The Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton Community Board refused to recommend Christchurch City Council revoke the reserve status of the land and return it to the Crown, in spite of staff advice.
Community board chairman Mike Mora said the land should be used as a memorial area once the buildings are demolished.
At more than 100-years-old, the library was the first of seven war memorial libraries built in New Zealand after World War 1, but the building was deemed earthquake-prone in 2018.
Passing it to the Crown would allow it to dispose of the land as it wished, whereas Mora said he wants to ensure it remains a public memorial area.
"Somebody could put another shop in there, or a building of some description.
"It should be a place for people to reflect.”
He envisioned a small park area with a picnic table and commemorative plaque.
"[The city council] haven’t got an appetite for it.
"We, as a community board, feel that we need to get them to rethink that."
Riccarton Ward city councillor and board member Catherine Chu agreed the purpose of the site should remain unchanged.
"I would prefer to prevent it going to the Crown," Chu said.
The board also accepted the surrender of Upper Riccarton War Memorial Library’s ground lease and recommended the city council demolish the site buildings.
A report included in the agenda of the board meeting put demolition costs at $85,000, excluding GST, to be funded by the city council.
Although the city council closed the library in October 2017 after an engineering assessment raised concerns over structural strength, it continued to run from an annex of the building for about a year.
Memorial library chairwoman Aynslie Walter said she would also like the site to be for community use, as this was its original purpose.
She was disappointed the library would not be revived. However, a small park area honouring veterans was "a great solution", she said.
The city council is likely to make a decision on the future of the Upper Riccarton War Memorial Library in February, said council head of facilities, property and planning Bruce Rendall.
The council may revoke the reserve status of the site and return it to the crown, although the Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton Community Board has objected to this.
Demolition of the library buildings is likely to start in the first half of 2022, Rendall said.
