LAGUNA HILLS : Council to Weigh Library Options

With no library of its own, the future of a neighboring city’s library in question and the county proposing a new library tax, the city is considering hiring a consultant to study its options.

The City Council tonight will take up the matter. The study could cost from $5,000 to $20,000.

The study is needed so city officials can decide how to respond to recent library proposals by Mission Viejo and the county, said City Manager Bruce Channing.

“Of all the cities served by the county library system, we’re the only one without its own branch,” Channing said.

Since Laguna Hills incorporated in 1991, its residents have primarily used the county library branch on Chrisanta Drive in Mission Viejo. Future use of that facility may be in question because Mission Viejo’s City Council is thinking about seceding from the county library system.

“Should the city of Mission Viejo decide to build a new library and operate it themselves . . . then that generates a whole new set of issues and concerns on our part,” said Channing.

The county plans to build a 15,000-square-foot library at Laguna Hills Drive and Pacific Parkway in Aliso Viejo by late 1997, which would help meet the needs of Laguna Hills residents. But city officials are concerned that the proposed branch may prove too small because Aliso Viejo continues to grow.

“By (the county’s) logic, with the library there and (branches in) Mission Viejo and Lake Forest, our residents have adequate library service,” Channing said.

Another concern is that the Orange County Public Library District may ask voters in November to approve a service charge of $18 per household to maintain existing services throughout the county.

Although Laguna Hills residents have no branch of their own, they now pay $538,000 in property taxes annually to the library district. The additional charge would raise that amount to more than $675,000, according to a city report.

When Laguna Hills incorporated, it agreed to participate in the county library system. Whether it could secede, in light of that agreement, is being studied by the city attorney, Channing said.