Road Name Requirements

Land Development Code, Section 6.02.03 (B)

All roadways in unincorporated areas of St. Johns County and those municipalities within the County that elect to participate in the uniform roadway addressing system shall be named according to the following requirements:

1. The Board of County Commissioners has the authority to name roads, except State road designated by number by FDOT, lying outside the boundaries of any incorporated municipality. (See Section 336.05, F.S.)
2. Duplication of roadway names is not allowed. GIS Addressing maintains the official list of existing and reserved roadway names for roadway naming purposes.
3. Names having the same or similar pronunciation but with different spellings are not allowed. Roadway names that “sound alike” such as Main and Maine, Lynwood and Linwood, Pinetree and Pine Tree shall not be permitted.
4. For the purpose of public safety, names are preferred from the English language origin. They shall be easy to pronounce with conventional spellings, and not be confused when spoken or written with other existing roadway names.
5. A roadway running continuously in one (1) direction will have one (1) name only throughout its length.
6. All roadways that serve three (3) or more properties or principal buildings must be named regardless of whether the ownership is private or public.
7. Roadways within multi-structure complexes (e.g., business campus, condominiums, multi-unit apartment complex) should be named and each structure individually addressed.
8. Roadway names that begin with a number shall not be permitted, e.g., First Street, Three Sisters Ct.
9. Special characters in roadway names are not allowed, such as hyphens, apostrophes, or periods, e.g., Bar-B-Ranch Road, Walker’s Rd.
10. Directional prefixes (North, South, East, and West) will be used only when necessary to distinguish roadways that are traversing a collector/arterial roadway. Directional suffixes in the roadway name shall not be permitted.
11. Roadway names, including directional prefixes and spaces between words, should be no more than fifteen (15) characters in length to conform to the County Street Sign specifications.
12. No roadway shall be named for a person using their complete legal name, living or dead, without the approval of the Board of County Commissioners. Partial names are acceptable, e.g. Pappy Road, Doty Branch Lane, and Ashley Lane.
13. There will be no spaces between initials in roadway names, e.g., E W Pappy Road.
14. Roadway names containing the word “and” or an ampersand “&” shall not be permitted, e.g., Seek & Find Lane.
15. Roadway names beginning with the articles (“the”, “a”, “an”) shall not be permitted, e.g., The Vinings Dr.
16. Only standard roadway types as recognized and maintained by GIS Addressing shall be used, e.g. Street, Avenue, Circle.
17. It is not permissible to differentiate the same roadway name by a roadway type, e.g., Washington Street and Washington Avenue.
18. Standard roadway types and directional prefixes used as roadway names shall not be permitted, e.g., Court St, North Blvd.
19. Roadway names which may be offensive (slang, double meanings, ethnic or racial slurs, etc.) shall not be permitted.
20. Roadway names must be verified for availability and reserved with GIS Addressing.