A group of petitioners against the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's plans to build a new branch on the North Side has been given a public hearing before City Council Dec. 18 at the New Hazlett Theater in Allegheny Center.

Dave Tessitor, a resident of Allegheny West, said 40 people signed the petition in favor of reusing the old Allegheny Regional branch, which has been unused since it was struck by lightning two springs ago. Since then, library officials have closed in on a ground-breaking, with architectural renderings for a new construction on Federal Street on the site of an old gas station.

At several presentations earlier this year by Loysen + Kreuthmeier architects, North Side residents turned out to offer feedback on designs for what would be a one-story library. After the architects made adjustments, the majority of attendees favored the plan.

But Mr. Tessitor said there have always been residents who believe the Allegheny Regional branch, an 1880s-era landmark built as a library in what is now Allegheny Center, should remain the neighborhood's library.

"What's the biggest thing we have going for us?" Mr. Tessitor asked, answering, "History." He said he believes an old library, refurbished to be cost-efficient, could be a bigger lure to development up the Federal corridor than a new one built in an area of "underachieving real estate."

The new Carnegie Library has been cited as a potential leader in revitalizing what is now a blighted Federal Street.

Carnegie officials have said they cannot sustain the operating costs of the old building and that it is not suitable to new programming needs.

A pending agreement between the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority, which owns the parcel at Federal and Parkhurst streets, and the Carnegie Library is on hold until after the hearing.

The Dec. 18 hearing begins at 5 p.m.