13 Low-Income Duplexes OKd in Wilmington : Development: Habitat for Humanity gets planners’ approval for the project on a former railroad site where some residents had wanted a park.

Despite heated opposition from a group of Wilmington homeowners, the city Planning Commission approved Habitat for Humanity’s plan Thursday to build 26 homes for low-income families on an abandoned railroad site.

Habitat, the nonprofit housing provider, won approval to use the property for building 13 duplexes on a two-acre site between Young and Denni streets, although a group of neighbors say they would prefer to use the greenbelt for a park.

If approved by the Los Angeles City Council, the $1-million project will be the organization’s largest housing development in Los Angeles. Earlier this year, Habitat constructed 21 homes on Willowbrook Street in Watts as part of its annual “blitz build,” which included former President Jimmy Carter as a volunteer.

Much of the meeting dealt with confusion over just who owns the land and how it should be used.

In 1977, the area was donated to the city by the Southern Pacific railroad and was designated for use as a recreational open space. But the city never accepted that donation and it remained railroad property.

In August, the City Council voted to change the area’s use from recreational to residential. That move cleared the way for Habitat to acquire and develop the land.

“This is not a legal issue,” said Anthony Zamora, vice president of the Planning Commission. “It may be a moral issue, but legally this area can’t be a park.”

Skip Baldwin, a member of the Wilmington Citizens Committee, said, “We actively support affordable housing, no doubt about it. What we’re against is using the greenbelt area for any other use than it was deeded to the city of L.A. for. They promised us a park.”

Dave Neary, president of Habitat for Humanity’s South Bay chapter, says residents he spoke to at a neighborhood community meeting supported the project and believed a park would be underutilized. Neary said many Wilmington residents complained about gang problems in the greenbelt area and welcomed the idea of construction on the site.

“People think we just build houses, but we also build communities and empowerment,” Neary said. “If a neighborhood is worried about gangs, we want to turn that concept around and help them take charge of their community. This will be good for Wilmington.”

Still, Wilmington Homeowners Assn. President Jo Ann Wysocki presented a petition with signatures from at least 35 neighbors who oppose the development because they contend it would be harmful to the environment. Wysocki said the area’s water supply, sewer facilities, traffic and parking would be adversely affected.

“Habitat for Humanity is completely out of control,” said Wysocki, who has lived in Wilmington since 1941. “The site is just too small for so many houses. Why not give us a park that could be enjoyed by hundreds of people instead?”

Members of the Wilmington Homeowners Assn. argued that there is no shortage of affordable housing in their city and have proposed that Habitat renovate existing houses in Wilmington and leave the site alone.

Councilman Rudy Svorinich Jr., who supports the Habitat project, offered a compromise that would combine the Habitat homes with a landscaped park.

But the Planning Commission sided with Wilmington residents such as Christina Hernandez, who would be eligible for one of the homes, which would have average monthly mortgage payments of $400.

“I have four daughters and my husband is a truck driver,” Hernandez said. “We need these homes in Wilmington. With my family income, this is the only type of home I can afford.”