WINTER HOMES BULGING PERRY: DON'T DUMP CITY'S HOMELESS ON L.A. SHELTERS.

Byline: Rick Orlov and Eugene Tong Staff Writers

Santa Clarita's plan to shuttle its homeless to Los Angeles drew criticism Wednesday from a Los Angeles councilwoman who accused the smaller city of dumping its problem on L.A.

Los Angeles Councilwoman Jan Perry, who represents the downtown area, with the largest homeless population in the city, lashed out at a plan approved Tuesday night by the Santa Clarita City Council to bus homeless individuals and families to shelters in the San Fernando Valley.

The Santa Clarita council approved $36,000 to help finance a Lutheran Social Services proposal that includes shuttling or supplying motel vouchers for up to 96 homeless from the Santa Clarita Valley for a year. In the past, temporary shelters in Santa Clarita have housed an average of 30 people a night, city spokeswoman Gail Ortiz said.

``The city of Los Angeles cannot be the repository for the entire homeless population of the county,'' Perry said, as she called on the full Los Angeles City Council to urge Santa Clarita to change its policy.

Santa Clarita Mayor Bob Kellar on Wednesday said the city did not intend to export homeless south of the Newhall Pass.

``We do not go out with the intent of burdening any of our neighbors whatsoever,'' he said. ``What we did this year, in grappling with the issue year after year, (is) maybe we'll try something a little different.''

The city is only tapping into Los Angeles County-funded social services, City Manager Ken Pulskamp said.

``That is simply not the case,'' he said. ``If you look at who's responsible to the homeless, it's (Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority). We're using that organization, working with them to provide services to residents of L.A. County. We're part of the county.''

Besides funding from the city of Santa Clarita, the Lutheran group is negotiating with LAHSA - a city-county joint powers authority - and Los Angeles County to assemble the estimated $176,000 for their Santa Clarita program.

Of the three shelters slated to take in the homeless, LAHSA currently funds services at L.A. Family Housing in North Hollywood. The Union Rescue Mission in downtown Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission rely on grants and private donations.

Though willing partners, caring for Santa Clarita's homeless will stretch their resources, shelter officials said. ``It stretches our resources,'' said Jerome Nilssen, project director at L.A. Family Housing. ``We have to hire new personnel. ... Running shelters is simply more costly than city officials seem to recognize.''

The city of Santa Clarita offered $36,000 in matching funds for ``creative homeless services'' in September, just as the City Council - facing opposition from nearby residents - declined to extend the lease for a winter shelter at the Via Princessa Metrolink parking lot.

The Santa Clarita Community Development Corp. has operated the makeshift shelter between December and March - when night temperatures drop to nearly 40 degrees - at sites around the city since 1997. A 2002 survey of the homeless in the Santa Clarita Valley counted 175 - about half of them families.

But repeated attempts over the years to purchase property for a permanent shelter site have failed. City Councilman Frank Ferry, who led a search committee last year, said their efforts were hampered by opposition from residents and businesses.

Kellar, the lone dissenting vote against granting the SCCDC use of the Metrolink station last December, defended the city's position.

``The (homeless request for proposal) didn't say transporting homeless people out of Santa Clarita,'' he said. ``Lutheran Social Services came to us and responded ... and they seem to have a program in place that seems to be the most beneficial in addressing the needs of the few homeless we have in Santa Clarita.''

Kellar said he isn't convinced that caring for the homeless is a city's responsibility, comparing it to health issues handled by the state and county.

Meantime, the Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to provide an extra 400 emergency shelter beds for the homeless during the winter months, supplementing the 800-plus beds available year-round.

Pulskamp said the Lutheran plan allows year-round services for the homeless, and daily transportation back to Santa Clarita.

``The solution is one is inarguably better than we have now,'' Pulskamp said. ``Instead of having service four months of the year, they have services for 12 months of the year. For someone that needs services, I've got to believe that this is a big improvement.

``Some people are trying to put a slant on this that we're shipping them out, which is not the case. A lot of the people who are homeless in Santa Clarita have jobs or go to school here. They just don't have a place to sleep at night.''

But Perry argued the needs of the Santa Clarita Valley's homeless are best served within that area.

``Each city needs to make sure that services are available within their own communities and stop shifting the burden of care to Los Angeles,'' she said. ``These families and individuals deserve to stay in their own communities and build back their lives.''

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com