BANNING, Calif. -- A road name change stirred up a lot of past problems for a Banning developer.
Lloyd Fields fought for change with the Morongo Tribe for years. Now, it's finally happened, but not the one he wanted. Fields Road, named after his father, Harry, will soon become Malki Road.
A spokesman for the Morongo Tribe of Mission Indians tells News Channel 3: "Changing the name to Malki Road will minimize confusion and provide easier public access and visibility to the Malki Museum, which is located on that road."
The name change is only the beginning for Fields, though.
Fields owns 41 acres on the west side of Fields Road. He said he had wanted to develop the land, but in order for people to get to his property, they would need to go through this gate. The Morongo tribe doesn't let non-tribal members through.
The tribe says, "At the request of the city of Banning, the Morongo Tribal Council is reviewing options regarding the gates, which could include voluntarily moving our guard station at the tribe's own expense to further accommodate our neighboring landowner, Mr. Fields. "
"That will determine if it is on public right of way or not. If it isn't, the tribe will not have to move it, if it is, the tribe has said that they will move it onto their reservation property," City Manager Andy Takata said.
KESQ reached Fields on Newsline 3.
"He said three months ago that they were going to do it then. They're stalling," Lloyd Fields said. "If they're going to add insult to injury, if they're going to take my name off Fields Road after they have in effect destroyed my property value, then I think that Banning has a duty."
"If it is on tribal property, there's nothing the city can do," Takata said.
Fields said there is something the city can do, and he's going to make sure it's done.