Anaheim : Discussions Due Today on Jail Site Selection

Anaheim City Council members are scheduled to hold private discussions today on what action, if any, they will take in the wake of the county’s decision to earmark an Anaheim site for a new jail.

During an otherwise routine meeting, the council will discuss in closed session the selection of the site at Douglass Road and Katella Avenue, Public Information Officer Sheri Erlewine said.

A week ago, the county Board of Supervisors designated the location as a primary site to be studied for a 1,500-bed county jail. The county has been under pressure from a federal court to improve jail conditions.

Early last week, when the council had not yet been assured that an environmental review would be conducted before final action on site selection, City Atty. Jack White and a majority of the council said they would sue the county if Anaheim were selected. But the county’s move to conduct an environmental impact report, as called for by state law, may have taken much of the thunder from any possible lawsuit before the conclusion of the environmental report, officials said.

Regardless, city officials said that the county’s decisions a week ago, first to designate the Anaheim location as a primary site and second to conduct an environmental impact report--with a primary site already pinpointed--were not the best procedure. The city officials fear that the county may not be open-minded about other sites for the new jail.