Future of Hillcrest Up in the Air

If San Diego planning officials get their way, the community of Hillcrest will undergo significant changes with the current update to the community’s blueprint for the future. The changes include dozens of 20- and 30-story buildings, more one-way streets, roughly 50,000 more residents, new public promenades, plus an LGBTQ historic district– and were unveiled in late October.

The proposals would translate to downtown-style high-rise housing in Hillcrest along existing transportation corridors and revamped versions of the neighborhood’s two large hospital campuses.

See this news video from CBS8 on the proposed changes; Mat Wahlstrom is interviewed;

Here are some of more of the elements/consequences of the new proposals:

• 20,000 new units of housing in Hillcrest
• 50,000 new residents
• proposal would double current density maximum now allowed of 109 dwelling units per acre, which typically allows for buildings of 10 to 12 stories to 218 units per acre in some areas and nearly triple it in some limited spots to 290 units per acre. That means buildings of 20 and even 30 stories could be built in Hillcrest.
• preserving single-family homes would become a lower priority and change city policy on whether developers should seek to have new projects blend in visually with their surroundings. Preserving single-family homes would no longer be a priority in Hillcrest unless the homes contribute to the area’s historic character.
• uffers between single-family areas and business districts would no longer be a priority
• more congestion, noise
• leafy promenades,
• The Normal Street promenade would run between University Avenue and Washington Street,
• the University Avenue promenade would run between Sixth Avenue and Park Boulevard, and
• the Robinson Avenue promenade would run between First and Seventh avenues.
• for more bicycle lanes on many streets.
• proposal suggests the hospitals and other large employers provide their workers with discounted transit passes, charge them for parking and provide on-site showers to make cycling a more realistic option.
• pocket parks
• and ambitious transit proposals that don’t yet come with many details, such as
• an aerial skyway connecting Hillcrest to Mission Valley,
• a streetcar system connected to Logan Heights and Golden Hill and
• a commuter rail line that would connect to much of the rest of the region
• transforming some two-way streets into one-way streets to ease congestion, including University and Robinson avenues — two of the three busiest streets in Hillcrest, along with Washington Street;
• calls for celebrating the legacy of Hillcrest’s gay community with a special historic district featuring public art, preserved buildings, plaques and other attractions;
• The district would include much of University Avenue, Fifth Avenue south of Washington Street and bits of Normal and Harvey Milk streets.
• proposal doesn’t adequately address Hillcrest’s lack of libraries, parks and other community amenities, a problem that will only grow with 50,000 more residents;

Residents’ Feedback through Nov.17

Residents can comment on the proposal through Nov. 17, which focuses only on a 350-acre area that covers a large swath of central Hillcrest and small slivers of University Heights and Mission Hills near the hospitals. Feedback can be submitted to planhillcrest@sandiego.gov on what they are calling a first draft of the proposal.

“This feedback will be considered for the second draft,” according to the city’s website. “The second draft will then be available for further feedback in early 2024, which will again be updated based on further feedback before it is presented to the City Council for adoption by summer 2024.”

Some of the background for this post came from a SDU-T article only for subscribers.