Library Board OKs Branch Site
The Board of Library Commissioners on Thursday approved the site for a new Los Angeles Public Library branch in Canoga Park.
The panel voted 4 to 0 to build a 12,500-square-foot library on four adjacent lots in the 20000 block of Sherman Way, library officials said. Commissioner David Lehrer was absent.
The vote clears the way for library officials to begin property appraisals and environmental impact studies, said Juliana Cheng, principal librarian for branch library construction projects.
If the property is found to be environmentally sound and affordable, Cheng said, officials will begin negotiations with the owners of the four parcels between Independence and Loma Verde avenues.
The branch will replace an existing one at 7260 Owensmouth Ave., Cheng said. The old facility is about half the size of the proposed new one and does not have adequate electrical outlets or data ports to support computers.
The old library will be returned to the city for possible use as a community center, she said.
Construction costs will be paid by Proposition DD bond money, Cheng said. After a two-year campaign by library officials to drum up support for library improvement funds, voters passed the $178.3-million bond in November 1998 to build four branches and remodel or renovate 28 others.
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