Anaheim to Drop Suit Against County Over Canyon Jail Site

The City Council Tuesday night decided to drop a lawsuit against the county and the Board of Supervisors that contested the proposed $1-billion Gypsum Canyon jail in the east Anaheim area.

The council’s action followed a recent Sacramento Superior Court ruling that determined the county’s proposed method of financing the jail--through the use of sales tax funds--was unconstitutional.

“The city of Anaheim has no interest in spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayers’ dollars to fight a jail that will in all probability never be built,” Mayor Fred Hunter said. “That money will be more wisely spent serving the needs of the citizens of Anaheim.”

A state bill was passed in October, 1989, that allowed the Orange County Board of Supervisors to place a half-cent sales tax increase for jails and other criminal justice facilities on this year’s ballot. The measure would have required only a simple majority to be approved.

But a Sacramento Superior Court judge ruled that the legislation violates Proposition 13, which requires a two-thirds majority for approval of new taxes.

Councilman William D. Ehrle said the council decided to abandon the lawsuit against the county because the Gypsum Canyon jail facility plan is “not going to go anywhere.”

“It’s a moot case,” Ehrle added.

The property for the proposed jail is owned by the Irvine Co.