OGDEN — The push to name 675 North after Satnam Singh, the convenience store operator shot and killed inside his shop on Feb. 28, will face a wait.

Jesse Redden, a regular at the store, Super Grocery, turned in a pair of petitions to Ogden officials on Monday seeking the honorary designation of Satnam Singh Drive for 675 North.

“This way, he can stay on that street forever. His legend can stay on that street forever,” said Redden. He launched an online petition to give the northern Ogden street the honorary designation, garnering nearly 2,700 electronic signatures as of Monday afternoon. He also petitioned door-to-door along 675 North, getting support from around 70% of the people who live on the street.

TIM VANDENACK, Standard-Examiner

But Mark Johnson, Ogden’s chief administrative officer, said later Monday that city officials are taking a new look at how honorary street designations are granted in the city in the wake of controversy that publicly erupted last month over separate talk of renaming part of 2nd Street. Until that review is complete, with possible implementation of new guidelines, new proposals like Redden’s will have to wait.

Singh was shot and killed late in the evening of Feb. 28 inside Super Grocery, generating a strong outpouring from neighbors and others who frequented the locale, like Redden. The suspected gunman is a juvenile, younger than 16, facing charges of aggravated murder and aggravated robbery in 2nd District Juvenile Court.

The turn of events shocked and saddened many in the neighborhood around the convenience store, prompting formation of an impromptu memorial of balloons, candles, signs and more outside the store. Customers described Singh as a friendly and outgoing shopkeeper, attentive to those in the store and willing to help those in need.

“He treated me right over the years. I wouldn’t say we were friends, but we talked,” Redden said.

Under Redden’s proposal, the official name of 675 North would stay put. But the street, which extends from Jefferson Avenue east to Gramercy Avenue, would receive the secondary, honorary designation of Satnam Singh Drive, with signage indicating as much on top of existing street signs. Super Grocery is located at 675 N. Monroe Blvd.

As is, Ogden currently has five honorary street designations, according to city documents:

Martin Luther King Jr. Street on 24th Street from G Avenue to Harrison Boulevard;

Cesar E. Chavez Street on 30th Street from Wall Avenue to Harrison Boulevard;

Tiger Way on 30th Street from Harrison Boulevard to Polk Avenue, by Ogden High School;

Jayhawk Way on 24th Street from Harrison Boulevard to Buchanan Avenue, near the western entrance of St. Joseph Catholic High School; and

Scots Way on Ninth Street from Harrison Boulevard to Monroe Boulevard, outside Ben Lomond High School.

The Change.org petition Redden launched noted that Singh had operated his store at 675 N. Monroe Blvd. for around 20 years. “This man would always offer a helping hand to anyone in the community and did not deserve this end,” it reads.

Signatories to the online petition offered their own tributes. “Everyone knows Satnam’s store in this area. It is his neighborhood he cared for. He stayed open late to provide for his community. He gave so much to us, his family deserves that honor and so does he,” reads one message.

TIM VANDENACK, Standard-Examiner

At any rate, the controversy over renaming part of 2nd Street spurred city officials to reexamine the whole naming process, an initiative launched before Singh’s death and still ongoing. Greg Montgomery, Ogden’s planning manager, advised Redden of the news after he submitted his proposal. Once the City Council has completed its process, “your request will be reviewed based on their new processes whatever the final product might be,” Montgomery said in the message to Redden.

Anna Keogh, an Ogden historian, submitted a proposal to the city last year calling for giving 2nd Street between Century Drive and Wall Avenue the honorary designation of Bingham Fort Lane. In the mid-1800s, the area in northern Ogden was home to a fort for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Ogden Planning Commission voted 7-0 to recommend the change. But the Ogden Diversity Commission voted 9-1 to deny the change “based on the belief that the proposal did not accurately represent and honor the perspectives of all the peoples of the area at the time,” according to a summary of the matter prepared for the City Council.

The City Council discussed the 2nd Street name change proposal on Feb. 2, when the officials decided on launching the review of the process to grant honorary names, putting name changes on hold.