When South Palo Alto's newest housing development opens its doors at the former site of the Palo Alto Bowl, it will include as part of its design a direct link to the city's past.

Monroe Place, as the housing portion of the development is called (there will also be a four-story hotel), will feature three new interior streets.

Under a proposal made by the Palo Alto Historical Association and scheduled to be approved by the City Council tonight, these streets will be named for three Palo Alto officers who had died in the line of duty: Lester Cole, Gene Clifton and Theodore Brassinga.

"We have heard from the Police Department about their interest in having streets named for police officers who had died in the line of duty," city Historian Steve Staiger wrote in a letter to the city. "We support this desire and have recommended that the three streets in the Palo Alto Bowl (former) site be named for the three Palo Alto officers who died in the line of duty."

The only obstacle is that Palo Alto already has a Clifton street, which bears no relation to the fallen officer. After discussing this issue with Police Chief Dennis Burns, the historical association accepted his suggestion to name the street "Gene Court."

The other two streets would be Cole Court and Brassinga Court.