According to official City of San Diego records, the need for major maintenance and upgrades to the Scripps Miramar Ranch Library Center was recognized ten years ago in 2016. Some initial designs were completed in Q4 2022 and incremental revisions continue to be made to some of the designs at the time of this report. The approved work was divided into four main projects:

  •  Library parking lot expansion
  •  Miramar valve replacement
  •  Library fire suppression system replacement
  •  Library roof replacement

These programs are managed under auspices of the City of San Diego Capital Improvements Program (CIP) which coordinates the work of several City departments including, but not limited to, City Planning, Development Services, Finance, Purchasing and Contracting, and in the case of these projects the San Diego Public Library. Each department tends to keep its own set of expectations and completed tasks; however, when this report refers to "official" project information—notably requirements, specifications, and timelines—we are referring to the records maintained by the CIP office (https://www.sandiego.gov/cip) and (https://www.sandiego.gov/cip/project-info).

As of the date of this report, actual work on some of the four aforementioned projects has been completed, work on some is in progress, and work on some was just started on May 12.

Library Parking Lot Expansion Project

This is identified by the CIP as Project S00811 and is officially (==>Click Here<==) described as:

• The project would provide a parking lot with a proposed total of 119 parking spaces (109 standard, 5 ADA, 5 future EV charging spaces). The site will be backfilled with imported backfill materials. A new retaining wall will be constructed at the backfilled area.

Design for this project was completed in Q4 2022 and construction began in Q3 2023 with an estimated time to completion of 18 months. At the end of 2025, with 30 months of time elapsed, less than 50% of the parking lot expansion project has been completed. Further, instead of increasing the number of parking spaces from 70 to 119, the project has currently reduced the number of available library parking spaces from 70 to 34. Some explanation is warranted. The library's parking lot is divided into two sections: an "upper lot" and a "lower lot." For construction purposes, each lot is addressed separately below.

Upper Parking Lot

The upper parking lot—sometimes referred to as the "main" or "top" parking lot—is the lot located between Evans Pond and the main entrance to the library. On May 20, 2025 (23 months into this estimated 18-month project), the City of San Diego Deputy Director of Library Operations accurately described the status of the upper lot as "The top parking lot was renovated and additional spaces were added, which include ADA access, and Electric Vehicle dedicated spaces. The number of original parking spaces were 25 and now the top lot has 34 parking stalls, a gain of 9 parking spaces."

Lower Parking Lot

The lower parking lot—sometimes referred to as the "bottom" parking lot—is the lot located between the north side of the library building and Scripps Lake Drive. This lot was blocked off from access by vehicles on Q3 2023, partially excavated, and used for storage of construction equipment and piles of excavated dirt. The closure of the lower lot also blocked library patron access to the library's off-site parking on Meanly Drive. On May 20, 2025 (23 months into this estimated 18-month project), the City of San Diego Deputy Director of Library Operations described the status of the lower lot as: "The bottom lot is proposed to be expanded over the canyon to add additional parking. As communicated to me by the Engineering & Capital Projects Department, due to unforeseen conditions of the soils at the bottom of the canyon additional earthwork is required to sit the wall/supporting structure on appropriate soil. Geotechnical work called for removal of soil at a 5 ft depth, however, the rock foundation was found to be lower requiring 10 ft of earthwork, more grading work, importing of materials, and additional time is required. If not addressed, this could lead to settlement and safety issues in the future. The lower lot has 45 parking stalls, and an additional 39 are part of the design proposal."

Unfortunately, the Deputy Director of Library Operations neglected to mention an additional problem with the lower parking lot. Excavation in the lower parking lot, done in preparation for the expansion of the lot, revealed the presence of a 24-inch outlet gate valve for nearby Lake Miramar. Apparently, when the library was built 30 years ago, the construction team simply paved the lower parking lot over the buried valve. The valve had deteriorated over the years and needed to be replaced along with an associated vault needed to house the valve. The official CIP status report for the Miramar Valve Replacement project indicates that the project was completed in Q3 2025. Since the library's lower parking lot expansion project was halted specifically pending the completion of the Miramar Valve Replacement project, one would assume that the parking lot work would have been resumed in Q3 2025; however, as of Q2 2026 the lower parking lot remained untouched. Work on the lower parking lot is reported to have resumed coincident with the closure of the Scripps Miramar Ranch Library Center on May 9, 2026 for the purpose of starting unrelated library building renovations.

Summary of Library Parking Lot Expansion Project

The bottom line is that the Scripps Miramar Ranch Library Parking Lot "Expansion" Project has, thus far, reduced the number of available parking spaces from 70 to 34. Since the current official CIP estimated timeline provides a construction completion date of Q4 2026, it is not unreasonable to assume that the already delayed parking lot expansion project will be delayed at least to Q1 2027. This 18-month project is now estimated to take at least 40 months to complete. The 22-month delay is due to inadequate site investigation during the project design phase and the apparent lack of documentation regarding the adjacent lake's outlet valve. Despite the outlet valve and surrounding vault project having been completed in Q3 2025, work on the parking lot expansion was not resumed until May 12, 2026 (Q2 2026). San Diego Public Library management has stated that their expected completion date for the parking lot expansion project will be coincident with the completion of the Scripps Ranch Library roof/HVAC replacement project and the reopening of the library to the public on "an unknown re-open date in 2027."

Miramar Valve Replacement Project

This is identified by the CIP as Project B20015 and is officially (==>Click Here<==) described as:

• Replace existing 24-inch outlet gate valve with 24-inch butterfly valve per AWWA standards and install new vault to house the valve. A design for man-entry vault within the Scripps Miramar Ranch Library Parking Lot will be required. The new valve and vault to be installed for easy access so that the valves can be serviced and maintained regularly.

The need for this project was identified when, during excavation work needed for expansion of the library's lower parking lot, it was discovered that the old outlet valve was buried beneath the existing parking lot and was either improperly documented and/or simply forgotten about. All work on the library's lower parking lot expansion project was halted until a new replacement valve and vault could be installed. Design for the valve replacement project was completed in Q2 2023 and construction began in Q3 2024 with an estimated time to completion of 12 months in Q3 2025. Since the lower parking lot, where the new valve and vault are located, is not accessible, we do not know the actual status of the valve replacement project; however, the City's most recent status report indicates that this project is completed.

Library Fire Suppression System Replacement Project

This is identified by the CIP as Project B23160 and is officially (==>Click Here<==) described as:

• The scope of work provides for the replacement of the existing fire suppression system in the Scripps Miramar Ranch Library. This work is to be extracted from WBS B-22139 - Scripps Miramar Ranch Library Renovation project (currently in design phase) to accelerate delivery due to the current poor condition of the fire suppression system.

Design for this project was completed in Q4 2023 and construction began in Q1 2025 with an estimated time to completion of 12 months in Q1 2026. Visual inspection indicates that this project is complete; however, the latest CIP report indicates that the project may still be active. On-site observation and documentation indicate that the fire suppression system replacement project began in April 2025 and was estimated to take 14 weeks to complete. The first phase of the project necessitated the closure of the library's Community Room, Seminar Room, and Grace's Book Nook for the entire month of April plus the first 3 weeks of May 2025. Subsequent phases caused each affected section of the main part of the library to be inaccessible in turn to the public and the library staff. Portions of the library remained open to the public throughout the duration of the installation of the fire suppression system. On-site examination indicates that this project was completed within the scheduled timeframe.

Library Roof Replacement Project

This is identified by the CIP as Project B22139 and is officially (==>Click Here<==) described as:

• Remove and replace existing tile and build-up roofs with at least in-kind materials with consideration of upgrading build-up to APP modified bitumen membrane or TPO shingles system. Remove and replace existing HVAC system with at least like-for-like or more modern system. Clean, sanitize, replace as needed, and balance air distribution. Install or replace DX split ductless system in computer room and IT server room. Install or replace kitchen range exhaust hood. Install new exhaust.

According to CIP, design for this project was completed in Q3 2024 and construction began in Q4 2025 with an estimated time to completion of 9 months in Q3 2026. This project, which involves closure of the entire library building for the duration of the project, was originally scheduled to start in August 2025. The starting date slipped incrementally a month at a time until it is was roughly estimated—unofficially—to start in February 2026, 5-6 months later than the original proposed starting date. In reality, the Scripps Miramar Ranch Library Center was formally closed on May 9, 2026 and work on the project was expected to begin on May 12, 2026; although neither of those dates are supported by the City's official Capital Improvements Program (CIP) office documentation. This incremental month-by-month delay of the project's starting date and closure date of the library negatively affected library operations and the scheduling of programs and events planned for public library patrons. The reasons for the incremental delays are not recorded in any of the publicly-available CIP status reports and remains unknown as of this writing. Despite library senior management estimating a building closure duration of 6 to 8 months, the CIP report indicates a 10-month closure, with an estimated reopening date in Q3 2026. In May 2026, San Diego Public Library management has stated that their expected completion of the Scripps Ranch Library roof/HVAC replacement project and the reopening of the library to the public will be on "an unknown re-open date in 2027."

Conclusion

The Friends of the Scripps Ranch LIbrary and our dedicated library staff understand how important the library is in the lives of community members. We all look forward to the completion of the four described projects and the return of the Scripps Miramar Ranch Library Center to service for the public.