HOMELESS PLAN SOUGHT $36,000 EXPECTED TO BE OFFERED TO ANY AGENCY WITH A SOLUTION TO PROBLEM.

Byline: Susan Abram Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - The City Council is expected on Tuesday to approve $36,000 to award to any nonprofit organization to draw up a successful plan to assist Santa Clarita's homeless, especially during the winter months.

Proposals will be rated by how creative the program is to address the needs of the homeless, if the organization is capable of providing the services, and the ability of the nonprofit organization to commit matching funds to implement the programs.

The City Council agreed in principle last April to make the money available after an attempt to find a permanent winter shelter was unsuccessful.

Councilman Frank Ferry, who had searched for a site for five months earlier this year, said too many residents and business owners objected to a temporary winter shelter near their properties. Of the 18 sites he looked at, five were possibilities, but there was too much concern among local residents.

Ferry had said residents were supportive of more services for the homeless, but did not want shelters near their homes. Ferry made the offer to assist the Santa Clarita Community Development Corp. in finding a spot late last year after the City Council approved a temporary shelter once again at the Via Princessa Metrolink station over protests from nearby residents.

Since 1997, the local organization has looked at about 30 sites, none of which was suitable to be used each year. The organization had hoped last year that the city would approve a five-year lease at the Metrolink station, which would allow the group to buy or rent the modular buildings for a shelter at the site. Money then could be raised more easily for a permanent home, organizers had said. But council members and the city's Planning Commission once again hesitated, hoping instead to look for another site.

Families make up about half of the city's homeless population, according to a survey conducted a year ago by the City Council's Homeless Advisory Task Force. Officials estimate that about 10,000 people in Santa Clarita are at risk of becoming homeless.

Ferry offered to help the organization, but had said that the city could no longer be in the position to find a site. The council voted unanimously to draft a request for a proposal, hoping a nonprofit agency will help out.

Susan Abram, [phone]

susan.abram(at)dailynews.com

IF YOU GO

The Santa Clarita City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 23920 Valencia Blvd.

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