IRVINE
Time is short for Irvine city officials in their scramble to help the Orange County Sheriff’s Department find a site for a new maximum-security jail to avoid an expansion of the James A. Musick Branch Jail, located between Irvine and Lake Forest.
A handful of potential locations are under scrutiny by the city staff, which is charged with completing a detailed yet speedy analysis of each potential site.
“Because we’re up against the Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative, we need to do something in the next month or two,” Councilman Greg Smith said.
The initiative would require a two-thirds countywide vote to build or expand any jail of 1,000 or more beds within half a mile of homes.
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