County Halts Negotiations on Land for Jail

San Diego County has cut off negotiations with the Air Force over the possible acquisition of property in the Midway District that could have been used as a jail site to ease crowding, officials said Thursday.

Air Force Plant 19, near the junction of Interstate 5 and Pacific Highway, is a World War II-vintage factory used to build rocket boosters and mobile launchers for cruise missiles. Under the terms of the INF treaty, it is subject to inspection by the Soviets--one reason given for the Air Force wanting to sell the property or convert it to another use.

“All it boiled down to was, we were unable to satisfy their requirements while we satisfied ours,” said Bruce Boland, a county agent who had negotiated with the Air Force. “We wanted 15 acres of property for a detention facility, and they needed 16 acres of contiguous land for parking. There’s only 22 acres of land there to begin with. As we both redefined our requirements, we realized it wasn’t going to work.”

Boland said the county had negotiated with the Air Force for two years in hopes of acquiring the property for use as a jail housing prisoners who had yet to appear in court.

“A lot of those people now are out on the street--they’re simply not being held,” said Rich Robinson, director of special projects for the county and another member of the team that negotiated with the Air Force.

County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Susan Golding expressed regret Thursday that the deal could not be completed and said she would “zealously pursue all efforts to identify suitable land in San Diego” on which a pretrial jail can be built.

Despite their hope for acquiring the property, Robinson said county officials were not as disappointed as they might have been. He said “too many factors” weighed against the acquisition from the beginning.

“We sensed a considerable amount of potential and optimism at the beginning,” he said. “And we spent a considerable amount of time negotiating. Obviously, the problem of crowding remains. It’s gotten incredibly serious. We have about 3,800 inmates incarcerated in county jails with a listed capacity of 1,743. That’s around 214% over our maximum.

“Proposition A (which recently passed) would help, but we’re tied up in the courts over that. Until that’s resolved, we’re really in limbo.”

The county faces a lawsuit by plaintiffs, who contend that Proposition A--which would have pledged 0.5% of the sales tax toward construction of court and jail facilities--violates Proposition 13 and Proposition 62 and is therefore unconstitutional. Robinson said an initial ruling in the case is not expected until next month.