Library Board Says It Can’t Fund Expansion in Studio City

Los Angeles city library commissioners said Thursday they do not have $1.6 million in their budget to buy land to expand the crowded Studio City branch library, but they encouraged a homeowners group and Councilman Michael Woo’s office to explore other sources of funds.

The Studio City Residents Assn. and Woo’s office previously had urged the Library Commission to buy a 19,000-square-foot vacant lot at the northwest corner of Moorpark Street and Whitsett Avenue to expand the library next door. The library has 58,000 books, twice its designed capacity.

Library Commission President Martha Katsufrakis told the group that the department does not have money for the purchase. The property, owned by Tony Dell’Acqua, has been appraised at $1.6 million by city officials. It was previously the site of a gas station.

However, Katsufrakis and Commissioner Doug Ring, a real estate attorney, urged the homeowner group to seek creative ways to fund the project. Ring suggested that local developers might contribute to a library expansion fund if the homeowner group in return lobbied city officials for their projects.

The commission also turned down an appeal from residents association board member Jerry Kurland to change the commission’s master plan to identify the Moorpark-Whitsett parcel as the preferred site for expansion of the Studio City branch library.

The master plan currently envisions moving the library to Ventura Boulevard when funds are available.

Fred Gaines, attorney for the association, said revising the master plan would help the group persuade Dell’Acqua not to sell the property to another party. The owner has been amenable to the association’s requests that he first consider selling to the city, but it is uncertain how long he will wait, Gaines said.

Diana Brueggemann, a deputy to Woo, who represents the area where the library is located, joined the homeowner group in seeking commission support for the purchase. Brueggemann noted that Woo’s office had received a petition signed by 1,300 residents urging that the Moorpark-Whitsett site be used for library expansion.