Street Naming Procedures

The Planning Department is responsible for reviewing new street names and street names changes.

New Names

New names are submitted by developers, through rezoning, with minor subdivisions, and occasionally by the NC Department of Transportation, County or City departments, and E911 services. When naming streets, please use the following standards:

Avoid using an individiual's name, especially living persons. If you choose to pursue a proper name as your new street name, you must submit a summary of the person's accomplishments or contributions to the community prior to submittal to the City Council/County Commissioners. The request will not be submitted until the information is received. If the information is not received within 30 days, the application will be considered inactive.
Avoid sound-alike names (e.g. Maiden Street or Madin Street, Bernard Dr. or Barnard Dr.)
Avoid names that have the same pronunciation, but different spellings, (e.g. Smith and Smythe, Allen and Alan, centre and Center, Main or Mane)
Use of frivolous or complicated words or unconventional spellings in road names is discouraged.
Names which may be offensive (slang, double meanings, etc.) should be avoided.
Directional prefixes will be used only when necessary. The CCPB staff and E911 will make the determination.
Street names may change only at the intersection of the streets although if the street can be considered an extension of an existing street, the existing street name will be used. Names may not change in the middle of streets.

Street Naming Application [12.9kb/pdf/1pg]

Duplication of Street Names

When naming streets or renaming existing streets, duplication must be avoided. The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Planning Department keeps an updated list of the street names in the county to help prevent reuse of existing names.

Address numbers are also assigned by the Address Coordinator in the Planning Department.

Private easements may be named if all property owners are in agreement of the chosen name. Private easements which serve 3 or more homes are required to be named by E911.

Developers can reserve a street name approval by the CCPB for up to two years.

Changing a Street Name

Changing a street name requires a petition [11.0kb/pdf/1pg] to be signed by property owners along the petitioned street. The proposed new name must receive approval from the majority (75% or more) of the property owners. In some cases the current address (house number) will also change if the street name change is approved. The address numbering decision is made by the Address Coordinator upon approval of the new name.

Once the petition for the name change has been received, it will generally take about three to five working days for staff to review. Once the name has been accepted by the Planning Staff it will be submitted to the appropriate elected board for the jurisdiction in which the street is located. If the elected board approves the name, the CCPB staff will send notification to all property owners, the US Postal Service, City, County, and State departments of the renamed street. The residents are responsible for notification to cable, telephone, gas Company, other personal business, friends and family.

Application & Fees

An application to rename/name a street can be picked up at the Planning Department. There is a $125.00 processing fee for each proposed renaming/naming, which must be submitted with the application, this fee is non-refundable. Also a street sign fee must be paid within 30 days of notification of approval. If the payment for the street sign is not received within the 30 days, the name of the street will revert back to the original name, and the request would have to be resubmitted as a new request. The entire process of changing a street name may take 45-60 days.

Questions about Addressing or Street Naming?

Please contact:

Ben Stamey, Address Coordinator
Planning Department
100 East First Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
phone: 336.747.7048
e-mail: benfs@cityofws.org

4/2/2007