.

Clear Creek County sent out official change of address letters to property owners via the United States Postal Service (USPS) on April 24th. Road signs with the new names are tentatively scheduled for installation on May 1st.

Who does Clear Creek County notify of my address correction?

In addition to the below entities, the Clear Creek Mapping Department will provide updates to following third party navigation apps: Waze, Google Maps, Apple Maps, Tom Tom, HERE. Changes are reviewed by company; the update may take several weeks to be reflected in the apps.

County Offices

  • Clear Creek County Assessor’s Office (Property address information only)
  • Clear Creek County Clerk & Recorder (Property address information only)
  • Clear Creek County Building Department
  • Clear Creek County GIS Department

Emergency Response

  • Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office
  • Clear Creek/JeffCom911 Dispatch
  • Clear Creek County Road and Bridge
  • Clear Creek County Ambulance Services
  • Clear Creek County Fire Authority
  • Evergreen Fire Protection

Postal and Shipping

  • Dumont Postmaster
  • Georgetown Postmaster
  • Empire Postmaster
  • Silver Plume Postmaster
  • Idaho Springs Postmaster
  • Evergreen Postmaster
  • Evergreen Carrier Annex
  • Federal Express
  • United Parcel (UPS)

Utilities and Sanitation Districts

  • Qwest (Property address information only)
  • Xcel Energy -Service address update (Property address information only)
  • Xcel Energy Engineering Department (Property address information only)
  • Intermountain Rural Electric Association (Property address information only)
  • Central Clear Creek Sanitation District (Property address information only)

*NOTE: When Property address information only is indicated, the property owner is responsible for changing the billing address, if it has also changed.

Who should I notify of my address correction?

Agencies and Companies

  • Department of Motor Vehicles
  • IRS
  • Social Security
  • Clear Creek County Clerk and Recorder
  • Voter Registration
  • Vehicle Registration
  • Clear Creek County Assessors Office (if mailing address changed)
  • Clear Creek County Treasurers Office (if mailing address changed)
  • U.S. Postal Service

Financial

  • Banks
  • Brokerage Firms
  • Credit & Store Cards
  • Mortgage Companies

Personal Contacts

  • Friends
  • Family
  • Individuals

Medical

  • Doctor
  • Dentist
  • Vision
  • Veterinarian

Memberships and Associations

  • Auto Clubs
  • Book Clubs
  • College Universities
  • Music & Video Clubs

Publications

  • Catalogs
  • Journals
  • Magazines
  • Newsletters
  • Newspapers

Utility Companies

  • Sanitation District
  • Cable Companies
  • Satellite Companies
  • Internet Providers
  • Phone Companies
  • Wireless Companies
  • Gas & Electric Companies
  • Garbage Collection
  • Water Services

Where can I get help on this topic?

If you have any questions regarding the new address or what the next steps are, please reach out to GIS Specialist Megan Ovenden at [email protected].

Why is Clear Creek County Changing my Road's Name?

In 2021, the Board on Geographic Names renamed Squ*w Mountain to Mestaa’ėhehe Mountain. The change comes after filings from the Northern Cheyenne Tribe's objections and hearings of the Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board to change the term Squ*w, which is a dated and derogatory term formerly used to represent Native American women.

Although the mountain name has officially changed, this derogatory term remains on several roads throughout Clear Creek County. Currently, there are three County roads that include that name. They are:

  1. Old Squ*w Pass Road (170) – This road has 49 residential addresses along it.
  2. Little Squ*w Pass Road – This road has 8 residential addresses along it.
  3. Squ*w Mountain Trail– This road has 17 residential addresses along it.

Additionally, Colorado 103 from Little Bear Creek Road east to the Jefferson County line, has, in the past, been referred to as Squ*w Pass Rd. The County GIS only uses the name Colorado 103 for this stretch of road. Also, all

Colorado 103 at the Witter Gulch Intersection

addresses along this stretch of road are assigned to the name “Colorado 103." This segment of road is not technically a State Highway, but rather a County Road. This stretch of road has 10 addresses, but again, they are all assigned to “Colorado 103." The County has already replaced signs along this section to reflect the initiative.

The Clear Creek County Board of County Commissioners requested that the Road Research Team create a process to change these derogatory road names. See below for more information on this process and its criteria.

Current Renaming Policy: R-21-101

  • The Clear Creek County Board of County Commissioners has the authority to change or assign road names; this policy allows the Mapping Department or Site Development to do so as well.
  • Renaming roads administratively.
  • Mostly used for assignment of a name, but it does provide for name changes too.

Criteria for Assigning or Changing a Road Name:

  1. Any street/road/driveway 1/8 of mile or longer.
  2. Any street/road/driveway serving as access for 2 or more residences.
  3. Any street/road which has been accepted by the County for maintenance.
  4. Emergency Services requests the street/road/driveway to be named/renamed.
  • Name review/approval
    1. Cannot be a duplication or similar in name in existence within Fire Protection District or Zip Code
    2. Cannot be excessively long or difficult to pronounce or spell
    3. Generally stay away from using a person or family name, but it is not part of the policy
  • Citizens seeking a road name assignment procedure
    1. Petition with 75% of owners of records of improvement must be signed and submitted to the County Mapping Department
    2. BOCC may waive the application requirements
  • Signage
    1. As the above 3 roads are County, the County should be responsible for replacing signage.
    2. The current policy does indicate that at intersections with a State road that CDOT will pay for signs, however Staff feels that it will be more efficient for the County to complete all signage.

The Process

Clear Creek County is working with local property owners to come up with new names for each road. You can make your voice heard throughout this process. Below are the steps Clear Creek County is encouraging you to take when it comes to your road being renamed.

  1. Discuss suggestions and brainstorm new road name ideas with your neighbors.
  2. Take the survey at the bottom of this page to provide your feedback.
  3. Reach out to Clear Creek County if you have questions.
  4. Once a road name has been agreed upon and the County assigns a new address, letters will be sent to each homeowner. Included in this will be a guide on who the County will notify and who the homeowner should notify of the address change.

April 2024 Update on Road Renaming Process

After receiving and compiling the results of Clear Creek County’s Road Renaming Survey, the County has come to a decision on the new road names to replace the formerly derogatory ones. You can see the new road names below.

1. Pine Valley Road will replace Old Sq*w Pass Road
2. Blue Sky Trail will replace Little Squ*w Pass Road
3. Raven Ridge Road will replace Squ*w Mountain Trail Below are the response rates for each of the roads.

We are pleased that we were able to get nearly 70 percent of the residents that live on each of these roads to give us their valuable input on this topic.

1. Old Squ*w Pass: 67.3%
2. Little Squ*w Pass: 87.5%
3. Squ*w Mountain Trail: 64.7%

Due to the amount of write-in votes, we are unable to list all of the names that were submitted for each of the roads. That being said, we picked winners on which name was voted for the most.

Clear Creek County sent out official change of address letters to property owners via the United States Postal Service (USPS) on April 24th. Road signs with the new names are tentatively scheduled for installation on May 1st.

Who does Clear Creek County notify of my address correction?

In addition to the below entities, the Clear Creek Mapping Department will provide updates to following third party navigation apps: Waze, Google Maps, Apple Maps, Tom Tom, HERE. Changes are reviewed by company; the update may take several weeks to be reflected in the apps.

County Offices

  • Clear Creek County Assessor’s Office (Property address information only)
  • Clear Creek County Clerk & Recorder (Property address information only)
  • Clear Creek County Building Department
  • Clear Creek County GIS Department

Emergency Response

  • Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office
  • Clear Creek/JeffCom911 Dispatch
  • Clear Creek County Road and Bridge
  • Clear Creek County Ambulance Services
  • Clear Creek County Fire Authority
  • Evergreen Fire Protection

Postal and Shipping

  • Dumont Postmaster
  • Georgetown Postmaster
  • Empire Postmaster
  • Silver Plume Postmaster
  • Idaho Springs Postmaster
  • Evergreen Postmaster
  • Evergreen Carrier Annex
  • Federal Express
  • United Parcel (UPS)

Utilities and Sanitation Districts

  • Qwest (Property address information only)
  • Xcel Energy -Service address update (Property address information only)
  • Xcel Energy Engineering Department (Property address information only)
  • Intermountain Rural Electric Association (Property address information only)
  • Central Clear Creek Sanitation District (Property address information only)

*NOTE: When Property address information only is indicated, the property owner is responsible for changing the billing address, if it has also changed.

Who should I notify of my address correction?

Agencies and Companies

  • Department of Motor Vehicles
  • IRS
  • Social Security
  • Clear Creek County Clerk and Recorder
  • Voter Registration
  • Vehicle Registration
  • Clear Creek County Assessors Office (if mailing address changed)
  • Clear Creek County Treasurers Office (if mailing address changed)
  • U.S. Postal Service

Financial

  • Banks
  • Brokerage Firms
  • Credit & Store Cards
  • Mortgage Companies

Personal Contacts

  • Friends
  • Family
  • Individuals

Medical

  • Doctor
  • Dentist
  • Vision
  • Veterinarian

Memberships and Associations

  • Auto Clubs
  • Book Clubs
  • College Universities
  • Music & Video Clubs

Publications

  • Catalogs
  • Journals
  • Magazines
  • Newsletters
  • Newspapers

Utility Companies

  • Sanitation District
  • Cable Companies
  • Satellite Companies
  • Internet Providers
  • Phone Companies
  • Wireless Companies
  • Gas & Electric Companies
  • Garbage Collection
  • Water Services

Where can I get help on this topic?

If you have any questions regarding the new address or what the next steps are, please reach out to GIS Specialist Megan Ovenden at [email protected].

Page last updated: 01 May 2024, 03:10 PM