SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — The Tijuana City Council is rejecting the name “Pink Zone” for a proposed downtown area where about a dozen bars and restaurants catering to the LGBTQ+ community would open.

The city wants more input from various groups to come up with a name.

“The name will have to carry a message of inclusion and diversity,” said Edoardo Rodríguez, Tijuana’s director of diversity. “We didn’t engineer the name, it was done via a petition signed by the business people themselves.”

Rodriguez says the city wants an area that benefits the economy, tourism and culture like it happens in other cities such as San Diego and its Hillcrest neighborhood.

“This is not about just adding a name, but creating an identity.”

Others, including members of the LGBTQ+ community, are also not sold on the “Pink Zone” name for the proposed business district.

“This is just a political and marketing strategy,” said César Espinoza, director of Tijuana’s LGBTI Cultural Community.

The idea of Tijuana having a “Pink Zone” surfaced last month when 10 bar owners presented the idea to the city council reportedly signed by business people in downtown Tijuana.

“The city wants to reach a consensus among the LGBTGQ+ community to outline the area and whether it should be named the “Pink Zone,” said Rodriguez. “We’ll have to sit down and revisit the theme, the city council needs to determine if it will really generate business and interest in the area.