Santa Clarita Council Votes for Strict Hillside Ordinance : Growth: The unanimous decision places stringent controls on builders. It leaves room for rare exceptions. A final vote will be March 24.

In a surprising show of unity, the Santa Clarita City Council has voted 4 to 0 to tentatively approve a tough hillside preservation ordinance opposed by developers.

Councilman Carl Boyer, whose support for the ordinance wavered after he cast the swing vote in a 3-2 decision earlier this month, ended up voting late Tuesday to approve stringent controls on development of the city’s many hillsides and ridgelines. Councilwoman Jo Anne Darcy reversed her earlier position against the ordinance and also voted for it.

Darcy and Boyer were joined by Mayor Jill Klajic and by Councilwoman Jan Heidt, who was barred from voting last week because she owned stock in a local bank that finances construction loans. Heidt voted for the ordinance after announcing she had sold her shares at a $2,152 loss.

Councilman Howard (Buck) McKeon was barred from voting because he is chairman of the board of Valencia National Bank, the same bank in which Heidt owned stock.

The two council members were told by the city attorney they should not vote to avoid violating state conflict of interest laws.

The ordinance will come up for a final vote at the council meeting March 24.

Boyer said Wednesday that he dropped an effort to make some provisions of the ordinance advisory, instead of mandatory, because “I heard some pretty good arguments against it, so I backed off it.”

Both he and Darcy said they approved the ordinance because the council agreed to make some minor word changes regarding projects that deviate from the regulations. For instance, at Boyer’s request, the council deleted the word “exceptions” and substituted the phrase “innovative applications” in an effort to show developers that the city is willing to be flexible if an extraordinary project is proposed.

Darcy, who voted against the ordinance Feb. 11, saying “business will die” as a result of the new regulations, inserted a paragraph that calls for the council to evaluate projects on a case-by-case basis, “although they do not meet all the precise conditions of this ordinance.”

“I voted for it because it would have passed anyway, and now at least there will be some latitude for creative projects,” she said.

However, the changes are minor and will not weaken the ordinance, which requires developers to meet strict criteria before being able to build on hillsides with grades of 10% or more, said Lynn Harris, Santa Clarita’s deputy city manager in charge of planning.

Mayor Jill Klajic, who voted for the hillside ordinance, accused Darcy after the meeting of being afraid to cast the sole vote against the ordinance once McKeon was disqualified. Political pressure is mounting on Darcy and other council members not to appear soft on growth as the April 14 election approaches, Klajic said.

Klajic is the sole council member to support Measure A, a slow-growth initiative on the April ballot that would allow construction of only 475 units annually in Santa Clarita through 2002.

“Once we get Jo Anne isolated, she’s a goner,” Klajic said of Darcy. “She’s afraid the community will rebel against her, so she’s not about to put her neck on the chopping block. She’s a real political animal.”

In an interview Wednesday, Darcy hotly denied Klajic’s accusations, saying she always supported prohibitions against building atop prominent hillsides and ridgelines, but was concerned that the ordinance was too rigid before some of the language was changed.

“I’m not afraid of anybody, and I never have been in my life,” Darcy said. “That’s a smart crack to make, and the mayor should show some kind of dignity.”

Developers, who organized the Technical Advisory Group to fight the ordinance six months ago, said they were disappointed by the vote. They had proposed that the city adopt regulations similar to those of Los Angeles County, which apply only to hillsides with grades of 25% or more.

“It’s a terrible ordinance,” said Gloria Glenn, vice president of planning for Newhall Land & Farming Co., the area’s biggest developer. She and other builders predicted that the ordinance would reduce the amount of land available for building, drive up the cost of housing and discourage businesses from moving to the city.