SUNTORY COLLECTION

Ramona Sheriff’s substation may relocate while new $41.5M substation is built

Vacant Union Bank building across the street is one possible location being considered

Ramona Sheriff’s substation may relocate while new $41.5M substation is built + ' Main Photo'

The Ramona Sheriff’s substation is looking at moving to temporary quarters while a new substation is built on the same site.

In a Nov. 7 presentation to the Ramona Community Planning Group, Ramona Sheriff’s Lt. John Malan said one of the sites being considered for temporary space is the vacant Union Bank building at 1512 Main St.

That location is across the street from the station, which is at Main and Montecito Road.

The moving process could be lengthy so a timeframe for the relocation is still uncertain, Malan said.

The county Board of Supervisors is expected in March to consider the proposed Ramona Sheriff’s substation capital project, said Holly Porter, a San Diego County Sheriff’s Office support services manager.

So far, the proposed $41.5 million substation at 1424 Montecito Road has been funded at $7 million with County General Purpose Revenue, Porter said. An additional $34.5 million is planned for the project in fiscal year 2025-26, pending the Supervisors’ approval, she said, adding that the supervisors could approve a budget to fund the substation in June 2025.

Early plans for the substation include an 18,000-square-foot building that would be nearly double the size of the existing substation that is located in two 5,000-square-foot buildings. The existing substation will be demolished to make way for the new one.

“The Sheriff’s Office has outgrown the current space, and the Sheriff wants to add a multipurpose room and a community engagement room,” Porter said in an August email. “This will provide flexibility and provide space for deputies to engage with residents.”

Julie GallantThe Ramona Sheriff’s substation could be replaced with a .5 million building pending the county Board of Supervisors’ approval. (Julie Gallant)

The timeframe for occupying a temporary building is uncertain, but one consideration is how extensively the interim building would need to be retrofitted, Malan said.

He said the parking lot in the makeshift space will be challenging. The substation requires at least 120 parking spaces for all of its patrol cars and other vehicles.

The current Ramona Sheriff’s substation was built in the early 1970s and its major systems such as plumbing, electrical and heating, ventilation and air conditioning are at the end of their service life, Porter said.