Colorado city votes to rename ‘Swastika Acres’ neighbourhood

CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colo. – A Colorado city has voted to drop the name “Swastika Acres” from a subdivision.

KDVR-TV reports the Cherry Hills Village City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a name change to “Old Cherry Hills” to prevent future controversy.

The neighbourhood in the Denver suburb was named Swastika Acres decades before the symbol was adopted by the Nazis.

Councilman Dan Sheldon spearheaded the change and says the name comes from the Denver Land Swastika Company that divided area land into plots near the turn of the 20th Century.

While the name cannot be found on road signs, it still appeared on real estate closing documents.

Sheldon says one woman attending the council meeting opposed the change to preserve the “historical value” of the symbol, despite having lost family in the Holocaust.

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Information from: KDVR-TV, http://www.kdvr.com