Jail Proposal Adds to Frustration in South County

The Board of Supervisors’ decision to consider building a maximum-security jail a quarter-mile from a Lake Forest residential area was greeted Wednesday with a familiar sense of frustration by some South County leaders, who said it’s just one more example of county government pushing an unpopular project on them.

Already battling the county over a proposal to convert the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station into a commercial airport, South County officials said the jail issue simply adds insult to injury.

“It seems like we are getting the brunt of everything these days,” said Lake Forest Councilwoman Ann Van Haun. “Folks around here feel very strongly that we are not being adequately represented and that our voices aren’t being heard.”

The complaint isn’t new, but both city and county leaders acknowledged that the bad blood has worsened with the recent battles over El Toro and the bankruptcy.

Three of the five supervisorial districts encompass communities north of the El Toro Y, an unofficial demarcation between North and South County. The two other districts represent both South and North County communities, though no supervisor lives south of the Y.

The regional strains are expected to remain sharp in coming months as South County leaders continue to fight against an El Toro airport, while Irvine and perhaps other cities consider quitting the county’s financially ailing library system.

At the same time, South County leaders are pursuing various strategies for gaining more clout in county affairs.

In the weeks following the county’s December 1994 bankruptcy filing, some officials in South County briefly flirted with the idea of seceding from Orange County. Now, they are examining more attainable goals, such as forming a South County league of cities that would allow municipal leaders to formulate policy ideas and speak with a unified South County voice on countywide issues.

“I don’t think the majority of the [Board of Supervisors] understands what’s going on down here,” said Irvine Councilman Greg Smith, who is helping organize the group. “If we unite under a formal structure, we might be more effective.”

South County residents have long been struggling to find their place in the county system. Until the late 1980s, most of the region was unincorporated, with county government handling municipal services such as planning and public safety.

But with rapid growth, many residents became dissatisfied with county control. By 1991, Mission Viejo, Dana Point, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel and Lake Forest had all formed independent cities.

“I must admit that [cityhood] at least has given us a little stronger voice,” Van Haun said. “But it is still limited.”

Laguna Niguel Councilman Mark Goodman is more blunt: “Our brethren in the North County still treat us as the stepchild.”

The overriding frustration centers on the county’s decision to consider building a commercial airport at the El Toro base despite strong objections from nearby residents over noise, pollution and safety.

The mayors of Irvine and Lake Forest have refused to sit on a county panel examining El Toro’s future, because they feel the process is stacked in favor of an airport solution. In North County, the proposal is more popular because many believe the development of a second commercial airport would boost the local economy.

This division was highlighted in March with the battle over Measure S, which would have made it harder for an airport to be built at El Toro. North County residents opposed the measure, while South County voters generally favored it.

But because the southern region makes up only about a third of the county’s total population of 2.6 million, Measure S was easily defeated.

Regional passions were fanned again this week when the Board of Supervisors discussed the possibility of converting the James A. Musick Branch Jail in Irvine from a low-security camp into a full-fledged jail housing some maximum-security inmates.

The board will decide next month whether to conduct an environmental impact report on the proposal. But already, some nearby residents have expressed concerns about safety and questioned the logic of placing a high-security jail so close to homes.

County officials said that all community concerns will be addressed in hearings and studies if the planning process moves forward. They noted that the Musick expansion is far from a certainty and that funding for the project has not be secured.

Others point out that North County cities also made sacrifices for the common county good, including the city of Orange which last year agreed to a major expansion of the Theo Lacy Branch Jail despite concerns about safety.

Caught in the middle of the power struggle is Supervisor Marian Bergeson, who represents much of the south county.

Bergeson has earned praise from some county-government critics. But other South County activists said they felt betrayed by her opposition to Measure S, which Bergeson dismissed as “ballot box planning.”

“I think she is doing a wonderful job in a very difficult situation,” Smith said. “She has to represent a diverse area with differing viewpoints. . . . I think she is one of the bright spots in county government.”

Van Haun also offered support for Bergeson, but noted: “She’s one vote. . . . I don’t know if she can sway the majority of the board.”

For her part, Bergeson expressed optimism that county and city leaders can work together to solve various issue in front of them. She said she plans to meet with Irvine and Lake Forest officials about the jail issue before taking a position on the proposal.

“It’s really like the Mason-Dixon line,” Bergeson said of the north-south divide. “But I think all problems are solvable. Every effort has to be made to prevent [South County] from feeling alienated. They need to feel a strong sense of representation in the process.”