COUNTYWIDE : Umberg Wants Court Built in Santa Ana

Hoping to keep federal court facilities in his legislative district, Assemblyman Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove) on Monday endorsed Santa Ana as the site for a new federal courthouse for Orange County.

Although a federal courthouse has been temporarily located in Santa Ana’s Civic Center since 1986, the city’s claim to a permanent facility has been challenged by the cities of Irvine and Laguna Niguel.

Based on his experience as an assistant U.S. attorney, Umberg said in a prepared statement that it was important to keep the courts in Santa Ana, the county seat, where other federal offices, the County Jail and the county law library are located.

“To locate a new court facility in any other location within the county would be ridiculous,” he stated. “I have yet to hear a compelling argument from the promoters of either of the two groups promoting alternative sites.”

Umberg added that he would be lobbying Congress to ensure that the new courthouse--expected to cost at least $75 million--is constructed in Santa Ana.

The General Services Administration originally recommended that the courthouse be built on a federally owned, 92-acre site in Laguna Niguel.

Irvine entered the competition by offering a three-acre site at the Irvine Spectrum, a business park owned by the Irvine Co., prompting Santa Ana to offer a five-acre tract in the Civic Center.

Laguna Niguel Mayor Patricia C. Bates said Umberg’s endorsement of Santa Ana was predictable.

“It shows that he’s representing his constituency,” she said.

Irvine city officials could not be reached for comment, but have sought and received the endorsements of some of the county’s major law firms.

The Laguna Niguel mayor took issue with a recent claim by Irvine officials that most attorneys are located near Irvine.

“That’s probably business addresses and not necessarily residential addresses,” Bates said, adding that most of the county’s future growth is expected to occur south of Laguna Niguel, not north toward Irvine.