Santa Clarita Picks Rail Station Site : Transportation: Funding is a possible problem for the parcel near Saugus Speedway. The council continues to look at 2 other locations.

The Santa Clarita City Council has selected a spot for a commuter railroad station, despite the financial problems it presents.

The council unanimously chose a privately owned parcel on Soledad Canyon Road east of Saugus Speedway as the proposed terminus of a 29.5-mile commuter line between Santa Clarita and Union Station in Los Angeles. Service is to begin in October, 1992, using existing tracks that cross the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys.

The property, known as the Bermite site because the Bermite Powder Co. formerly operated an explosives factory there, is ideal because it is centrally located and would not require much grading or create significant traffic problems, city officials said.

But the city must overcome several hurdles before it can build the $5-million station.

The primary problem is that the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission does not own the right to use about 1.5 miles of track leading to the site and would have to spend up to $1.1 million to purchase the right from Southern Pacific Transportation Co.

“We don’t have problems with the Bermite site--it’s just a matter of where the money would come from,” said David Solow, commission manager of commuter rail.

The commission is one of several agencies competing for shrinking state and federal transportation funds, Solow said. The state had agreed to sell about $10 million in bonds for transit projects, but may only offer about $2-million worth because of its budget woes, he said.

The City Council directed its staff to study two other privately owned sites in case the Bermite property proves too costly.

One, on San Fernando Road and 13th Street, might also suit the city’s needs because it is flat and does not contain many oak trees, which are protected by a local ordinance. But residents on nearby Placerita Canyon Road objected at a council meeting Tuesday to locating the station there, saying it would cause traffic problems.

Placerita Canyon Road is “22 feet wide--the width of an alley--and it already has 10,000 cars a day,” said Stephen Schafhausen, president of the Placerita Canyon Property Owners Assn.

He said association members would use “all our resources--and we’ve got plenty of resources”--to fight selection of the site unless the city builds a road to divert traffic.

John E. Medina, city director of public works, said a bypass would cost millions of dollars and suggested instead that converting a bike lane on Soledad Canyon Road to motor vehicle use would help relieve congestion on Placerita Canyon Road. A new bike lane would be built along the Santa Clara River, he said.

The other site is west of Sierra Highway and south of Eternal Valley Memorial Park. Medina cautioned that the site has many oak trees and would require substantial grading. The city would have to widen and extend Pine Street about half a mile, he added.

But Alan Cameron, who represents owner Mark Gates, said Gates is willing to donate the land for the station and help with the cost of building it. Gates wants to build a business park nearby and would be able to attract more customers if the station were built on his property, Cameron said.