Development OK for Arena Area Kills Jail Option : Government: County plan would provide more parking near Anaheim facility.

County supervisors endorsed a plan Tuesday that would begin development of several county-owned properties near the Anaheim Arena, effectively killing the possibility of a new county jail on one seven-acre parcel.

As adopted, the development plan would provide more parking space for the arena, reduce traffic on local streets and begin long-term plans for a possible hotel, office space or retail stores.

At the same time, however, supervisors could not agree on whether to sell the seven-acre site in an attempt to raise badly needed revenue for the cash-strapped county.

The action by the Board of Supervisors represents the first formal acknowledgment that a jail would no longer be feasible on land adjacent to Anaheim’s sports and entertainment complex.

“Construction of a jail next to the Anaheim Arena will not happen in my lifetime,” said Supervisor William G. Steiner, whose district includes the arena and surrounding area.

Supervisor Thomas F. Riley also admitted that a lack of funding and the arena’s presence has all but eliminated the possibility of jail construction on the site.

“I had always felt that the site was a reasonable location, but I don’t see any money available in the immediate future. I think we ought to look at other options.”

In the short term, the county’s action Tuesday promises the addition of 500 parking spaces spread throughout the 45 county-owned acres in the area around the arena. The 18,500-seat arena, which opened June 19, has just 4,500 parking spaces, about 1,500 short of what it needs for an event.

The county plan would allow additional parking on land next to the Santa Ana River now used for flood control. Another action freed 2.7 acres of parking southeast of the arena with the relocation of a vehicle storage company.

Riley joined Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez in opposing any plan to sell the seven acres as an opportunity for a quick infusion of cash, even though some have estimated its value at more than $8 million.

Until Tuesday, county officials had never formally renounced plans to build the 1,500-bed jail at the site for an estimated cost of $150 million. Anaheim successfully sued the county in 1988 over an environmental study used to justify the jail, an action that helped block its construction.

“I have serious reservations about selling this property,” Vasquez said. “I don’t know where people are getting the notion that a one-time infusion of cash would be better than a possible 20-year lease arrangement with a hotel complex or some other venture. I don’t think you can take something like that off the table.”

Currently, the county leases the seven-acre parcel to the city of Anaheim as a parking lot for about $100,000 per year. Steiner contended it is possible to increase that income by selling the property and investing the proceeds for an estimated return between $2 million and $3 million per year.

“I do feel this should be looked at,” Steiner said. “We’re looking at much more revenue by turning the land into a cash asset.”