Failure to Sell San Quentin Reflects Deeper Problem | Fox & Hounds Daily: "The fact that a bill by state Senator Jeff Denham to sell San Quentin failed to move forward from the Senate Committee on Public Safety yesterday indicates a deeper problem than the state managing this one piece of property.
Over the years, the state has acquired property as if it were a real estate magnate building an empire. California should not be in the real estate business. It should just hold property related to its essential functions and manage that property wisely.
While a prison is an essential state function, San Quentin is an example of poor management of resources."
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Good point. Why is a piece of real estate with a spectacular ocean view being used as a state prison in the first place? Fred Pilot found this followup story.
4 comments:
It really is very strange to be driving over the Richmond Bridge on the 680 freeway and see the menacing outline of San Quentin looming at you as your first view of the supposed Garden of Eden that is Marin County. Perhaps they could use it for some sort of affordable/mixed-rate development seeing as between George Lucas and the Open Space District they literally don't have any land left.
As much as the state could use the money now, at this point in the real estate cycle perhaps it's best to hold off until the market turns and a higher price could be had.
California should have put the San Quentin land -- which BTW fronts on SF Bay and not the Pacific -- up for sale in 2004-05 when the market was much more favorable and when der Gubenator recommended the state sell some of its assets to help shore up its deficit-ridden finances.
Maybe they could sell the prisons that are on valuable property and increase the density of the population in the existing prisons.
Next, give the convicts an ownership interest in their cell. That way they have an incentive to keep it in good condition.
Then, set up voluntary membership organizations in the prisons (but of course all convicts would have to agree to this, so it would really be mandatory), so the inmates could govern themselves. They could use contractual relationships to do this so it would be enforceable.
I think this idea has potential. All it needs is a name, but I can't come up with one. Anybody have a suggestion?
A nightmare? ;-))
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