Theo Lacy Jail Expansion Start Called ‘Landmark Day’

Years of litigation and persistent jail overcrowding gave way to a brief moment of triumph Thursday as top county officials presided over the groundbreaking of the Theo Lacy Branch Jail expansion.

“This is a landmark day,” said Supervisor Don R. Roth, mugging for photographers underneath a white hard hat and wielding a gleaming silver shovel for the ceremonial dirt-turning. “Thank God that the litigation and delays are behind us.”

The $43-million project, which will double the inmate capacity of the existing Theo Lacy jail by adding 608 beds, was the subject of a long legal battle brought by its neighbors, including the city of Orange and the owners and operators of The City shopping mall, just across the street. That suit was finally settled in June, with the county agreeing to set a limit on the number of inmates at the jail and pledging not to house maximum-security prisoners there.

In return, the shopping center owners and Orange officials withdrew their objections to the environmental impact report, allowing construction to begin.

Roth, whose district includes the Theo Lacy site and who shepherded the negotiations that eventually resolved the dispute, said Thursday that the jail would bolster the county’s law enforcement efforts.

But even as a bulldozer ripped apart the first chunks of pavement to clear the construction area, county officials acknowledged that the expansion will barely dent the growing jail population.

“As soon as these beds become available, we’re going to use them,” Sheriff Brad Gates said. “We’re 141% over capacity right now, and as important as this jail is, it’s only a small step toward dealing with our jail problem.”

Joined by Orange Mayor Don E. Smith, Gates and Roth effusively congratulated each other for shepherding the Theo Lacy project over its obstacles. But the next round of Orange County jail debate will likely find the two in opposite camps.

Gates has long supported construction of a huge, maximum-security jail in Gypsum Canyon, east of Anaheim. Roth, a former Anaheim mayor, strongly opposes that idea, and instead is lobbying for a plan to build the county’s next jail in Riverside County near Chiriaco Summit east of Indio.

A recent county staff report brusquely dismissed the desert facility, calling it too expensive to operate. Thursday, Gates reminded reporters of that, noting that the desert-jail proposal “didn’t withstand the scrutiny.”

Roth reluctantly conceded that the report did not help the desert jail’s prospects but said he is continuing to press for it. At Roth’s direction, the county staff is reviewing its previous report and is scheduled to return to the board within two months.

“I haven’t given up on the desert jail,” the supervisor said. “That report read like a fifth-grade elementary school student trying to get a Ph.D. from Caltech. It did a lot of damage, and I’m not sure we can put it all back together again, but I’m going to try.”

THEO LACY BRANCH JAIL AT A GLANCE

Existing population: 622 beds

Expansion: 608 additional beds in three phases. Some double-bunking possible. Maximum population under settlement is 1,326.

Estimated cost: $43 million

New buildings will contain inmate housing, visiting areas, chapel, classrooms, reception, kitchen and dining areas. Also offices and medical facilities.