Furlough Proposal Stirs Foes

A plan to revive a halfway house program for low-risk jail inmates on work furlough has alarmed residents of the neighborhood that would house the facility.

If the Board of Supervisors signs off on the proposal, a 13-unit apartment building on a sliver of unincorporated county land between Fountain Valley and the Santa Ana River will be converted to a halfway house for 50 work furlough inmates. The program would be administered by the Orange County Probation Department in conjunction with the nonprofit Orange County Youth and Family Services. The facility would mirror those in similar programs that were cut during the county’s bankruptcy.

The proposal won narrow approval from the Orange County Planning Commission this week despite heated objections from neighbors and Fountain Valley officials.

Opponents worry about the safety of having the facility in their neighborhood and, in particular, about inmates walking past several school bus stops to reach public buses that will take them to their jobs.

“We’re not against the program. We’re against the location of the site,” said Fountain Valley resident Veronica Ka, 56, who spearheaded the neighborhood’s efforts to persuade planning commissioners to reject the plan.

Probation department officials, however, say the inmates would be supervised on their way to the bus stops at times when children are present. And officials emphasize that only nonviolent offenders--such as those jailed for failure to pay child support, writing bad checks, drunk driving or repeated unpaid traffic tickets--would be eligible for the furlough program.

But that hasn’t reassured residents. Ka, who has lived in her house 20 years, said neighbors are planning a meeting to discuss their options and are working closely with Fountain Valley officials to garner support.

The City Council will take up the matter March 7 and could appeal the plan to the Board of Supervisors. No date has been set for the supervisors to vote on the project.

“From the city’s standpoint, we don’t believe [the property is] properly zoned to take a furlough house,” Fountain Valley City Manger Raymond Kromer said. “It’s residentially zoned.”

Owners of a nearby apartment building also will file an appeal with the county next week on the grounds that they will lose tenants if the plans go forward.

Kromer said residents are concerned about their property values, their children’s safety and the increased traffic the facility could generate.

“We feel if we’re not going to do anything [to stop it], that would jeopardize the children,” Ka said.

Ka’s children are grown, but at an apartment building next door to the proposed site, dozens of children could be seen in the courtyard. Several parents and grandparents in the building said they were deeply concerned about having their children near convicts.

“I am mucho worried,” said Claudio Postigo, clutching her baby and mixing English and Spanish. “I think it’s not good because it would not set a good example for the children.”

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Current residents of the building, a dilapidated 13-unit apartment complex at 12192 Edinger Ave., would be forced to move. Developer Douglas Godbe, who is in the process of purchasing the property, would be required to renovate and improve the building.

But residents of the adjacent apartment complexes and of the larger single-family homes just across Edinger say they object to the idea of setting up what they believe equates to a jail in their neighborhood. Before the 3-2 Planning Commission vote this week, residents had gathered more than 300 signatures for a petition against the project.

Apartment resident and father Ezequiel Velez, 27, expressed concern for the families that would be displaced by the project as well as those that would remain nearby.

“They are going to take those families. Where do they think they’re going to live?” he said. “You don’t want dangerous people as your neighbors.”

“They’re represented as low-risk individuals, but I don’t care how you cut it, they’re still criminals,” said Jerry Bordelon, 66, who lives in a tract of single-family homes a few blocks north of the proposed site and who spoke in opposition to the plan before the county Planning Commission. “I don’t care how great it looks. It’s in my neighborhood.”

The county’s two previous work furlough locations, in Anaheim and Buena Park, provided 110 beds. They were closed in 1994 when the Probation Department saw its budget slashed in the wake of the county’s bankruptcy. The program is being revived as a way to alleviate jail overcrowding.

John Bowater, division director for the Probation Department, said only inmates who are considered the lowest risk would be allowed to participate in the program. The facility would be monitored and staffed 24 hours a day, and residents would be monitored at their jobs as well. Each time a resident reentered the building, he would be given a Breathalyzer test to screen for alcohol use.

Inmates accepted into the program “really want to be there rather than being in jail, so they’re on their best behavior,” Bowater said.

Probation officials also contend that the program would benefit the community because participants are able to be productive members of society--at less cost to the county than jail inmates.

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“They cook for themselves, they pay for food themselves, and they pay for the program,” Bowater said. “They’re supporting their families. We take their checks and make sure their child support is paid. We make sure their family is supported.”

Bowater said he understands the neighbors’ trepidation. “I really do. But we’ll be a good neighbor,” he said. “We have been a good neighbor in the past. We’ve run these types of facilities before. We will clean up the place. It will look a thousand times better than it does now.

“We have a stake in the community. It’s very important for us to run this effectively.”

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New to the Neighborhood

The Orange County Planning Commission recently approved a plan to move work-release inmates into an apartment complex in an unincorporated part of the county near Fountain Valley. The half-way house is within a mile of 11 schools and three parks.

Fitz Int.

Newhope Elem.

Monroe Elem.

Monroe Park

Northcutt Elem.

Los Amigos H.S.

Mountain View H.S.

Mitchell Preschool

Centennial Regional Park

Valley H.S.

Diamond Elem.

Jackson Elem.

Windsor Elem.

Russell Elem.