Panel OKs Bill to Help Land O.C. Jail Site : Legislature: The measure would make it easier to condemn property for proposed Gypsum Canyon lockup.

Aided by horror stories of criminals set free to roam the streets, a measure designed to make it easier for Orange County to condemn land for the proposed Gypsum Canyon jail passed its first legislative test Wednesday.

The Assembly’s Judiciary Committed voted 6 to 1 to pass a bill by Assemblyman Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove) aimed at relieving the political bottleneck now keeping the Orange County Board of Supervisors from going forward with the Gypsum Canyon jail.

Current law requires four of the five supervisors to agree before the county can exercise powers of eminent domain and condemn land for the proposed jail site--2,512 acres of property owned by the Irvine Co. just east of Anaheim Hills.

But the board has been unable to muster the necessary votes, although it settled on the Gypsum Canyon site nearly four years ago. While Supervisors Thomas F. Riley, Roger R. Stanton and Harriett M. Wieder say they would vote to condemn the land, Don R. Roth and Board Chairman Gaddi H. Vasquez are vehemently opposed.

To get around that political impasse, Umberg--whose district includes the existing overcrowded Central Jail in Santa Ana--has written a tailor-made loophole for Orange County that would lower the voting requirement to a simple majority. The measure is narrowly crafted to apply only to the Gypsum Canyon site and would expire in four years.

If the Umberg measure is approved and signed into law, the current 3-2 sentiment of the supervisors would carry the day, breaking a simmering stalemate and allowing the county to begin condemnation negotiations with the Irvine Co.

“After years of arguing, bickering and inaction amongst Orange County’s Board of Supervisors . . . Orange County’s jail situation has reached a crisis point,” Umberg testified, adding that the current Central Jail in Santa Ana is bulging at 146% of capacity.

“As a strong supporter of individual property rights, I wish such legislation did not have to be introduced,” he said. “This is a difficult situation, however, and I see no other alternative.”

Umberg told the committee that Orange County officials--who since 1978 have been operating under a court order to improve jail conditions--have been forced to prematurely release about 186,000 criminals such as “drunk drivers, child molesters, wife beaters, burglars (and) white-collar criminals” over the last four years.

Meanwhile, he said, county officials have paid out more than $1 million to defend themselves against the jail-overcrowding lawsuits, and now even face a legal challenge over the caliber of criminals they release.

Flanking Umberg in support of the bill Wednesday were Assemblyman Nolan Frizzelle (R-Fountain Valley); Santa Ana Councilman Robert L. Richardson, also an aide to Supervisor Stanton; and Santa Ana Police Chief Paul M. Walters.

The lone opposing voice was raised by a lobbyist for the city of Anaheim, which is opposed to the proposed jail and wants to annex the Gypsum Canyon property where the Irvine Co. hopes to build homes.

Michael J. Arnold, the lobbyist, said his client believes that “two members of the Board of Supervisors know the right thing to do and three members are doing the wrong thing,” and that the three have come to Sacramento to get around the condemnation law.

Committee members, however, showed little sympathy. Retorted the committee chairman, Assemblyman Phillip Isenberg (D-Sacramento): Would the city, then, volunteer to join the county as a defendant in the jail suits? The bill passed with minimal discussion.

The Umberg bill represents one prong in a pincers movement by some Orange County officials--notably Sheriff Brad Gates--to make the proposed Gypsum Canyon jail a reality. Umberg acknowledged earlier this year that he had consulted with Gates while drawing up the bill, which surprised and angered other Orange County officials such as Vasquez.

While Umberg labors in Sacramento to clear the political hurdles for the jail, Gates is barnstorming at home to surmount the financial obstacles by urging voters to approve a half-cent sales tax for the jail on May 14.

If approved, Measure J would raise an average $343 million a year over three decades to build and operate the 6,720-bed jail and other criminal justice facilities. County estimates say the first phase of the jail would cost about $500 million, with expansion to its full capacity raising the price to an estimated $1 billion--an amount that includes land acquisition. That’s not counting operating costs of up to $135 million a year.

Gates, chairman of the Committee to Keep Criminals in Jail, is leading the campaign in favor of Measure J. Anaheim Mayor Fred Hunter, acting on behalf of Taxpayers Against J, is leading the opposition, which is strongest among homeowners in Anaheim Hills and Yorba Linda.