Local News in Brief : Study Ordered on Deteriorating Pier

The Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks has decided to postpone demolition of the deteriorating Venice Pier and conduct a study to determine what it would cost to repair the pier or build a new one.

The study is expected to cost between $60,000 and $100,000, to be paid jointly by the city and the state Coastal Conservancy

City officials have already approved $500,000 to demolish the 24-year-old pier, whose steel frame has rusted and expanded, causing concrete to break away at the surf line. It has been closed since November, 1986.

The study was ordered in the wake of a recent community meeting in Venice, at which about 150 residents showed up to say they wanted the pier saved or a new one built. Earlier, city officials said they were moving forward with demolition plans because they had not heard any opposition to it.