County OKs Sewer Permits for Santee Jail Expansion

Setting the stage for a legal showdown with the City of Santee, the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday obtained sewer service permits that clear the way for plans to build a temporary men’s jail adjacent to the Las Colinas women’s jail.

The supervisors, serving in their capacity as the board of directors of the Lakeside Sanitation District, approved the sewer permits necessary to proceed with construction of a 600-bed facility that county officials argue is needed to alleviate a serious overcrowding problem in county jails.

The measure was approved by a 3-1 vote, with Supervisor George Bailey, whose district includes Santee, in opposition and Supervisor Brian Bilbray absent.

The Las Colinas jail is within the boundaries of the Padre Dam Municipal Water District. However, Santee blocked the county’s attempts to secure the needed sewer hookups from that body, prompting the county to look instead to the Lakeside District.

By Tuesday’s action, the supervisors reaffirmed a policy position they adopted last year over the strenuous objections of Santee officials and residents, who characterize the temporary jail as a “barbed-wire concentration camp” near schools and housing that will disrupt redevelopment plans for the city’s downtown.

In a last-ditch effort to block the county’s plans, Santee officials plan to file a lawsuit today aimed at halting the project.

“This is going to be settled in the courts, not at the county building,” Santee spokesman Bill Adams said.

Noting that the county’s own environmental impact report calls the temporary jail “incompatible with surrounding land uses,” Santee leaders have also questioned whether the county adequately examined possible alternative sites for the facility.

County officials, however, have downplayed the “incompatible-use” finding by emphasizing that the jail is expected to be in use for less than seven years, until new permanent structures are built. Moreover, while other possible locations have been studied, none could be available for use as quickly and inexpensively as the 371 acres of county-owned land in Santee, county officials say.