Developer wins ruling on height of homes
By Inspector12
-A group of residents yesterday lost the first round of a court battle to force a developer to lower the height of luxury

homes being built in Leucadia. In a preliminary ruling… The uniquely original New Home Builders NewsBlog …

Encinitas, CA. -”A group of residents yesterday lost the first round of a court battle to force a developer to lower the height of luxury homes being built in Leucadia. In a preliminary ruling yesterday, Vista Superior Court Judge Thomas Nugent denied an injunction sought by Leucadia Cares, which represents 100 residents, against Carlsbad-based developer Barratt American (BDVE)…The homes range from 3,000 to 5,000 square feet and are priced at $1.7 million. Half of the homes have been built. The injunction targets the half not yet under construction. The injunction was filed in April to stop construction preparation work in hopes of forcing the builder to reduce the height of the houses to the city’s 26-foot height limit. Leucadia Cares argued that Barratt American is measuring its homes from the top of the building pads, making the overall height of the houses 5 feet more than the limit. The group said the height should be measured from the bottom of the pad…Yesterday, the judge sided with the builder and the city, which also was named as a defendant for giving Barratt American permission to build the homes…The judge further wrote that Leucadia Cares failed to show that the residents would suffer irreparable harm if the injunction were denied. On the other hand, the builder would be saddled with increased construction costs if the injunction were granted…Ranson said his group will try again in the final hearing to prove that the city has broken its own law by allowing the builder to violate the city’s height limit.”