The Old Newhall Jail as it appeared in the 1960s.

Manny Santana, owner of the historic Newhall Jail building on Spruce Street, is scheduled to be arraigned in criminal court Wednesday on charges he has failed to maintain his property, Santana and Santa Clarita Development Director Paul Brotzman confirmed Tuesday.

Santana’s building has stood vacant since the Antique Flower Garden moved out in January 2008. Santana and the city have had a running dispute ever since.

The historic jail – Newhall’s first – was built in 1906. Given its history, city officials decided to work around it when the city laid out plans for the future Newhall Library and bought up the rest of the property in the block. Today the old jailhouse is a little island in the middle of a construction zone.

The city claims Santana has ignored repeated notices of code violations, and filed criminal charges to force compliance.

Santana has claimed the city’s construction project is inflicting damage on his property and shaking the building apart.

The two sides will go before a judge Wednesday.