HomeMy WebLinkAbout6020_CCv0001.pdf RESOLUTION NO. 6020
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF REDLANDS MAKING CERTAIN FINDINGS
REGARDING, AND SUPPORTING THE CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF, A NEW
MULTIPLEX COURTHOUSE IN DOWNTOWN SAN BERNARDINO
WHEREAS,the City Council of the City of Redlands finds that several seismic studies have
been commissioned regarding the San Bernardino County Central Courthouse; and
WHEREAS,the studies have generally found that the performance of the 1926 constructed
Central Courthouse in a major earthquake(magnitude 8.0 and greater)is expected to be questionable
to poor, and that during a minor earthquake(magnitude 5.0 and below),the Courthouse is expected
to be damaged but repairable; and
WHEREAS, a Final Report for the San Bernardino County Court System Needs
Assessment/Program Statement and Consolidated Courts Master Plan has been prepared by the
Rosser/Carter Goble Team (the"Rosser Report"); and
WHEREAS, the Council finds that the Central Courthouse is inadequate and cannot
accommodate the needs of our growing community and the resulting need for more judicial services
in the county seat; and
WHEREAS, the most recent study of judicial needs has San Bernardino County slated for
20 to 22 new judgeships by 2006; and
WHEREAS, the total number of filings in the Central Courthouse in 1996-97 was 114,942,
the projected filings for 2010 is 166,975 and in 2020 is 204,498; and
WHEREAS, there are not now, nor will there be, enough courtrooms to match the
community's projected increased needs; and
WHEREAS, with the advent of additional new judges over the next 5-10 years, there will
not be any courtrooms available to house the new judges, and as the judicial demand increases, so
does the demand for related staff members who cannot be housed in the current Courthouse; and
WHEREAS,the current Courthouse is unsafe because there is no central location for security
screening, and the ability to separate prisoners from victims,witnesses,jurors, staff and the public
is virtually non-existent; and.
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WHEREAS,a new courthouse would incorporate the latest security advances to protect the
public, victims,witnesses,jurors,judges, staff and prisoners; and
WHEREAS,the Council finds that the lack of space in the current Courthouse does not allow
for auxiliary and support agencies to be housed together and, therefore, such agencies are spread
throughout the community; and
WHEREAS,the construction of a new multiplex Courthouse would provide adequate space
not only for judges,but for the District Attorney,the Public Defender,Probation Services,and Court
Administration to better provide efficiency, economies of scale, court services and access for the
community; and
WHEREAS, the Council finds that, although the retrofitting of the current Courthouse is
necessary to preserve a building of significant historical value, the retrofitting of the current
Courthouse before building a new multiplex Courthouse would be ineffective and insufficient to
meet the needs of the community; and
WHEREAS, retrofitting the current Courthouse would only solve the seismic problem and
not the problems regarding the lack of space for the public and the housing of additional judicial
officers and their staff(in 1998,an estimated 2,651 people per day came to the Central Courthouse),
the housing of auxiliary agencies to better serve the public,and the incorporation of the best security
measures; and
WHEREAS, the City Council supports the construction and operation of a new multiplex
Central Courthouse in downtown San Bernardino to meet the increased requirement for additional
judgeships, to improve security, to take advantage of technological and architectural advances, to
improve efficiency, to increase judicial and public safety by improving the method of prisoner
transportation, and to improve and expand public access to judicial services by housing auxiliary
agencies in one facility thereby increasing the economies of scale,as well as the eventual retrofit and
replacement of facilities that are seismically unsafe to preserve the historical components of the 1926
Central Courthouse.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Redlands
hereby requests as follows:
Section 1. That the Board of Supervisors for the County of San Bernardino revisit the
February 1999 Final Report for the San Bernardino County Court System Needs
Assessment/Program Statement and Consolidated Courts Master Plan prepared by the Rosser/Carter
Goble Team (at a cost to taxpayers of$500,000) and commence the process of constructing a new
County Courthouse by allocating sufficient funds for that purpose, commencing with a Request for
Proposals for the appropriate architectural and engineering plans from which a new Courthouse may
be constructed sufficient to accommodate the judicial needs of the County, Court Administration,
District Attorney, Public Defender, and Probation Services for this century.
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Section 2. That the Board of Supervisors instruct the County lobbyists to work with our State
Legislators and Congressional Representatives to secure such funding as may be available from
Federal and State governments to assist in the funding for the construction of a new multiplex
Courthouse in the City of San Bernardino, the County Seat of San Bernardino County.
ADOPTED, SIGNED AND APPROVED this 19`' day of February, 2002.
7e- -;VL�
Mayor of the City of Redlands
Attest:
City erk �/o
1,Lorrie Poyzer,City Clerk of the City of Redlands,hereby certify that the foregoing resolution was
adopted by the City Council at a regular meeting thereof held on the 19`' day of February 2002 by
the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Peppler, Gilbreath, George, Harrison; Mayor Haws
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
City Cl
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URCA''\Res 6020