New Jail Will Be Good Neighbor, Report Predicts

A county report has predicted that the proposed Gypsum Canyon jail will have no impact on surrounding property values or public safety, a conclusion quickly criticized Wednesday by opponents of the controversial project.

The environmental impact report prepared for the county by P&D; Technologies of Orange, also concluded that in a “worst-case scenario,” jail overcrowding could force the county to house 9,024 prisoners in the facility even though it is designed for only 6,720.

Under such circumstances, the report stated that there could be up to 500 prisoners released from the Gypsum Canyon jail each day to relieve the overcrowding. Previously, the supervisors had told community residents that inmates would be transported to Santa Ana before they are released.

“Did we expect anything different from an EIR paid for by the county and being used to promote the jail itself?” said Rick Violett, president of a citizens group, Taxpayers for a Centralized Jail.

Violett, whose group has qualified an initiative for the June, 1990 ballot intended to kill the Gypsum Canyon jail plans, said the project has already affected property values in the area.

“We have (real estate) agents who are willing to testify they have lost sales or people are backing out of escrow when they find out what the situation is,” he said. “That report is a bunch of hooey.”

The report was released Friday for a review period during which the county is soliciting comments on its findings. The county, however, is seeking to shorten the normal review period from 45 days to 30 days, prompting complaints from citizens groups and the cities of Anaheim and Yorba Linda.

Proponents of the Gypsum site have argued that the supervisors need to vote as early as possible so that state legislation regarding the financing of the jail construction can proceed.

Anaheim Mayor Fred Hunter criticized the shortened review period as “underhanded.”

Hunter also said it “is absolutely erroneous” to conclude there won’t be an impact on property values or public safety caused by the jail.

“I really think if we build a jail there it won’t be Anaheim Hills, it will be Penitentiary Hills, with escape views,” Hunter said. “The property values will go down.”

After the review period, the supervisors will vote on whether to continue with their plans to build the Gypsum Canyon jail. The controversial site was selected in July, 1987 in a 3-2 vote.

Supervisors Don R. Roth and Gaddi H. Vasquez--the two dissenters in the last vote--said they expected the vote will remain 3-2 and that the EIR will be challenged by outside cities or community groups.

“Obviously my position on that issue has not changed,” said Vasquez, whose district includes the jail site.

“Of course I’m going to vote no,” Roth said. “I think hundreds of crooks being released out in the canyon with no transportation, walking around Anaheim Hills--that’s an impact.”

Supervisors Chairman Thomas F. Riley said, however, that he has always felt that there would not be an impact on property values from the jail and that the steep hills surrounding the site would be a buffer with the community.

“A jack rabbit would need some climbing gear to help it, if it tried to escape toward the community,” Riley said.

Since the 1987 vote, the jail--which was proposed in response to a federal judge’s order to relieve jail overcrowding--has been delayed at least a year while the county tries to find about $700 million to build the facility.

The cities of Anaheim and Yorba Linda, both next to the unincorporated area of Gypsum and Coal canyons, have threatened the county with litigation if it continues with the plans builds a jail on the site.

Other findings in the EIR include:

*A traffic increase of up to 22,898 trips per day. The report says, however, that “all arterials would experience acceptable levels of service.”

*The project would eliminate a series of riding and hiking trails in the area.

* The jail will require a staff of about 3,426 employees, which is about 20% of the entire county work force and almost triple the number of employees now in the Sheriff’s Department. County officials had estimated it would cost about $100 million a year to operate the Gypsum Canyon jail.

About the social impact, the report says, “The proposed project will not have significant economic impacts based on current documented research. Site-specific case studies have indicated no significant property value impacts occur due to jail proximity.”

About public safety, it says, “Recent case studies regarding crime rates adjacent to jails do not adversely impact communities with correctional facilities, although public fears do exist and are anticipated to continue to exist.”