The city council, at its Sept. 2 meeting, unanimously adopted a new policy for naming city facilities and recognizing donors.

The adopted document, which defines policies, procedures and responsibilities for naming city facilities, provides a process for recognizing people who make private donations and in-kind contributions to the city.

"The policy clarifies a lot of confusion," said Mayor Michael Chang, who considers the library project the greatest achievement of his eight years serving on the city council.

"It is good that we have a policy so that people representing the city to raise funds know what they can and cannot do," he said.

The naming issue started in July 2002, when the city council unanimously approved a policy of naming facilities after financial donors in order to raise $1.5 million to furnish Cupertino's new library. The construction of the library will cost the city $24.3 million.

But the controversy started when Vice Mayor Sandra James protested naming the community center after Fred Chan, who was willing to donate $250,000 to the Cupertino Library Foundation. "What do we know about these people?" asked James at a council meeting in May.

James' comment infuriated many Chinese American residents and increased the city's already-charged racial tension. All the fundraising efforts, which were launched in February 2003, were put on hold. And the relationship between the library foundation and the city council turned sour.

To resolve the disagreements, Councilwoman Dolly Sandoval proposed formulating a policy.

A six-person team—including Chang, James, City Manager David Knapp, City Attorney Charles Kilian, as well as community leaders Don Allen and Rich Abdalah—then drafted the new policy.

Members of the library foundation offered feedback to the new policy at a study session before the council's Sept. 2 meeting. While some are still angry with the council members for changing their minds and hindering the fundraising campaign, some recognize the necessity to have a naming policy.

"We need to have a policy in place that holds the fundraisers accountable," said Janet Riddell, who has been a Cupertino library commissioner for almost three years. "I have worked for the Mountain View City Library for 24 years. We have a naming policy in Mountain View. We need to have that kind of structure in Cupertino."

"It is unfortunate that there were a lot of negative emotions, and people lost sight that our goal is to support the library," Riddell added.

The library foundation has agreed to use the policy's guidelines to continue its fundraising campaign.

The first guideline of the new policy states that city facilities may be named in two ways—by their geographic location or after retired elected officials or community volunteers who have made extraordinary, nonmonetary contributions to the city or to the general public.

The naming of any city building or facility is subject to the city council's approval, upon the city manager's recommendation and after conducting at least one public hearing.

No city buildings or facilities may be named after an individual, group, organization or business as a result of a financial donation or in-kind contribution to Cupertino, according to the policy.

The city may recognize people who make private donations and in-kind contributions to the city with a plaque containing specific language and affixed to the appropriate city building.

And before the city council accepts any donation or in-kind contribution, the donations or contributions will be submitted to the city manager for recommendation to the city council.

Any donor or contributor will receive a copy of these guidelines before submitting donations to the city manager and city council.

Councilwoman James said she looks forward to working with the library foundation to raise money for the new library.

"There has been a lot of hard feelings and mean-spirited comments. Now that we have an unanimous policy, we are able to move on as a city," she said.

James has solicited a number of donations, one of them from the Borland Software Corporation, which has offered to do a fundraiser for James to thank her for helping the company move its headquarters to Cupertino. James asked the company to host a fundraiser for the library with her.

So far, the library foundation has raised $150,000, only 10 percent of its goal. The foundation hopes to reach its target by March 2004, well before the new library's scheduled grand opening in October 2004.

Under the new policy, the community building will not be named after Chan. But Chan said he still will donate $250,000 to install a 2,000-gallon saltwater, tropical-reef aquarium in the new library's lobby. He will also pay for the aquarium's annual maintenance for five years.

Although the naming episode seems to have ended, donor recognition has become such a touchy topic in Cupertino that when the Cupertino Educational Endowment Foundation proposed establishing a dedicated area in City Center Park to recognize the foundation's donors, the city council, at its Sept. 2 meeting, decided to organize a subcommittee to craft a policy on this.

"Nongovernmental organizations using city facilities to recognize their donors is a policy issue," said Councilman Patrick Kwok. "We all support education. But if we approve this item now, it will set a precedent and open a floodgate. Any nonprofit organizations can approach the city to use city facilities to recognize their donors. We need to develop a policy."