The Tsawwassen Library could be in a new location but don’t expect it to happen anytime soon.
Part of the new Delta Library Plan approved by Delta council are several medium- to long-term goals, one being to “investigate options for relocating the Tsawwassen Library to a municipally-owned building.”
Housed at the Town Centre Mall, the Tsawwassen Library is the only one of Delta’s three libraries not to be located in a city-owned building.
Sean McGill, Delta’s director of corporate services, said the city isn’t actively looking to relocate but it’s an option that will be explored down the road. Having a branch in the town core would be important, although Delta doesn’t have any land in the area, he noted.
“It’s really just a recognition of the fact it’s the only one we don’t own. Ultimately, Delta would like to own its own and in the long-term we should look for options as they become available,” said McGill.
A report to council notes that at 7,920 square feet, the Tsawwassen branch is within the optimal size to serve the local population.
The mall is set to undergo a major redevelopment but details are still unknown, including whether a library could be part of the plan or whether Delta would try to get one as part of a community amenity in exchange.
The report to council notes in addition to the mall renovation, residential development at the Southlands, Tsawwassen Springs and the TFN will significantly impact the area’s demographics.
Ten years ago, talk of searching for a new home for the Tsawwassen branch was put on the backburner when council agreed to sign an annual lease with mall owner Century Group, which agreed to pay for some upgrades.
Two years earlier, Delta proposed moving the branch out of the mall and building a new library at nearby Winskill Park. The project would have been part of a much bigger plan (costing $8.3 million in total) that included construction of an artificial turf playing field at the park.
The proposed library would have been 12,000 square feet.
At the time, CAO George Harvie pointed out Delta is the only community in the Fraser Valley Regional Library that doesn’t own the land where a community library is situated, and Tsawwassen residents deserved the same amenities as those in Ladner and North Delta.
However, the Winskill project faced substantial resistance from residents who didn’t like the loss of green space at Winskill Park. They also opposed a local service tax of $98 annually for five years that would have been imposed.
In the end, Delta backed off building a new library but eventually added the artificial turf field.
