Residents Help Narrow List of Library Sites to 3

Los Angeles Public Library officials, Councilwoman Laura Chick and residents have narrowed the list of sites for a new Canoga Park Library from five to three.

More than 50 residents attended a meeting Tuesday at the present library to discuss sites for the new building. Residents expressed the most support for a Sherman Way site between Independence and De Soto avenues, now the site of a used car lot, and a vacant lot on the southeast corner of Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Saticoy Street.

Chick said she preferred the Sherman Way site because it would be near a new health clinic and other revitalized developments.

The third site is a large empty lot on the northeast corner of Sherman Way and Canoga Avenue, which is owned by Southern Pacific Railroad. Ellen Michiel, executive director of the West Valley Community Development Corp., said she preferred this site because two elementary schools are nearby, and a library would unite the neighborhood.

Melinda Buterbaugh, 44, said she supported the Topanga Canyon-Saticoy site because it’s a vacant lot that could use some sprucing up. Leah Moses, president of the Friends of the Canoga Park Library, also supported this location.

“It would be more accessible and less congested than Sherman Way,” Moses said.

Before library officials recommend a site, they have to research its cost, surrounding traffic and the number of bus stops and schools nearby, said Carmen Martinez, director of branches for the Los Angeles Public Library. A recommendation will then go to the Board of Library Commissioners for review.

Martinez said residents will be able to participate in another meeting on the new library’s location and address the board in about six weeks. The proposed library, expected to cost $5 million to build, will be double the size of the current structure and feature more computers and a storytelling area for kids.