Habitat Homes Get Go-Ahead

Encanto residents opposed to the building of seven low-income homes in their community by Habitat for Humanity, a volunteer group including former President Jimmy Carter, were rebuffed Friday in a bid to stop construction.

Superior Court Judge Thomas LaVoy denied a request that work be stopped until the residents’ suit can be heard in August, said attorney Denise Ducheny, who represents the residents.

The action means Habitat for Humanity volunteers can proceed with their plan to begin building the homes Tuesday on top of concrete slabs already in place at the site, at 60th Street and Merlin Drive, Ducheny said.

Encanto residents have objected to the development because no environmental impact report was done before the city approved construction. They say it will harm the neighborhood by clustering poor families on the 1.4-acre plot, which had been considered a neighborhood landmark.

Former San Diego Mayor Edwin M. Capps built his home there in the early 1900s. Two dozen mature Torrey pines, Phoenix palms and pepper trees dot the site, and buildings that the neighbors considered historic have already been torn down, Decheny said.