San Diego Jail Expansion Plans At Stake
The plans to expand a womens’ jail in San Diego County CA is causing waves in the community. This report from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
When county officials chose a site in Santee for a girls’ rehabilitation center in the 1960s, the community was dotted with farmland and new neighborhoods were starting to sprout. Today, Las Colinas Detention Facility – the only all-women jail in the county – sits in the middle of suburbia. It’s surrounded by office buildings, shopping centers and some of the only undeveloped land left in the center of the East County city. Some residents say the jail no longer belongs in what they consider their thriving community. And they definitely don’t want one that would be nearly three times bigger.
County supervisors on Wednesday will consider approving an estimated $308.5 million plan to expand the jail and certify a report spelling out the environmental effects of the project. County officials plan to pay for the project with a $100 million state grant and county funds … Santee officials and several residents are clear on their position. They say a larger jail would hurt the city’s image and economic progress, decrease property values and possibly increase traffic and crime. “We have five Starbucks now,” said Kathy Box of Santee, including one just over the border in unincorporated El Cajon. “Our city is doing well. The people who go there are doing well, and things are moving forward. Las Colinas sets us back.” Mayor Randy Voepel said a jail would spread across too much land that is too valuable for a jail …
The tan, one-story jail sits on 16 acres, and some residents said they lived in the city for years before realizing it was there. The new jail would take up 45 acres. City officials have spent nearly half a million dollars fighting the jail expansion. The city lost a lawsuit against the county over its handling of the state grant and has recently appealed. City officials have also hired outside companies to help, including a marketing firm to create Twitter and Facebook accounts to lobby against the project …
The county has been studying the replacement of Las Colinas for the past decade, and at least eight county grand jury reports have recommended building a new jail. Sheriff’s officials said they have spent more than $4 million on repairs and upgrades since 2003. Conditions are also crowded. The jail houses far more beds than state standards dictate. Up to three women share cells, and some dormitories sleep 32 women in rows of closely placed bunk beds.
There is more background detail in the full article.
Uncategorized