Study Finds No Risk in O.C. Jail Plan

Converting the James A. Musick Branch Jail from a 1,200-bed, low-security facility into a maximum-security detention center housing as many as 7,500 inmates would not pose a safety risk to nearby residents, according to a county study.

The long-awaited environmental impact report also said that the Irvine site is the best location available for more jail beds and that the proposed expansion would make a dent in the county’s jail overcrowding problem, which has resulted in the early release of thousands of inmates in recent years.

The positive assessment provides a boost for the expansion proposal, which is strongly opposed by residents of nearby Lake Forest neighborhoods.

The county will hold public hearings on the report next month in Irvine and Lake Forest. The Board of Supervisors is tentatively scheduled to vote on the project in November.

Residents and community leaders were just beginning to read through the 6-inch-thick study Thursday evening, but some already questioned the report’s conclusions.

“I think it’s obvious that there would be an increased security risk if you add maximum-security inmates to this jail,” said John Iest, owner of Amest Corp., located near the facility.

“This is a different kind of [inmate],” Iest added. “He has nothing to lose. He attempts to get out whenever possible.”

Lake Forest Councilwoman Ann Van Haun said the county should slow down the planning process and seek alternative sites in less populated areas.

“The fact is that this is 700 yards from residents. We don’t consider that good planning,” Van Haun said. “There needs to be more time devoted to this. I think it’s being pushed through too quickly.”

The Board of Supervisors commissioned the report in May at the request of Sheriff Brad Gates, who said the expansion is needed to ease inmate overcrowding that has plagued county jails since the mid-1980s.

Supervisors have already approved a 2,900-bed expansion of the Theo Lacy Branch Jail in Orange but lack the necessary construction funds. Voter approval of a bond measure on the November state ballot could provide Orange County with more than $50 million in jail construction money to complete the Theo Lacy project.

But funding still must be found for a Musick expansion, which officials said is years off, even if supervisors approve the plan. In 1991, Orange County voters overwhelmingly defeated Measure J, a half-cent sales tax to fund new jail construction.

The report released Thursday examined several alternatives to the Musick proposal but found them to be lacking.

Expanding the main jail complex in Santa Ana, for example, would require the time-consuming and costly acquisition of surrounding properties, as well as extensive regulatory reviews. Moreover, such an expansion would produce far fewer new jail beds than the Musick proposal.

The study also found fault with suggestions from some residents that the county sell the Musick site and build a new jail in a more remote location. The county would have trouble selling the property because it was pledged as collateral to help raise money for the county’s bankruptcy recovery plan.

County officials also said it is unlikely that a jail could be located at the nearby El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, which is scheduled to close by 1999.

Culbertson, Adams & Associates Inc., which prepared the report, measured the environmental effects of a 7,500-bed jail housing low-, medium- and high-security inmates. Right now, the 100-acre facility houses about 1,200 nonviolent offenders, some of whom live in tents and harvest crops from nearby fields.

The consultant based its environmental impact report on the presumption that the site would be used for three jail buildings, a medical facility and a Sheriff’s Department substation. A final development plan, however, has not been completed and might be smaller.

Residents have expressed concern not just about the potential for escapes but also about possible crimes committed by inmates after they are released from jail.

But the report said that other county jail release centers do not generate crime problems and that proper security measures could prevent incidents at Musick.

Supervisor Marian Bergeson said the county now needs to hear public comments on the proposal. She said she will not determine her position on the project until she reads the study and meets with affected residents and community leaders.