Changing the name of KC's Avenida Cesar E. Chavez would take time. Here's why

Eric Adler and Ben Wheeler, The Kansas City Star on Mar 19, 2026

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Following accusations Wednesday that late civil rights activist Cesar E. Chavez had sexually assaulted children and raped Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the National Farm Workers Association with Chavez, cities across the country are rushing to change the name of streets dedicated in his honor.

Portland, Oregon, wants to do. So does Austin, Texas, San Antonio and Los Angeles, California.

In Kansas City, some community leaders say that Avenida Cesar E. Chavez on the city’s historically Latino West Side ought to be among them.

But that may not be so easy.

Had Avenida Cesar E. Chavez been the street’s honorary name, Kansas City ordinance notes that banishing the street signs to the trash bin of history would require little more than ladders and wrenches.

The city may choose “at any time and for any reason” to discontinue any honorary street name designation by approval of the city council, the ordinance states.

But in 1994, one year after Chavez died at age 66, the east-west running 23rd Street was officially changed to Avenida Cesar E. Chavez. Renaming a street, the ordinance states, is a four step-process requiring a committee and hearings.

Changing the street’s name would take weeks at a minimum.

What it takes to rename a street in Kansas City

The process is as follows:

—Consideration of re-naming:

The Kansas City Council or the Parks Board — in the case of streets under their jurisdiction— may initiate renaming of a street. In this situation, Avenida Cesar E. Chavez is not under the Parks Board’s jurisdiction. In the case of a street sign error, the Director of City Planning and Development, can initiate a new name. Otherwise, a statement outlining the need to rename a street, along with a map indicating where the street re-naming is being requested, shall be provided.

—Street naming committee and report:

The application must go to the street naming committee for review. The street naming committee includes five individuals — Director of City Planning and Development, Director of Public Works, Director of Parks and Recreation the Police Chief and Chief of the Kansas City Fire Department.

After the street naming committee reviews the application, a report discussing the impacts on the property owners, the anticipated costs that will be incurred to carry out the request, and a recommendation must be prepared and submitted to the Kansas City Council.

—Public hearing, notice to all property owners along the street:

A notice of a Kansas City Council public hearing must be sent by first-class U.S. mail at least 13 days before the date of the hearing to all property owners and neighborhood and civic organizations adjacent to the street proposed to be renamed — property owners within 300 feet of the street.

Addresses must be based on the latest available, city-maintained property ownership information. The mailed notice shall indicate the date, time and place of the public hearing, describe the requested action to be taken, indicate where to obtain additional information, and provide contact or other information sufficient for those interested to determine when the city council will hold its hearing on the re-naming.

—Hearing and final action:

Following the close of the public hearing, the Kansas City Council may act to approve or deny the proposed renaming. A simple majority vote is required.

Leaders speak out

Moves to change the name of the street come on the heels of a five-year investigation by The New York Times documenting multiple cases of sexual assault by Chavez over many years.

On Thursday, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, in a written statement, said the city plans to consult the ordinance and the public regarding changing the street’s name.

“We are deeply troubled by recent reports of sexual abuse of children and women by Cesar Chavez,” Lucas wrote in a statement. “We commend survivors for their bravery in coming forward. As with other public institutions around the country, we are currently processing the report and will ensure we engage our public and follow the ordinance process concerning any changes to the former 23rd Street through Kansas City’s West Side.”

Crispin Rea, the 4th District-at-Large Councilmember, whose district includes the West Side, was more definitive, writing on social media that “I’ve been talking to Westside and community leaders about renaming Avenida Cesar Chavez.”

“What we learned about Cesar Chavez today is disgraceful and despicable,” Rea wrote. “I hope the victims find support and peace in their disclosures. Today Dolores Huerta and the other victims represented some of the most important values of the farmworkers and labor movement: courage, sacrifice, and advocacy.”

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