A Generation Is Too Long to Wait

Eleven years ago a Los Angeles library master plan identified the need for a branch library in Lake View Terrace. Five years ago, members of the Board of Library Commissioners vowed to move quickly to build it.

No wonder residents of the still libraryless community are getting tired of waiting.

Then-City Councilman Richard Alarcon wanted a library with energy-efficient and eco-friendly features, in part because he’d persuaded the City Council in 1994 to allocate $1 million for construction from a fund established to ease environmental problems. Such a design is a laudable goal for any city project.

But although it will provide savings in the long run through lower energy bills, the energy-saving features have ended up costing more to build than the construction funds available.

Alarcon, who is now a state senator, his 7th District successor, Alex Padilla, and the Board of Library Commissioners should do all they can to secure additional funding. But they should also be willing to make changes to the design if that would lower costs and get the library built more quickly. No one wants to sacrifice the goal of energy efficiency, but can anything else be changed? Can the library be built in stages or some features be added later?

Yes, as envisioned, the Spanish colonial revival library would be a neighborhood gem. But what good is that to a generation of Lake View Terrace kids who will have grown up and graduated from school without having access to such a basic community resource?