Backers of Library Face Some Opposition

Supporters of Measure E, a special parcel tax on the Nov. 4 ballot in Agoura Hills, are campaigning to get the word out about the need for a new library in the area.

But a small group of opponents said the tax is premature and the city should go to the people for money only when all other avenues are exhausted.

“This is the only way we can see that we will get [a library] in the foreseeable future,” said Darlene McBane, a board member of the Friends of the New Agoura Library.

Irv Schnittman, a resident who co-signed the ballot argument against the tax, said the city has other options.

He cites a developer who has polled some homeowners about his project and who has promised to build a library if they want it as part of his developer’s agreement. Schnittman said the city should wait to see how it plays out before taxing property owners.

But McBane said the developer has yet to submit plans for his project with the city, and that his vision for a library is unacceptable because it would require the library to be built atop a commercial building.

Schnittman said he does not oppose a new library in the area, but “the problem I have is that money is being spent and it’s not going to improve one iota the quality.”

But McBane said the library has more books now than it can display in its current 27-year-old facility. The city has outgrown the older building, she said, “and we’d certainly like to meet the needs of the citizens.”

With Measure E, property owners would pay up to $45 per year for as long as five years for the new library, which would be maintained and staffed by the county.

The new facility would be built either on a six-acre parcel on Canwood Street that the city received from the Kanan family, or would occupy a refurbished building, McBane said.

Supporters will hold a rally at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Canyon Club, in the Whizins’ Shopping Center, 28912 Roadside Drive. Author Ray Bradbury is expected to speak.