Countywide : County May Hire Jail-Site Appraiser

County supervisors may hire an appraiser Tuesday to determine the value of land in Gypsum Canyon where a controversial regional jail has been proposed.

If approved, the $85,000 appraisal contract would put the Board of Supervisors one step closer to purchasing the land from its owner, the Irvine Co.

The contract would go to Cedric A. White Jr., an independent real estate appraiser, to determine the value of two parcels in Gypsum Canyon, just east of Anaheim Hills.

Under the contract, White would appraise a 3,200-acre parcel that the Irvine Co. calls Mountain Park, a residential and commercial development that is in the planning stage. He would also appraise 2,512 acres within Mountain Park that has been chosen by the supervisors for a new jail.

Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder, head of the Regional Justice Facilities Commission, said Thursday that she will try to have the appraisals in hand before May 14, when county voters will decide on Measure J, a half-cent sales tax for jail construction. The proposed contract stipulates only that the appraisals must be completed within 120 days.

The appraisals are important to Measure J supporters because opponents have criticized county officials for not providing better information on the cost of purchasing the Gypsum Canyon site and building a jail there.

“I think it’s important that people know what we’d need to go after, not just for the jail, but for any facility we might choose to build with the tax money,� Wieder said.

But getting a appraisal is only one step. So far, officials with the Irvine Co. continue to say publicly that they don’t want to sell the land to the county, although they have met with county officials to discuss the matter and have reported that “meetings with the Irvine Co.’s representatives have been cordial.�