Are free libraries public hazards?

Neighbors and passersby along A Street in Petaluma can browse through an eclectic selection of books without visiting a yard sale or stepping into a library or bookstore. So can neighbors in Penngrove, Sebastopol, Forestville, Santa Rosa and hundreds of other towns throughout the country.

They’re inspired by a global literacy movement that started in Wisconsin in 2009 that requires no paperwork, library cards or currency, just an unspoken agreement. Want a book? Take one. Got too many? Leave one behind.

But as so often happens, simple ideas have been derailed by critics. Officials in three cities - Los Angeles; Shreveport, La.; and Leawood, Kan. - received complaints about little libraries and were asked to investigate them as zoning code violations.

A story in The Atlantic reported that Leawood officials found “an illegal detached structure” and asked that it be taken down. Shreveport officials followed suit but later issued a reprieve.

Los Angeles officials deemed theirs “an obstruction” and asked that it be removed or relocated, The Los Angeles Times reported.

So far, Sonoma County agencies haven’t followed suit. As long as little libraries are built on private property and don’t extend onto public sidewalks or streets, city development officials say, there’s no problem.

Kevin Colin, a senior planner for the City of Petaluma, said he has followed planning-related blogs about the issue, but sees benefits from the little libraries.

“I found it all very interesting,” he said. “I actually felt sorry for them.”

Colin said he doubts there’s any problem with Petaluma’s book kiosks that would warrant a site plan review or citation, although he urges people with historically significant properties to check with the city just to be sure.

Some 25,000 Little Free Libraries have been registered worldwide. See where they are located at littlefreelibrary.org/ourmap.