2 Santa Clarita City Council Members Disqualified in Vote : Growth: Jan Heidt and Howard (Buck) McKeon may not participate in a decision on the hillside ordinance because of their interest in a local bank.

Two Santa Clarita City Council members were disqualified Thursday from voting on a controversial hillside preservation ordinance because they have a financial stake in a local bank that finances development in hilly areas.

The disqualification of Jan Heidt and Howard (Buck) McKeon leaves uncertain the future of the ordinance, which would strictly limit development on the city’s many hillsides and ridgelines.

City Atty. Carl Newton announced at a study session Thursday evening that McKeon and Heidt had conflicts of interest because of their links to Valencia National Bank. McKeon is on the board of directors of the bank, and Heidt and her husband own more than $10,000 worth of stock in it.

McKeon’s conflict of interest was brought to Newton’s attention by local slow-growth activist Bob Lathrop, after Lathrop saw a newspaper ad for Valencia National Bank. The January ad said: “Whether you desire a sprawling ranch house . . . equestrian estate . . . or Victorian manor perched in the hills, the bank can help you turn your dream into reality.” The ad also said the bank had financed construction of more than 50 local houses.

Lathrop said he was unaware that Heidt, who like himself is a proponent of strict controls on hillside development, owns stock in the bank, a fact that Newton discovered Thursday when he reviewed council members’ statements of assets for other conflicts of interest.

Heidt, who stomped angrily out of the study session after Newton’s announcement, later said she will try to sell the stock before the March 10 vote that is scheduled on the ordinance.

If Heidt’s husband agrees to sell their stock--at a loss, at current prices--the council could be deadlocked 2 to 2 on the hillside ordinance. Mayor Jill Klajic has sided with Heidt in calling for strict development controls, and council members Carl Boyer III and Jo Anne Darcy have supported developers who want less stringent regulations.

However, city planners said Thursday night that Heidt had proposed a compromise between the council factions. Under Heidt’s proposal, developers who wanted exceptions from strict controls would be required to submit their projects to a design review committee.

But if the Heidts do not sell the stock, the council would probably end up compromising on a weaker ordinance than the one city planners originally proposed, because an ordinance must be approved by three votes to become law.

Under the original proposal, developers would be forced to meet strict criteria before being permitted to build on hillsides with grades of 10% or more.