PITCHESS HOMELESS SITE EYED COUNTY CONSIDERING PARKING LOT FOR WINTER SHELTER.

Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer

CASTAIC - Los Angeles County is considering hosting a temporary winter homeless shelter at Pitchess Detention Center's parking lot, a move that could offer a sense of stability for the embattled relief program, officials said Thursday.

The site - a large asphalt lot east of Interstate 5 that also holds the jail's visitors center - seemed suitable, said Paul Novak, planning deputy for county Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich.

It already has water and electricity connections, and it's behind the jail's gates - far removed from local residents and potential security concerns that doomed past locations.

The proposed site is expected to face public scrutiny at the Castaic Town Council meeting in September, Novak said. The shelter, financed by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, would open from Dec. 1 to March 15 between dusk and dawn. The Los Angeles city-county joint agency began accepting contract proposals from local shelter operators Wednesday.

Antonovich, whose 5th District includes the Santa Clarita Valley, took the lead to secure a spot for a regional winter shelter this year in a proposed deal with the city of Santa Clarita to host it in alternating years.

``We're delighted to be working together with the city in finding a location that's appropriate, and finding one early in the process,'' Novak said. ``We look forward to discussing this with the Castaic community in the upcoming town council meeting.''

Santa Clarita Mayor Cameron Smyth said the city is engaged to fulfill its part of the bargain.

``The city certainly is in agreement with the plan that has been established,'' he said. ``For the 2006-07 time period, the city will come through in deciding a location.''

The Santa Clarita Community Development Corp. operated the shelter for the past eight winters, though it never had a permanent facility. Past attempts by both the nonprofit and the city to find a permanent site have failed.

The shelter was staged at the Via Princessa Metrolink station in Canyon Country between 2002 and 2004 until complaints from nearby residents persuaded the City Council to close it - a move that unleashed a wave of criticism from homeless advocates and Los Angeles leaders.

A last-minute offer from the county to host it at a maintenance yard on Centre Pointe Parkway salvaged the program last winter - the 40-bed facility opened nearly a month late on Christmas Eve.

The county Sheriff's Department considered hosting homeless services in 2002, when Sheriff Lee Baca proposed a center outside the Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles. The facility - in the shadow of the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, would house up to 200 people and offer substance-abuse treatment and job training.

For the SCCDC, the prime challenge of the Pitchess site appears to be transportation. Getting the homeless to the site would require some planning, and perhaps a larger bus than years past, board member Andy Pattantyus said.

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com