Santee’s Dream May Become Nightmare If Jail Goes In

Why is the City of Santee battling so tenaciously to block Goliath--in the form of the County of San Diego--from erecting a jerry-built prison camp in its downtown redevelopment area?

Most people probably chalk it up to the NIMBY syndrome, an affliction known to strike communities faced with unwelcome projects. No one is immune from the “Not in My Backyard” reaction, neither Santee nor the giant City of San Diego, as evidenced by the recent demise of a suggestion for housing inmates “temporarily” at the old Navy Hospital psychiatric ward in Balboa Park.

But upon closer examination, Santee’s NIMBY response is dwarfed by a profound concern for the city’s future economic welfare. We already do our part for the region by hosting the Las Colinas County Jail for women.

We are concerned that building another jail--for 600 men--near schools, homes, a hospital and in our nascent 700-acre Town Center will not only endanger residents, including children, but scare off desirable businesses that a relatively cash-shy city such as Santee desperately needs to stay solvent.

Since incorporating in late 1980, Santee has improved dramatically. Under home rule, we have brought a beauty to Santee rivaled only by the natural beauty of the nearby hills. We continue to upgrade the road system, attract pleasing commercial developments, build more parks and expand recreational opportunities.

But our most ambitious vision to date involves Town Center, Santee’s fledgling commercial hub. We hope this will be a showcase development that will serve city residents for generations.

The idea evolved over several years after we saw what we had. Here was a town that grew up around its center--an uncommon phenomenon--almost as if by design. Fate had smiled on us, and we realized we had a potential gold mine: an opportunity to build from scratch a planned downtown straddling the San Diego River. Our Town Center could be developed without having to uproot existing structures.

Naturally, there were headaches. The Town Center plan itself took two intense years of public meetings, workshops, hearings and negotiations, involving not only local residents but county officials as well.

In the end, the efforts paid off. Using our best asset, the San Diego River, as the centerpiece, city planners envisioned a pedestrian-oriented Town Center with tree-lined streets, extensive landscaping, fountains and small lakes. The river will retain much of its natural habitat, offering fishing, boating, and, along the banks, trails for hiking and horseback riding. Between the river and Mission Gorge Road will be our new civic center as well, with offices, homes, high-caliber shops, research-and-development companies, open space and a new school, plus more housing and stores, are planned for the northern side of the river.

This will be our Main Street. A place for people to meet and be seen. A place to work and play. A place to find a good meal, attend a movie, shop, take a stroll or simply relax on the grass.

With a population of 50,000, Santee is no longer a rural town, but an urban center. Very soon, the San Diego Trolley and California 52 and 125 will reach Santee, ending our semi-isolation and putting us just minutes from major commercial sectors throughout San Diego. Santee will become an integral economic partner in the greater San Diego region.

All this bodes well, but a danger lurks that could mortally wound Town Center. And if that should occur, Santee’s future looks bleak indeed.

Like most of the county, we are experiencing growing pains. That means greater demands for city services, which translates to more money. And public money comes from taxes.

Only if Town Center succeeds will the city have the future tax base necessary to maintain and enhance our quality of life. There is no turning back for us. The city has already taken out a $6.4-million redevelopment bond. Repayment is contingent on attracting new business to expand our tax base.

Santee’s dream could turn into a nightmare, however, if the jail goes in.

Let me qualify that. Not just a jail, but a substandard facility composed of 17 wooden barracks, guard towers and dual chain-link perimeter fencing, supporting coiled razor wire and four feet of steel mesh, according to the county’s environmental impact report.

What can one call an agency willing to plunk such a sorry facility in the middle of an urban area? Irresponsible at the least. The county would be hard pressed to think of another project so potentially devastating to Town Center and, consequently, our economic well-being.

Santee is not comforted by the county’s feeble assurance that the jail will be temporary. When, we ask, will the county have enough jail space to accommodate 600 additional prisoners? It does not know, and thus refuses to guarantee a pullout from Santee.

Possibly more puzzling than its insensitivity to Santee is the county’s willingness to gore its own ox. As the major landholder in Town Center, the cash-starved county could make a bundle if it did not wreck land values by building the jail.

Better jail sites exist, including a county-owned site on Ruffin Road, identified in the county’s environmental impact report as superior to Santee’s Town Center. Moreover, we have offered the county $1 million for land, to no avail, so alternate sites could be studied.

Our hopes and our desires are all too human, all too common. Like most people, we strive to leave things better than we found them for our children. But if we should falter, let it be because of our own shortcomings and not because of outside forces. Santee’s very economic survival hangs by a thread, a tenuous thread that could easily tear if the jail is built. The county has cornered us, leaving Santee no option but to fight.