Irvine Remains Neutral on Musick Jail Expansion : Government: Lake Forest sought city’s support in opposing any increased use of minimum-security facility.

Rejecting a request from neighboring Lake Forest, the City Council on Tuesday decided to remain neutral on the possible expansion of a nearby county branch jail.

The Irvine council had received a letter this month from Lake Forest asking it to join in opposing any increased use of the James A. Musick Branch Jail. But on a recommendation from Irvine City Manager Paul O. Brady Jr., the council declined.

“We’ve always had a position of neutrality with regards to the Musick facility, and we wanted to continue that policy,” Councilman William A. (Art) Bloomer said.

The minimum-security jail is owned by the county and sits on 100 acres of unincorporated land between Irvine and Lake Forest, just east of El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

Lake Forest officials began worrying last month that the county’s decade-long search for more jail beds could result in expansion at Musick, including housing higher-risk inmates there, City Councilwoman Ann Van Haun said Tuesday. A Lake Forest residential community borders the Musick jail.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors prompted the worry on Jan. 29 when it considered plans to add 900 beds to the Theo Lacy Branch Jail in Orange, Van Haun said. The Musick branch jail also was mentioned in a county report on jail expansion, but supervisors rejected expansion at that site as too costly--an estimated $31 million to add less than 300 beds.

“That gave us some relief,” Van Haun said. “But at this point in time, we’re still concerned about the long-term solutions” to jail overcrowding.

Overcrowding at Orange County jails requires the Orange County Sheriff’s Department to release more than 800 inmates each week before their time is served in order to clear space for the newly arrested. The department has also begun housing more serious offenders at Theo Lacy and the James A. Musick branch jails, Sheriff Brad Gates told county supervisors last month.

“There’s always the threat over us that they may want to change the way the Musick facility is operated,” Van Haun said. “We want, of course, to keep it as a minimum-security prison.”

The fear of Musick changing over time prompted the Lake Forest City Council to send letters to its neighboring cities to ask them to get involved. Since the letter did not request specific action, Mission Viejo officials have written back asking Lake Forest to clarify what action it proposes, City Manager Fred Sorsabal said Tuesday.

Musick will continue to be a “contender” in the county’s long-term search for more jail beds, said Marilyn Brewer, an aide to Supervisor Thomas F. Riley. The Board of Supervisors told county staff to examine all county property for possible jail expansion after the board rejected a proposed jail site in Gypsum Canyon, Brewer said.

“Musick is on a large acreage and it is county owned,” she said. “If you read the signs, it has the potential of being a longer-term solution.”

But with the board ruling out expansion at Musick for the next few years, Lake Forest’s attempt to create opposition is premature, Brewer said. “It only supports the mentality of this county of ‘not in my back yard.’ ” she said.