Last year, Sheriff Munks indicated that he needed a new jail to address over-crowding. With the courts and the Sheriff’s office in downtown Redwood City, the argument was made that the new jail needed to be downtown. The preferred site was the County Motorpool lot on Brewster.

After several years of community planning and civic investment in our downtown, the addition of a new jail to our downtown was not the type of urban housing any of us on the Council wants. Under the leadership of Mayor Ira, and with the full support of the Council, an alternative site has been identified — on Chemical Way, across the street from our police station.

Local government is more nimble and can move quickly. A lot of effort was spent in working with 4 separate property owners to purchase their properties for a fair price. Sales contracts were written, and the City executed the agreements with everyone’s knowledge and awareness that these contracts would be transferred to the County. Sheriff Munks and the Board of Supervisors have agreed that the Chemical Way site is a viable site for a new jail, and they have endorsed this site at their October 19 meeting.

This is just the beginning of the process to confirm an alternative site for a new jail. The sale of the properties cannot be finalized until the County completes the environmental review process. The downtown site will likely be analyzed as an alternative site during the EIR process, so we must continue to be vigilant. If a new jail is needed and is required to be in Redwood City, the Chemical Way site is the best site.

— Jeff Gee, Redwood City Councilperson