Banning Council to Consider Morongo Tribe's Request for Road Name Change

A public hearing is scheduled Tuesday evening before the Banning City Council, to allow public comment on the Morongo Band of Mission Indians' request to have Fields Road renamed Malki Road.

The tribe requested the name change and it requires city council approval, according to a staff report.

"The Morongo Band of Mission Indians is currently requesting numerous street name changes throughout Riverside County and along Interstate 10," states a report recommended and signed by city Public Works Director Duane Burk.

On Aug. 31, tribal representatives met with Banning staff "to formally request the name change of Fields Road, the only street within the City of Banning impacted by their requests, to Malki Road," the report states.

"The street name change is expected to have minimal impact to the City since there are no Banning residents or businesses located on this road," the report states.

One reason the tribe seeks the name change is the Malki Museum on the Morongo Reservation is on Fields Road.

But the city staff report makes no mention of Lloyd Fields, who claims the road was named for his father in 1959.

Fields, a resident of Beverly Hills, sued Banning earlier this year to try to get the city to tear down the Morongo guard shack on Field Road.

Fields says in a complaint filed in February his 41 acres of land near Fields Road are within the city's jurisdiction, and it is the only paved road leading to and from his property.

Fields calls the land "the Fields Triangle" for its shape, and because it is surrounded by Morongo Reservation land.

Fields claims the tribe's guard shack prevents him from reaching his land, and that the city's refusal to do anything about it has cost him money, because he's been unable to develop his property.

"It has not been resolved in any way, shape, or form, and Mr. Fields is objecting to the name change," Fields' attorney Erik Freiss of Irvine said in a phone interview Tuesday afternoon. "He believes this is retaliation for asserting his rights."

Fields' plans to attend Tuesday evening's council meeting, Freiss said.

City Attorney David Aleshire and representatives for the Morongo tribe could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.

A pdf copy of Fields' complaint is attached to this report.

More on Fields' perspective is available on his web site morongolandgrab.com