New City Library

PROJECT: New Moorpark City Library

ABOUT THE PROJECT:

Recognizing that the needs of the community have outgrown the capabilities of the City’s public library, the City has embarked on a project to construct a new, modern library to serve our residents. The Moorpark Library Needs Assessment and Building Program study provides additional details about the project.

CURRENT WORK:

The City’s architect, LPA Inc., conceived two potential architectural styles for the New Moorpark City Library, one inspired by Moorpark’s agricultural past, and one influenced by Moorpark’s growth towards a modern industrial community. (Click here for information about both design options.) On June 1, 2022, after considering the options, and feedback from the Moorpark community, the City Council selected the Agrarian inspired design (see below) and directed staff to move forward with design development drawings.

Agrarian Inspired Design

Agrarian Inspired Architecture Opens in new window

(click here to view images)

Agrarian Architecture: This building style tends to focus on incorporating local materials into buildings with farm type elements that are often rustic, organic, and comfortable. This style was meant to pay homage to the agricultural past of Moorpark, which began largely as a farming community in the late 1800’s. The building is designed to evoke feelings of a barn that’s been repurposed into a library, with use of barn doors and accordion windows to allow programming to spill outside onto the porches. The interior of the facility will feature similar barn style architectural elements with wood beams, natural light, while still being an efficient modern building.

PUBLIC INPUT:

PAST EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES:
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE SELECTION: On June 1, 2022 the Moorpark City Council received a presentation by the Library Architect regarding two potential architectural styles for the New City Library. The presentation detailed both an Agrarian Inspired design, and an Industrial Inspired design (click here for more information about the two design options). The City Council also considered community input collected from the May 16th community workshop and the online survey. Ultimately the City Council supported the preference indicated by the community input and selected the Agrarian Inspired design for the New City Library. The City Council meeting can be viewed at the following link: https://moorpark.granicus.com/player/clip/2526?view_id=144&redirect=true
LIBRARY ARCHITECTURE SURVEY: An online survey collected public input on the Library Architecture options in May ahead of the discussion with the Moorpark City Council on June 1st.
COMMUNITY WORKSHOP: On May 16, 2022 the City’s held an in-person community workshop to showcase two new design proposals for the new library architecture, one inspired by agrarian architecture, and one inspired by industrial architecture. Click here for more information about the two design options.
SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING: On March 24, 2021 the City's design team updated the City Council on the progress to date and received guidance on the floorplan layout and exterior design. The meeting is available to view at the following link: https://moorpark.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=138&clip_id=2346.
TEEN COUNCIL WORKSHOP: On March 3, 2021 the Moorpark Teen Council hosted a discussion between the City's planning team and teens from the Moorpark community to discuss features planned for the teen space in the new Library. The meeting provided lots of good feedback and ideas for the teen area.
COMMUNITY WORKSHOP: On February 24, 2021 the City held its second community workshop for the New City Library. This virtual event provided updates on the development process and collected input on the children's space, teen space and preliminary architectural considerations. A total of 23 participants logged in to the event, which was recorded and is available to view on Youtube at the link to the right.	CLICK HERE to watch Community Workshop #2 (February 24, 2021)
COMMUNITY WORKSHOP: On Wednesday, December 9, 2021 the City held its first community workshop for the New City Library. This virtual event provided updates on the development process and collected input on various aspects of the Library. A total of 22 participants logged in to the event, which was recorded and is available to view on YouTube at the link to the right.	CLICK HERE to watch Community Workshop #1 (December 9, 2020)
COMMUNITY SURVEY: In 2018 a survey was distributed to collect feedback about what features the community wished to see in the new facility. A total of 756 responses were collected. This feedback is being used by the library consultant in planning the new facility.

PROJECT BACKGROUND:

In 2016, the Moorpark City Council selected a site for the library on the north side of High Street, across from the Post Office, and authorized staff to move forward with the design of a new 18,000 sq. ft. City library. The site was selected not only to support the ongoing development of Moorpark’s downtown area, but also due to its proximity to several neighborhood schools. The following year library consultant Linda Demmers was hired to assist staff with community engagement, planning, programming, architecture review and consultation to ensure that the ultimate layout and function of the library will meet the City’s and community’s needs.

In 2018 the City Council directed staff to update the Civic Center Master Plan to provide a planning framework for a civic center campus that includes a new city hall and the planned New City Library. In the Summer of 2020 the City Council approved a conceptual design for a Civic Center Master Plan, which incorporates not only the new library, but also a new City Hall development north of the new library site. This master plan concept creates a strong civic anchor to the High Street corridor, allows for the continuation of commercial uses down the extended portion of High Street, and provides flexibility for future re-use of the existing Civic Center properties. Initially, however, the City’s focus is on the construction of the new library. Work on designing the new library is now underway, and library and City staff are excited to move one step closer to a new modern library for Moorpark and its residents.

Grant Funding

To date the City has secured grant funding totaling $5.35 million for the new Moorpark City Library project. In March 2022, City staff applied for a California Library Infrastructure Grant in the amount of $4.6 million. These grant funds are typically awarded to library renovation projects, however City staff was able to show that new construction was more cost effective than renovating the existing library and scored favorably on the grant. In addition to the Infrastructure Grant, Congresswoman Julia Brownley secured $750,000 in funding for the project as part of the federal omnibus bill passed in December. The Moorpark library is one of 17 Ventura County projects totaling $28.9 million included in the spending package. Together these two grants total $5.35 million, or 23% of the total library cost of $23 million.