Supervisors Ready to Take Formal Step to Build Jail

The county Board of Supervisors this week is expected to formally begin the process of building its huge new jail on a canyon site near Anaheim and Yorba Linda.

The board is scheduled Wednesday to vote on authorizing county officials to begin detailed design work for the facility, conduct a new environmental impact report and start talks with the Irvine Co. to buy the site.

The vote is also over whether to halt expansion plans for the James A. Musick branch jail, which is now expected to be phased out when the new, larger jail opens.

The supervisors tentatively selected Gypsum and Coal canyons as the site for its proposed 6,191-bed jail on July 15. The jail, expected to cost about $600 million when completed, is needed to resolve a severe overcrowding problem that a federal judge has ordered the county to correct.

The board’s tentative vote for the Gypsum-Coal canyons site was 3 to 2. It was opposed by Supervisors Don R. Roth, an Anaheim resident, and Gaddi H. Vasquez, whose district includes the site. Officials said Monday that they did not expect any change in the vote on Wednesday.

Since the county is short on funds, one of the first offers it hopes to discuss is a swap of the 100-acre Musick jail site for the Gypsum-Coal canyons site. County officials have also considered selling the Musick facility and using that money to buy the new jail property.

Before the Gypsum-Coal canyons site was picked, the county considered four locations, three of which are owned by the Irvine Co. And at two public hearings about the four sites, Irvine Co. officials spoke against building the jail on its property.

R.A. Scott, director of the county General Services Administration, said the county has not talked with the Irvine Co. since the site was picked, so he is uncertain about the company’s position on a land deal.

Carol Hoffman, senior director for resource entitlement at the Irvine Co., said in a statement Monday: “In recognition of the county’s right to consider our property for such a use, we would discuss with them a variety of ways in which they might acquire the property, including condemnation or other methods.”

If talks fail, the county could acquire the property through its powers of eminent domain. Supervisors would still, however, need to vote money to reimburse the Irvine Co. for the property.

Scott said he also plans to ask the board next week to award a contract for designs of the new jail.

About six months later, the environmental impact report process would begin after the preliminary design work is completed. Both reports are expected to be completed next summer for about $6 million.

The supervisors are still facing tough decisions on how to pay for the construction. Roth last week objected to spending $6 million on the design and environmental reports until a decision had been made on paying for the building.

The supervisors are considering a plan to ask voters to pay for the first phase of the construction with a property tax increase.

Meanwhile, community organizations and the cities of Anaheim and Yorba Linda have threatened to sue the county over its site selection, contending that both property values and public safety would be jeopardized.