This Monday, however, the Redwood City Council will talk about the jail site planning process and push the county again to reconsider how a second correctional facility in its jurisdiction will impact the surrounding neighborhood.

“The recommendation by no means it will be the site. There must be further investigation and a feasibility study,” said Sheriff’s Lt. Deborah Bazan of the planning unit. “But we applied the criteria and the motor pool site rose to the top.”

The motor pool and its adjacent land has long been the preferred location although the Sheriff’s Office held a series of community workshops to cull ideas and created a list of seven most viable, four potentially viable sites and seven non-viable sites throughout San Mateo County.

Redwood City houses both the 3.5-acre motor pool and the former Dodge dealership at 640 Veterans Blvd., which headed the viable list. The motor pool lot technically belongs to the county and wouldn’t require any agreements or purchases with Redwood City. Being near the current facility, which will remain in use, and the courthouse is also a benefit, according to proponents.

Proximity means inmates won’t be a risk to public safety during transportation and the county won’t need to spend money to duplicate services such as kitchen and laundry, according to the planning unit’s findings.

The land around the motor pool, too, also offers the possibility of future expansion if necessary. The Dodge dealership site is being considered for eminent domain by the Sequoia Union High School District for use as a vocational training and buses.

Redwood City’s fight against housing a jail has been quite public and began before the county even issued its short list. The existing women’s correctional facility on Maple Street had long been considered a strong possibility for rebuilding but the county tipped its hand about a neighboring location when it went into confidential negotiations for the former Cemex site without first asking or informing the City Council. Munks said the rush was to make a deadline for $100 million in state construction money that was ultimately offered, but declined, because it came with too many strings attached.

The Cemex plan eventually went south with the owner pulling out of negotiations, but bruised feelings and a grassroots opposition group remained.

Mayor Rosanne Foust and Planning Commissioner Nancy Radcliffe, who represents the city on the Jail Planning Advisory Committee, could not be reached for comment on the motor pool recommendation.

However, the Redwood City Council Monday night is scheduled to discuss a staff report on location information, how to reach out to the community and next steps for its participation in the jail planning process.

Both Redwood City sites would be poor locations for a new jail and the county should add the extra criteria of a site not adversely impacting downtown, neighborhoods or planned communities, according to the staff report by Planning Manager Jill Ekas and City Manager Peter Ingram.

Specifically, city staff argue the motor pool is a bad choice because another jail in compatible with the new general plan and downtown precise plan. The site is also immediately adjacent to two high-density housing sites and is a valuable piece of property that could better generate revenue for the county, according to Peter Ingram’s Sept. 2 report.

Ingram also said the site is in a redevelopment area, “does not create a positive gateway image” for the city and jeopardizes the child care center. The Maguire Correctional Facility already creates adverse conditions and another jail will add to that, the report finds.

Bazan said those concerns and the criteria suggested by the council were considered. The possibility of a jail hurting the community will be revisited through further community outreach, she said.

“Again, this is just a recommendation at this point,” she said.

There is no question the county needs a new jail. Maguire is rated for 688 but pushes up to 1,000 at times while the 90-inmate women’s facility also hovers around 120.

The county has closed several correctional facilities, for a loss of 380 beds, which has compounded the overcrowding problem. The medium-security facility in La Honda has been modernized with a capacity for 116 inmates although it has not yet been used.

La Honda’s remote location makes it problematic much as motor pool proponents say putting a new jail elsewhere would be.

Once a site is settled, Bazan expects to spend at least a year in design. Nothing is on the drawing board yet but she said the planning unit is already looking at innovations to lessen the impact such as video visitation with inmates, minimizing the number of visitors and traffic to the new facility.

As currently conceptualized, the new facility will be five stories with capacity for between 650 and 750 beds and programming like re-entry services, job skills and mental health treatment. Much of those have been pushed out of the current buildings on Winslow Street by the need to house inmates anywhere they fit, from cells to classrooms. Those awaiting trial or deemed more serious offenders will still be housed at Maguire, connected to the Hall of Justice, for easy transfer to court. All releases and bookings will also be done at Maguire.

The project is currently ballparked between $130 million and $140 million.

Munks has said he hopes to have a site formally chosen by next March, followed by approval of the Board of Supervisors and groundbreaking in 2011.  

The Redwood City Council meets 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21 at City Hall, 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City.

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102.