Wilson, Lowery Want U.S. to Free Land Near Post Office for County Jail

Hoping to help alleviate overcrowding in San Diego County jails, Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.) and Rep. Bill Lowery (R-San Diego) on Monday asked Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger to consider transferring a 22-acre Air Force parking lot to the county for a jail site.

In a three-page letter to Weinberger, Wilson and Lowery argued that the site currently is “blighted and significantly underutilized” and could be used more effectively for a jail. The property now is used as a parking lot for General Dynamics employees and a storage area for miscellaneous government equipment.

Noting that neither the Air Force nor Navy has identified specific plans for the site, adjacent to the U.S. Post Office on Midway Drive, Wilson and Lowery urged Weinberger to expedite a decision on its long-term use and possible transfer--at no expense--to the county.

Wilson and Lowery described the proposed transfer as a no-lose proposition in which the land could be given to the county for use as a jail without jeopardizing defense work at the Air Force’s Plant 19, which adjoins the parking lot.

Long-Range Plan

As part of a long-range, $500-million criminal justice program, county officials have previously discussed building a 500-to-1,000-bed jail on the Midway site by 1991.

However, in order for the county to acquire the property, the Department of Defense must first declare the site to be surplus property not needed by any federal agency. While such “excess review” processes often are lengthy, Wilson and Lowery asked Weinberger to push for a decision by Oct. 1 to clear the way for the county’s use of certain state funds for the project.

Emphasizing that U.S. Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III is aware of the “explosive state of affairs” involving the lack of adequate jail space in San Diego, Wilson and Lowery said in the letter that they believe that Meese would assist in the rapid transfer of the land to the county once defense officials relinquish title.

General Dynamics officials have said that they have no objections to the land being declared excess, provided that seven acres of the 22-acre tract are reserved for the company’s parking and storage needs, according to Wilson aide Bob Hudson.

The remaining 15 acres would be “more than adequate” for a county jail, according to Rich Robinson, director of the county’s special projects office.

Temporary Jail in Works

Responding to the county’s longstanding jail overcrowding problem, the Board of Supervisors last week approved construction of a temporary 600-bed men’s jail in Santee that is expected to be built late this year--an action viewed as no more than an interim solution to long-range problems caused by an inmate population in six county jails being nearly double capacity.

The long-term remedy, county officials stress, lies in the construction of an 850-bed jail on East Otay Mesa by 1989 and another permanent facility on the Midway site.

County officials covet the Air Force property because of its proximity to downtown--and, as a result, to the courts and police headquarters. In addition, the fact that the site is within a commercial area could preclude intense community opposition such as that encountered by the supervisors over a Santee jail.

“Right now, the property is in a ‘Sanford and Son’ kind of condition with a bunch of broken-down vehicles . . . so anything that goes up would be an improvement,” county administrator Robinson said. “It’s a way to solve a problem without creating any new ones.”