O.C. Irresponsible on Issue of Jails

The County of Orange continues to show arrogance toward its residents and cities. The latest example was the Orange County Planning Commission hearing on the controversial maximum-security jail proposed for James A. Musick facility site.

Commissioners slam-dunked recommending that the Board of Supervisors approve what has been concluded by the site’s neighboring public officials to be a flawed and inadequate environmental impact report. There was no meaningful deliberation or discussion of the true impacts on the surrounding environment.

The comments and requests for additional review time from Lake Forest and Irvine officials were ignored by the commission majority. A county-paid planning consultant displayed a total disdain for the impacts of the jail on the environment of local residents and the two neighboring cities.

The commission majority only dribbled meaningless comments. There was no evaluative discussion, only the rubber stamping of a report in order to maintain a predetermined county staff timeline.

When will government leaders and staff learn that there needs to be purposeful dialogue on matters that impact the lives, safety and economic well-being of the governed. The spirit of the process is just as important as the letter of the law. County government seems to have learned nothing from the experiences of the last two years. The process is flawed. The conclusion is flawed.

County and city officials need to work cooperatively to craft a solution that addresses the needs of all parties of interest instead of placing one agency in an adversarial role against another, the end result of which will only be litigation.

ROBERT M. BROWER

Irvine

* Sheriff Brad Gates quoted me correctly in his Oct. 6 letter. I do not believe that the taxpayer should support a system that does not punish adequately or correct sufficiently.

I think that everyone agrees that jail expansion is necessary, even with our failed system. However, attention must be given to making the system work or the county will eventually go bankrupt with endless jail construction, expansion and increasing operational costs.

Jail construction or expansion is acceptable in remote locations but not at sites like the James A. Musick Branch Jail, which is only 700 feet from existing homes and families. My concerns are shared by many: The South Orange County Assn. of Realtors passed a resolution opposing jails in close proximity to homes, specifically the Musick expansion. The city of Lake Forest passed a similar resolution, and that was unanimously ratified by the League of Cities.

The state passed legislation prohibiting jails near amusement parks, apparently to stop the sheriff from building a jail near Disneyland. The local reuse authority for the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station rejected a request from Gates for land to build a jail on the base. Every city government in Orange County has opposed the construction or expansion of a county jail in their jurisdiction. Was all of this jail opposition based on lack of information and emotion? The jail expansion plan is born of desperation and frustration and it would have a profound negative impact on our community.

MARCEL J. FERNANDEZ

Chairman

Jail Alternatives To Musick

Lake Forest