Gates to Ask Supervisors to Make Canyon Jail No. 1 Priority for Tax

SANTA ANA —  Sheriff Brad Gates will ask the Board of Supervisors today to designate a jail in Gypsum Canyon as the No. 1 priority for revenue from Measure J, the half-cent sales tax initiative on the May 14 ballot.

If the supervisors approve Gates’ request and forward it to the Regional Justice Facilities Commission, the independent body that put the referendum on the ballot, it would for the first time formally link Measure J with the Gypsum Canyon jail site.

The supervisors are scheduled to discuss the issue at their April 16 meeting.

Opponents of a proposed 6,700-bed facility in Gypsum Canyon, mostly residents of nearby Anaheim Hills and Yorba Linda, have criticized the ballot measure because it does not specify what voters would be getting for their money. The measure merely states that revenue raised by the half-cent sales tax increase would be used for regional justice facilities.

Gates’ request comes in the wake of results from the latest Times Orange County Poll suggesting that voters would be more likely to support the tax measure if they knew revenue would go specifically for a jail in Gypsum Canyon.

“The top priority of law enforcement in the County of Orange is the construction and operation of a new Orange County Jail,” Gates said in a letter to the supervisors.

“In order to preserve the feeling of security that residents and visitors to our communities are entitled to, I am asking you to support the Gypsum Canyon Jail as the No. 1 priority. . . .” Gates said.

The sheriff reminded supervisors about the overcrowded conditions in the county’s five-facility jail system, which is rated to accommodate 3,203 inmates but is currently 146% over capacity. “We simply have no more room,” he said.

Gates also said that because of overcrowding in the jails, the county has instituted a program of “cite and release,” wherein 186,000 prisoners have been released since 1987 instead of being jailed after they were booked.

The five-member regional justice commission, which must adopt a master plan to detail what projects the Measure J revenue will fund, has sought proposals from cities and the county.

“The ultimate aim is to get the jail proposal in line for funding if Measure J passes,” said Cheryl Russell, an executive assistant to Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder, the chairwoman of the regional justice commission.

Many observers said they expect the supervisors to vote 3 to 2 on Gates’ request--the same way they have split on other decisions regarding the Gypsum Canyon jail site.

Board Chairman Gaddi H. Vasquez and Supervisor Don R. Roth have both consistently opposed a jail in Gypsum Canyon. The two voted against a resolution supported by the other three supervisors in December to reaffirm Gypsum Canyon as the preferred location for a new jail.

Vasquez said Thursday that he would “absolutely” adhere to his position to oppose a jail in Gypsum Canyon when Gates’ request comes before the board. Roth said he had not seen the request and could not comment on it.

Gates’ letter said the jail would cost $997.2 million to plan and construct, with the first phase of construction being completed within five years.