Spitzer Suggests Anaheim Hills Jail Study

Opening a new front in the battle over jail construction, Supervisor Todd Spitzer suggested Tuesday that the county study building a jail along the Eastern tollway near Anaheim Hills, to the immediate criticism of local residents and other county officials.

Spitzer proposed the idea with hopes of derailing the county’s plans to convert the James A. Musick Branch Jail in Irvine from a minimum-security jail into a maximum-security facility capable of holding up to 7,000 inmates.

“I’m trying to test the public’s acceptability to this idea,” said Spitzer. “I’m just opening up that site as a possible location to initiate discussion.”

The concept of a jail in the remote, sparsely populated Windy Ridge area sparked the interest of Sheriff-elect Mike Carona, who like Spitzer opposes expansion of the Musick jail. Carona said he was not familiar with the exact location of Spitzer’s Anaheim Hills site but said he would welcome a chance to discuss it.

Spitzer’s suggestion didn’t stop a majority on the Board of Supervisors from moving ahead with approving the environmental impact report on the Musick expansion, which is strongly supported by outgoing Sheriff Brad Gates. However, a final vote on expansion of the jail will not come until January, after Carona takes office.

Spitzer and Supervisor Tom Wilson argued that the unincorporated area known as East Orange makes more sense for a new jail than the more densely populated areas around Musick.

“Lake Forest and Irvine are likely to become the heart and brain of Orange County,” Spitzer said. “Why would we want to use 100 prime acres in the middle of this economic engine for a jail?”

But officials in Orange and Anaheim immediately questioned the logic of placing a new jail in their backyard.

“It doesn’t sound like it’s a very well-thought-out suggestion,” said Anaheim Mayor Tom Daly. “Generally speaking, I believe that it’s far more cost effective to expand existing jail facilities than to build new ones. Also generally speaking, jail facilities should be built adjacent to court facilities.”

Orange Mayor Joanne Coontz said her city is already facing a major expansion of the Theo Lacy Branch Jail on The City Drive and that the idea of building a second county jail in the area was news to her.

“This is something that needs some study and consideration for the city of Orange and its future,” she said.

The new jail site is a few miles south of Gypsum Canyon, where officials spent four years and $7.3 million in a failed bid to locate a jail. The Gypsum Canyon plan generated heated opposition from the surrounding community, and eventually it lost support among county supervisors.

Supervisor William G. Steiner said Tuesday it would be a waste to spend more time considering a jail in the area.

“So much energy, money and time has been spent in the county to try to find a new jail, and it’s resulted in a blind alley every time,” Steiner said.

For more than two decades, the county has struggled with ways to relieve overcrowding at county jails that results in the early release of inmates. Gates sees expanding Musick as one way to reduce overcrowding, but nearby residents strongly oppose the idea.

Gates acknowledged that while nobody wants a jail in his backyard, Lake Forest and Irvine residents need to take responsibility for helping solve the overcrowding problem.

“It is critical that this county finds a solution,” he said. “We just can’t continue waiting to try to solve this problem.”

But Carona disagrees with Gates and said the county needs to conduct studies to determine whether a massive new jail is actually needed.

“I will not spend half a billion dollars of taxpayer dollars on a new jail that we may not need,” said Carona.

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Jail Tale

Supervisor Todd Spitzer suggested a new jail near Anaheim Hills. But the full board decided to go ahead with plans to expand the James A. Musick Branch Jail in Irvine.