Expansion of Theo Lacy Is Urged to Ease Jail Crowding : Report: Analysis indicates the county branch option is the least costly. But it is certain to be opposed by Orange, which would see the inmate population double.

SANTA ANA — Faced with a worsening shortage of jail beds, the county should consider spending millions of dollars to dramatically expand the Theo Lacy Branch Jail in Orange, a long-awaited county report recommended Friday.

The Theo Lacy option, which eventually could nearly double the number of inmates at the site, was billed by the staff who prepared the recommendation as the cheapest short-term solution for the county jail crisis.

The report, which will be considered by the Board of Supervisors, rejected as too costly the idea of easing the jail crunch by expanding the James A. Musick Branch Jail in El Toro. But the plan appears sure to spark opposition from the city of Orange.

“This is very distressing news. I’m extremely disappointed,” Orange City Councilwoman Joanne Coontz said when told of the plan.

Theo Lacy, at 501 The City Drive, sits on “a major commercial area for the city of Orange, and there’s a lot of development planned there,” she said. “The existence of a jail doesn’t help at all. We’ve had problems with visitors to the jail and people released from there. It’s a shame.”

Supervisor Don R. Roth, who represents Orange, had not read the report in depth Friday night, but promised he would “oppose this with all my might.” He predicted legal action by the city of Orange to block any further expansion at Theo Lacy.

“All I can say is that I’m extremely unhappy that the county would even consider breaching a promise we’ve made to the city of Orange . . . to cap the inmate population,” Roth said.

Despite Roth’s steadfast opposition, the idea of expanding Theo Lacy by at least 358 beds seems likely to garner support from a majority of the five supervisors, political observers said.

Supervisor Thomas F. Riley said of the report: “This alternative seems to be appropriate. . . . This sounds like a very sensible solution, and we have to move forward. . . . This gives us some breathing room.”

The county’s prolonged jail dilemma was thrown into further confusion last October when support for a new county jail in Gypsum Canyon collapsed after two severe setbacks to the plan within a matter of weeks.

First, a new report drastically escalated the price of operating the canyon jail, bringing it up to $119 million a year. Then, Gov. Pete Wilson vetoed a state bill that would have made it easier for the county to condemn the canyon land.

As a result, the board was forced to formally abandon the hope of building a jail in Gypsum Canyon last Oct. 23, after four years of rancorous debate and $7.3 million in exploratory costs.

That left the county with an average of 4,400 inmates in a system designed to hold 3,203. About 850 inmates are released early each week to make room for more serious offenders, while hundreds more sleep regularly in military-style tents that were set up as a temporary remedy.

Under the current projection, the shortage of beds could grow to 5,295 in the county within 15 years.

The Theo Lacy proposal does not solve the problem.

“This deals with our immediate needs,” said county Budget Director Ronald S. Rubino. “It does not solve our long-term problems.”

The report released Friday, which grew out of the collapse of the Gypsum Canyon plan, was a multi-department effort, with participation by officials with the Sheriff’s Department, the district attorney, probation, the county administrative office and other county agencies.

Theo Lacy is currently undergoing expansion expected to bring its total beds from 808 to 1,326.

But the staff report recommends that the county spend up to $487,000 in start-up costs--with annual costs of up to $4.5 million--to add another 358 beds. This would be done through double-bunking what are now single cells at the Theo Lacy site.

By comparison, a 272-bed expansion of the Musick facility near Irvine would have a first-time cost of $31 million. And it would take longer to complete than the double-bunking option at Theo Lacy, the report says in recommending against that option.

“In the short term, Musick is out,” said County Administrative Officer Ernie Schneider.

The report also urges the county to begin new environmental reviews with an eye toward building two new barracks at the Theo Lacy facility that could hold up to 544 more inmates, which could bring the total inmate population to 2,228. That would cost $9.1 million initially, with annual costs of up to $6 million for operations, the report estimates.

But the report does not specifically address one key concern among city of Orange officials and neighbors: Would the facility be upgraded to house maximum-security inmates? Officials say they aren’t sure yet.

County staff believes the Theo Lacy expansion to be the cheapest short-term solution; adding a bunk to the existing beds, for instance, would only cost an estimated $1,360 per bed, officials say.

But even at Theo Lacy, the financial commitment is daunting.

If the county expands the jail to meet short-term needs, that would mean 20% of its budget would go toward the jails. And fully half of all its new growth revenue would be serving that end.

‘That,” said Budget Director Rubino, “is a big expense.”