A plan to switch Dowling Street to Emancipation Avenue won approval from Houston planning commissioners Thursday, following a community outpouring against keeping the city road named for a Confederate soldier.

"This street is a symbol of unfairness," Third Ward resident Delores Rogers said. "How can you continue to honor a man who fought to continue slavery?"

The planning commission approved changing the name with no discussion, after roughly 90 minutes listening to speakers for and against the move.

If City Council approves, Dowling Street - named for Confederate Lt. Richard Dowling - would be renamed Emancipation Avenue within 90 days.

The planning commission approval followed an unapproved revised public process to rename a Houston street. City planning officials are using the Dowling renaming as a test of a proposed city-initiated street name change, which can be done absent the citizen-initiated name change petition process.

The new rules require "sufficient" community support for the street name revision, though there is no set amount of support or percentage of support needed to demonstrate that. The opinions of property owners also are considered, said Brian Crimmins, chief of staff for the city's planning department. These revised street renaming rules also require separate council approval.

Crimmins told planning commissioners Thursday fewer than half of property owners polled favored the Dowling Street renaming in early gauges of public reaction. In the latest inquiry, however, property owners were roughly evenly split.

Community response - likely buoyed by intense support of the Third Ward neighborhood - showed more than 60 percent supported the Dowling change to Emancipation Avenue.

The street renaming isn't free, or without hassles. Residents and businesses along Dowling will have to change their addresses, advertisements and related materials. The city will pay to replace street signs.

Kevin Baker, who owns property and lives on Dowling, worried a name change to Emancipation might harm property values, noting the word's association with slavery has a "negative connotation." He said he understood the desire to change from Dowling. "Change is fine, just not that change," Baker said.

Residents, mostly in the Third Ward, sought the street renaming to both remove Dowling's name and honor bordering Emancipation Park.

City leaders named the street after Dowling in 1892, as the area's African-American population was growing. Some suspect the change from East Broadway to Dowling Street was motivated by placing a Confederate's name on the street near Emancipation Park. Black residents bought the park in 1872 so they would have a place to celebrate Juneteenth, the end of slavery in Texas.

Dowling, born in Ireland, moved to Houston and was active in the Confederacy. He is credited for overseeing an artillery strike at Sabine Pass that kept Union ships from establishing a foothold in eastern Texas.

Houstonians related to Dowling and others said removing his his name from the street would be unjust, noting Dowling did not own slaves and saved Houston from Union incursion.

"Dick Dowling was a hero," said Sarah Duncan, a descendant of Houston mayor Thomas William House, a contemporary of Dowling's. "Atlanta, the union soldiers burned Atlanta and he was a hero of Texas. I think he deserves to keep his name on our street."

Others vigorously disagreed.

"This is not to write history, but right a wrong," said Bianca Mahmoud, who noted despite his war record, Dowling fought for the side trying to uphold slavery.

Emancipation Park, after Dowling's side lost, became a cornerstone of Third Ward's African-American roots. The park is now undergoing a $33 million renovation and is set to reopen in January. The celebration of the park reopening will happen at the annual Juneteenth celebration on June 18, 2017.