By Benjamin Nicholls
You might have missed it but, over the last few months, the city’s Planning Department rolled up its sleeves and got busy creating a new neighborhood plan for Hillcrest and Uptown.
The Uptown Community Plan will guide new development and growth in Uptown for decades to come. Last week, city staff presented the most recent proposals for the Uptown plan and guess what? They’re pretty good! I say this because many of the new proposals are ones that have the quiet support of most residents and business people in Hillcrest.
When the plan update process began in 2009, the Hillcrest Business Association (HBA) hosted a series of forums for our members called Hillcrest 2.0. Hundreds of community members attended, along with Planning Department staff, students, City Council staff and many expert speakers.
From that series came a wide variety of ideas and suggestions that were passed onto the Planning Department staff back in 2011. Many of those ideas, developed by a well-attended community process, have now ended up in the proposed community plan.
Most Hillcrest business people and customers report to us that they favor Little Italy-style development for Hillcrest. Our members want more housing, appropriate development, professional offices and community improvements. The city’s plan to provide 109 dwelling units per acre and varying building height limits between 65 feet and 120 feet in the commercial core (with appropriate community review) will create an environment that is very similar to Little Italy. These proposals match almost exactly the proposals made by the HBA’s members back in 2011.
Back then, the HBA’s members also proposed getting involved in a national preservation and economic development movement called National Main Street. This method of pairing historic preservation and economic development is part of the National Trust for Historic Places and balances historic preservation and growth. Coronado, North Park and many of the beach cities participate in this program. I am happy to say that the city has removed the “proposed historic district” that some had asked for in the heart of Hillcrest. A district such as this would stymie plans to revitalize and improve the heart of our business district. This also clears the way for the HBA to move forward with an application for Hillcrest to join the National Main Street movement.
Planning a neighborhood is not an easy feat. The HBA applauds the city’s Planning Department for listening to the business community and the many voices (most who don’t make it to the Uptown Planners each month) when they ask for reasonable growth for Hillcrest.
—Benjamin Nicholls is executive director of the Hillcrest Business Association.
