A drift-boat fisherman in the distance travels the Sacramento River where just past the left bank the county wants to build an Alternative Custody Campus and possible jail in south Redding. Photo by Mike Chapman for A News Cafe
A proposed alternative custody facility that could see the construction of a new River Ranch Neighborhood Association close to the Sacramento River is facing a promised legal challenge over environmental concerns.
The River Ranch Neighborhood Association is following through with its prior pledge of litigation by taking the city of Redding and Shasta County to court over Sheriff Michael Johnson’s proposal.
In prior hearings before the county Board of Supervisors and city Planning Commission, Johnson described his hopes of freeing up existing jail space by expanding a current alternative custody program as well as creating a Community Reentry Program for men.
The sheriff also made a case for earmarking land for a future jail to replace the overcrowded one that was built 42 years ago in downtown Redding.
A city of Redding map shows the location of a proposed Alternative Custody facility and possible jail that would be built near the Sacramento River and next to the River Ranch neighborhood in south Redding.
A city of Redding map shows the roughly triangular property where Shasta County wants to put an alternative campus facility that could include a new jail on the right side. The city-owned and county-leased land sits between Eastside Road and the Sacramento River, with the 96-home River Ranch neighborhood on the right boundary.
The property, consisting of two adjacent parcels in south Redding, sits at 7251 Eastside Road between Highway 273 to the west and the Sacramento River to the east. The city’s wastewater treatment plant sits to the northwest and nearby is the Haven Humane Society.
Immediately bordering the property to the southeast is the River Ranch neighborhood with its 96 homes. Seventeen of those homes sit in prime locations next to the river.
City-owned property outlined in red shows where Shasta County is proposing an Alternative Custody Campus and possible future jail next to the River Ranch neighborhood and Sacramento River.
Residents there and other critics have raised a number of points on why the project will harm the neighborhood and conflict with wildlife in the riparian setting. Some also argue that while the sheriff’s proposal has merits, the facility should go somewhere else.
Environmental studies sought
As proposed, about half of the 90-acre, city-owned and county-leased property would be set aside for the pair of day programs with the other half envisioned as a future jail.
The court action, called a petition for a writ of mandate that was filed Feb. 27, should come as no surprise. The association put the city on notice in a Jan. 7 letter that it would fight the “corrections and rehabilitation campus.”
Neighborhood resident Ashley Wayman, who started a petition drive on Change.org to oppose the project, also announced during a city Planning Commission in January that the association had hired legal counsel.
The writ was filed by attorney Jason Flanders of the Sacramento environmental law firm of Aqua Terra Aeris Law Group. It gets its first review in a hearing scheduled for Monday, April 27, in Shasta County Superior Court.
The eight-page document seeks an order from the court to have the city and county to halt the project right now.
Flanders asks a judge to “immediately suspend all activities in furtherance of the project,” rescind previous governmental approvals and undertake a full environmental impact report or otherwise comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Shasta County officials already recognize they’ll need to go through the CEQA process for the project.
Sharing the environmental fact-finding burden with Redding could be a costly proposition though, considering the city leased the riverside property, deemed as city surplus, to the county rent-free with a future $1 option to purchase.
Shasta County already has signed a $192,000 contract for architectural and engineering services for the alternative custody campus with Nichols, Melburg & Rossetto Architects of Redding.
‘Not the best use’
Chris Enriquez, a member of the association’s board of directors, lives on River Crest Drive about 1,000 feet from the project’s boundary and feels strongly an alternative custody facility and jail don’t belong next to their quiet neighborhood.
“It’s just not the best use of that land,” he said.
He said the association hopes that by going to court and raising environmental concerns, the city will rescind the lease.
“Because, in our opinion, that would be proper – that’s what we’re looking for,” Enriquez said.
“We would like to see the city cancel the lease. And if the city wants to continue with that process, require them to pay for the EIR and to complete the EIR before they lease it to the county, because that’s the process that should have happened in the first place,” he added.
The city may be pinning its legal hopes on one part of the lease that states the county will be the lead agency to fulfill CEQA requirements.
Included in the 2025 agreement between the City Council and Board of Supervisors is a future option for the county to buy the land for $1 but only after an environmental report is approved and the alternative custody program is in operation for one year.
Incredibly, the city points to a staff memo in the lease agreement that states the property “is not located in an area of concern, and the sale has no potential to have a significant effect on the environment.”
“Environmental Review Staff has reviewed the activity and has determined that it is categorically exempt from environmental review under the CEQA Guidelines, pursuant to Section 15312 – Surplus Government Property Sales,” the document says.
Sheriff gives details
The sheriff gave a rundown to county supervisors and the public about what the concept entails on Jan. 14, 2025.
Shasta County Sheriff Michael Johnson talks about his proposed Alternative Custody Campus and possible future jail during the Redding Planning Commission meeting on Jan. 13, 2026. Photo by Mike Chapman for A News Cafe.
The present-day Alternative Custody Program on Breslauer Way lets offenders who qualify complete their sentences through electronic monitoring using ankle bracelets. Johnson says that program needs to be expanded with additional services designed for low-level and nonviolent offenders, who would live at home and report to the programs.
In addition, the proposed community reentry program would provide rehabilitation opportunities for men who are serving out their sentences.
“What I feel we need to do is put in something immediately where we can send offenders to and hold them accountable, and that immediate fix is sending them to an Alternative Custody Program,” Johnson said more than a year ago.
The project could offer mental health and drug rehab services as well as vocational classes to prepare participants for jobs in the culinary and auto repair fields.
An existing garden off Breslauer Way also could be expanded.
Johnson said he could institute a woodcutting program where local timber companies would bring in logs that offenders could cut and provide a way for seniors and veterans for heating.
“We don’t run specific programs that teach them a trade or a skill and that’s where I want to go with this eventually,” the sheriff said.
Johnson said the county doesn’t have the money needed to build a new jail or expand the current one, but he foresees money someday becoming available from state or federal sources.
“I guarantee you folks, whether it’s one, three, five, 10 years down the road, money’s going to come available,” he said. “We as a community have to plan for that, have the site all laid out and ready to go when that eventually happens.”
Other concerns
One motivation for River Ranch residents is to keep their long-established neighborhood safe, which has many second- and third-generation owners.
Enriquez worries that criminals who choose to skip alternative custody programs at the site will be free to roam.
“So they can show up and then within minutes or hours decide to leave for the day and there’s no repercussions for them doing such,” he said. “That allows those people to wander about as they wish, and our neighborhood is right next door. So I don’t appreciate that.”
Enriquez fears a 1,200-bed jail could be a magnet leading to other problems.
“Oftentimes those families and friends of (inmates) are not of the highest moral compass, so to speak, and they’re going to want to live close to their families and those that are incarcerated. And so that could bring crime,” he said.
Neighborhood resident Shane Burrill, whose residence is on River Crest Drive bordering the bottom end of the as yet undeveloped property, echoed his neighbor’s concerns.
“If you build alternative custody … those people are just free to leave and go whichever way they want. My daughter can’t be in the pool, you know what I mean? She can’t be in her own house because what if somebody comes and rapes her, you know?” he speculated.
Burrill is having a pool house built overlooking the river, which he planned to do before learning of the county’s ideas.
Other community concerns focus on declining property values and impacts to wildlife and the environment.
The court filing notes the River Ranch subdivision sits between “two beautiful open spaces.” One is the open field where the correctional facility is proposed and the other is the Kapusta Open Space toward the south.
Shasta County is proposing to build an Alternative Custody Campus on property at 7251 Eastside Road in south Redding, which could include a future jail. Photo by Mike Chapman for A News Cafe.
The court document describes the tree-lined area as having a rich bird habitat that includes hawks, geese, osprey, bald eagles and wild turkeys. Mountain lions, endangered elderberry beetles, deer, otters, beavers also make their home there.
Burrill says another concern is how construction would be difficult considering the high water-saturation level of the area’s wetlands
“If I wanted to build a shed out there, they’d laugh at you. Right now, if you came out here and brought your rubber boots with you, you would be up to your knees in water through this whole project,” Burrill said this month.
Burrill also takes issue with the county sugar-coating the project by calling it an Alternative Custody Campus. He believes the proposed jail would be more like a prison.
“Hey, is it a campus or is it a prison? Which is it? … So the whole thing is bullshit,” he said.
The Fly Shop weighs in
Burrill says an alternative custody facility and jail would be an eyesore for anglers and other river users, many of whom come from out of the area and boost the economy.
“It’s the worst use of riverfront property. And there’s probably, I’m not kidding you, 50 to 100 fly-fishing (drift) boats that go through here a day, and nobody would want to look at that,” he said.
Mike Michalak, owner of The Fly Shop and resident of the River Ranch neighborhood, stands next to a neighbor’s pool house and swimming pool that’s being built next to a county-proposed Alternative Custody Campus near the Sacramento River in south Redding. Photo by Mike Chapman for A News Cafe.
Mike Michalak, owner of The Fly Shop in Redding, is another neighborhood resident who has opinions. He wrote a letter to the editor to A News Cafe giving reasons why the project location is a terrible idea.
“People don’t realize how many people come to Redding to fish,” said Michalak, who offers fishing guides for hire and an international travel division as part of his operation. He said The Fly Shop is the largest outfitter on the Sacramento River.
“We keep getting away from the real issue and the real issue is, is this the best use of this property? No,” he said.
“Building a jail, building an incarceration center on a nearly mile-long shoulder of the Sacramento River is insane. This is not prudent use of the property and the city of Redding should be chastised for having done this,” he said. “Is this the legacy that the city of Redding wants to look at?”
Michalak says The Fly Shop has built up an email list with around 30,000 names.
“Those are people that come to Redding. … many of whom come to Redding at least once a year,” he said. “I’m considering sending out an email to all of those people and telling them about this stupid idea. … They don’t want to see that,” Michalak said.
Alternative sites?
Environmental impact reports typically analyze alternative project sites and Burrill said the city-owned Stillwater Business Park should be in the running.
“The bottom line is take Stillwater. If you think it’s so fucking great, go put it there,” he said. There’s a million other places that you could put it.”
In his Jan. 14, 2025, presentation to the Board of Supervisors, Sheriff Johnson said he and former Redding City Manager Barry Tippin considered property the city wasn’t using that could accommodate the project.
One was a 20-acre piece of land next to the Redding Sports Park on Abernathy Lane. Another candidate was 40 acres at the old Enterprise dump and transfer station.
However, Johnson said he thought the Eastside Road location by the river was the best option.
“I looked at this property last week,” Johnson said at the time. “It is very attractive – seems very useable.”
There was speculation among his staff that the riverfront property could be a base for river rescues.
“I already have my Office of Emergency Services and boating guys salivating over that. They want to be able to run rescue operations off of there if we were lucky enough to obtain something like this,” Johnson said.
River Ranch neighborhood residents David Duke, left, and Katrina Baumann protest Shasta County’s proposed Alternative Custody Campus and possible future jail site before the start of the Redding Planning Commission meeting on Jan. 13, 2026. Photo by Mike Chapman for A News Cafe.
Fast forward to the Planning Commission meeting in January and the sheriff said that wouldn’t happen.
“There’s no sheriff’s boating substation going in there,” he said.
Residents who are closely following the plans say the scope has sometimes shifted since the project was introduced. Johnson has said some commenters have misrepresented what’s being proposed.
A News Cafe was unable to obtain fresh updates from the county due to the pending court hearing.
“Because River Ranch Neighborhood Association v. City of Redding et al. is considered current and ongoing litigation, the county is unable to provide much specific comment at this time surrounding the project,” Shasta County spokesperson Miranda Angel said Friday by email.
What’s old is new
Enriquez of the neighborhood board said the old dump in Enterprise off Old Oregon Trail and former transfer station would be a better location.
“That would be fantastic. … It’s not near any neighborhoods at all. It’s all open space,” he said.
Enriquez said he also came up with an innovative idea that would bring together several Northern California counties to transform the deactivated High Desert State Prison into a regional jail.
“There’s a jail sitting empty in Susanville right now that the state abandoned. You could rehab that jail. You could have a coalition of the North State counties that could operate a jail that’s already existing. Why not do that?” he said.
“It’s already built, all the infrastructure, the buildings, everything is there. You just need to update it possibly. … Siskiyou, Shasta, Modoc, all these counties in the North State could all send their county prisoners there,” he said. “I would think that would save a ton of money,” Enriquez said.
“If there’s a requirement for a court appearance, courts all over the country use Zoom or another form of video conferencing,” he added.
Enriquez suggested the counties could even pool their money to have a third party run it.
Patrick Jones, former Shasta County supervisor and ex-Redding mayor, speaks before the Redding Planning Commission in January 2026. Jones said the county should build a new jail at the site of the old courthouse in downtown Redding and not off Eastside Road. (Screenshot from meeting video)
Meanwhile, former Shasta County supervisor and ex-Redding mayor Patrick Jones pitched his idea for a substitute jail site during the Redding Planning Commission meeting in January.
He argued the best and cheapest spot for a new jail is the former county courthouse on Court Street, near the present jail and across the street from the new courthouse.
“You do have another opportunity to put a jail in a place where people are not going to oppose it,” he told the commissioners during the public hearing.
Jones said he assumes that county-owned former courthouse will be demolished and a parking lot put in its place. He noted that the Board of Supervisors twice recommended that a new jail be built downtown in 2022 and 2023.
“There is no good place for a jail. So put it where it’s least offensive, which is downtown Redding,” Jones said. “On Eastside Road, putting a jail there is the wrong decision and it’ll be wrong for a long time,” he said.
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