Myth: We are voting on a specific library.
Fact: Measure C funds library planning, construction, and the first 10 years of operating expenses. Size, location, and design will be decided with community input. The City Council has evaluated seven options listed here by increasing cost: renovating the current library; expanding the current library to two-stories, without and with parking; building a library as part of BART’s El Cerrito Plaza Station development; renovating an existing retail location for library use; and building a new stand-alone library, without and with parking (See El Cerrito Impact Report, Feb 2026, pp. 5, 18, 25-28).

Myth: This is a handout to cover BART Plaza construction costs that benefits private developers.
Fact: No library location has been selected. A community engagement process will determine the library location and design. This is a transparent, fiscally prudent approach to the new library location.

Myth: The Plaza Station location is inaccessible and is not central.
Fact: El Cerrito Plaza is the central commercial area for the City. Studies show that libraries create a 23% bump in spending at nearby businesses (See California State Library, 2021). People are likely to combine their trips to the library with trips to the Farmer’s Market, Trader Joe’s, CVS, Chipotle, Jamba Juice, PetCo, and Peet’s Coffee.

The Plaza Station is located on the Ohlone Greenway and at a BART station. The neighborhood is extremely accessible, and earned a walk score of 95/100. You don’t need a car to get there. The Plaza site is more accessible to a greater number of students than the Stockton site. It is a 5-minute walk from Harding Elementary School and a 10-minute walk from ECHS (with a combined total of nearly 2,000 students). Many high school students take BART or walk to the Plaza after school and would benefit from easy access to the library.

Myth: The city shouldn’t build a library on land it doesn’t own—even with a $1/year, 99-year lease from BART.
Fact: A 99-year ground lease at a nominal cost is a standard, practical approach that gives the city full control of the library building while avoiding the high cost of buying land. In effect, 99 years functions like ownership for multiple generations, and most civic buildings are renovated or replaced well before 99 years.