City of Santee Opposes Proposal to Expand Las Colinas Detention Facility

KPBS | By KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published May 13, 2008 at 9:17 AM PDT

This story was published more than 16 years ago.

Why is the City of Santee opposed to a proposal to expand the Las Colinas Detention Facility? Host Tom Fudge speaks to a reporter for the San Diego Union-Tribune and a representative from the City of

Tom Fudge: The State of California has agreed to invest $100 million in downtown Santee. That's the good news. The bad news, as far as the Santee mayor and council are concerned, is the money is being provided to expand Las Colinas Detention Facility. The women's jail, which is owned and run by San Diego County, was built in the '60s. It's considered dilapidated and overcrowded.

The planned expansion would add about 400 beds and increase the size of the jail's Santee footprint from 16 acres to 45 acres. An environmental impact report looked at putting the new jail at several other sites, including Otay Mesa and Campo. But it concluded that Santee is still the best place for it. Santee officials say they disagree.

Become a KPBS sponsor

Guest

Michele Clock , staff writer for the San Diego Union-Tribune .
Brian Jones , Santee city councilman.