7 Announce Candidacy for Council : Santa Clarita: Filing opens today for the April 14 election, in which two seats are open. Contenders have until Feb. 11 to return their paperwork.

Today is the first day to file papers to run for the Santa Clarita City Council, and seven people have already announced their candidacies.

Six challengers and one incumbent so far have declared their candidacies in the April 14 election for two council seats.

Councilwoman Jan Heidt is running for reelection, but Councilman Howard (Buck) McKeon is not seeking a second term because he is running for the House of Representatives.

The hottest issue in the nascent race is growth management, with candidates debating the merits of a proposed initiative capping growth that will also appear on the April ballot. The as-yet unnumbered measure would allow only 475 new housing units to be built in the city each year for the next decade.

Four of the candidates support the measure, two are opposed and one said he will announce his position at a news conference Saturday.

The municipal election has attracted an eclectic group of candidates, ranging from parks commissioners to a high school teacher to a free-lance tour director.

Heidt, a local businesswoman, was elected to the council in 1987. She opposes the slow-growth measure but has cast more votes against proposed residential and commercial projects than any other council member, according to a city report.

Heidt has also expressed support for strict limits on hillside development and has proposed that the city refrain from entering into agreements with developers that last longer than seven years.

Developers generally seek the agreements to give themselves more time to finance a project and make infrastructure improvements, or to gain exemptions from future laws, such as the proposed growth cap.

The other candidates include:

* Ken Dean, a local businessman who supports the slow-growth measure and wants the city to help fund local schools.

* Linda Storli, a high school teacher and parks commissioner appointed by former Councilman Dennis Koontz. Storli opposes the slow-growth measure and wants the city to immediately begin building a proposed $35-million civic center.

* Vera Johnson, a retired preschool director and co-founder of the Santa Clarita Transportation Commission, a local civic group active in transportation issues. Johnson supports the slow-growth measure and wants the city to wait five to 10 years before building the civic center.

Dean, Storli and Johnson all ran unsuccessfully for the council in 1990.

* Lee Schramling, a marketing consultant. He supports the slow-growth measure and wants the city to hire an education coordinator to work with local schools to create joint programs, such as after-school activities.

* John Simas, a tour director. He supports the slow-growth measure and said he will not accept any financial contributions “because I’m not going to allow anyone to influence me to do anything.”

* Mike Lyons, a salesman and parks commissioner appointed by Heidt. He declined in an interview Wednesday to state his position on any issue until his news conference at 11 a.m. Saturday in Newhall Park.

The filing period ends Feb. 11. Candidates must collect a minimum of 20 nominating signatures and pay at least $850 to get their ballot statements published, City Clerk Donna Grindey said.

It costs an extra $100 to have the ballot statement printed in Spanish, which is optional, she said.