Cities Oppose Plan for Sheriff’s Substation

City officials in Irvine and Lake Forest are criticizing a proposal by the Sheriff’s Department to begin planning a new substation next to the James A. Musick Branch Jail. They fear the move would be a precursor to an expansion of the Irvine jail.

The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to decide next week whether to hire an architecture and engineering firm to complete designs for the Saddleback Sheriff’s Station, which would serve more than 70,000 residents in Lake Forest, Rancho Santa Margarita and surrounding areas.

Irvine City Manager Paul Brady said it make sense to hold off on planning the station until a lawsuit against jail expansion is settled and the supervisors make a final decision on the jail expansion.

Sheriff Brad Gates wants to expand Musick from a low-security honor farm with 1,000 inmates to a maximum-security jail capable of holding up to 7,000 inmates.

Nearby residents strongly oppose the proposal, fearing it would reduce property values and make their neighborhoods unsafe. The two cities have filed a lawsuit in an attempt to derail the project.

Assistant Sheriff Dennis LaDucer said there is no need to delay the station because it is an independent project that will move forward regardless of what happens to the Musick jail.

“Even if this whole jail plan goes away, we still have a need for this station,” LaDucer said.

The Saddleback station will cost about $4 million to build and will be paid for through developer fees, LaDucer said.