PANEL OKS SHELTER OPPONENTS WILL APPEAL COMMISSION'S DECISION TO COUNCIL.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - The fight over a proposed homeless shelter in a Canyon Country strip mall will move to the City Council after the city Planning Commission approved the plan over heated objections from the public.

The commission approved the Santa Clarita Community Development Corp.'s proposal for a 3,300-square-foot shelter between an art gallery and an auto parts store Wednesday night, although all the current tenants of the shopping center and several nearby residents said it would ruin their businesses and threaten their property values.

``It is already a difficult proposition to get people to come out to Sierra Highway,'' said Dave Joseph, the owner of B&R Gallery. ``This will only make it worse.''

However, while acknowledging that the proposed location Is not ideal, proponents of the shelter said it Is the best site they could find in an exhaustive search of the Santa Clarita Valley.

``Without this shelter, as many as 20 people a night will be on the street,'' said Mark Young, a member of the board of directors of the shelter. ``We must fill this need.''

Opponents of the plan to open the 38-bed, year-round shelter on Sierra Highway near Sierra Cross Road said they planned to appeal the commission's 3-1 vote to the Santa Clarita City Council. Commission Chairman Dennis Ostrom was absent, and Commissioner Rick Winsman voted against the shelter site.

``These are our fellow citizens, and we need to help them,'' Winsman said. ``This is an area in our community that is already perceived as the dumping ground for Santa Clarita. There are people trying to change that perception, but this will make that more difficult, if not impossible.''

Officials from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, which funds the Santa Clarita shelter, said the conditional use permit approved by the Planning Commission is one of the most restrictive permits in the county.

If the Planning Commission ruling is ratified by the City Council, the city will hold a hearing six months after the shelter opens to ensure that the facility is meeting all of the requirements imposed by the permit.

Commissioners vowed to concentrate on the effect of the shelter on parking at the strip mall and the area's septic system as well as any complaints of loitering and calls to the police.

``All we have to do is continue to do what we have been doing for three years, and we are confident we will meet these restrictions,'' Young said. ``Just look at our track record.''

The Santa Clarita Homeless Shelter has been open during the winter for the past three years near the city's sports complex because of city plans to open a community center.

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Map: Proposed homeless shelter (see text)