SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Hillcrest is a neighborhood that means a lot to many people. Wednesday night, residents and community members gathered at the LGBTQ Center to discuss the community's future.
“As a neighbor, it’s a very welcome area. There’s a lot to do. It’s just a safe place for everybody,” Anna Masso, a Hillcrest resident, said.
Ben Nicholls, the Executive Director of Hillcrest Business Association, was one of the many who attended the public forum.
Nicholls told ABC 10News it was the last public forum for community discussion to provide input on Plan Hillcrest. It will then get finalized for public hearings and a City Council vote.
“To come up with a new community plan for Hillcrest that will guide the development of the neighborhood for decades to come,” Nicholls said.
Nicholls said the plan has big aspirations for the San Diego community, including 10,000 new apartment units.
“This plan calls for a whole host of really exciting and amazing things for Hillcrest,” Nicholls said. “Streetcars on University Avenue, a whole host of exciting protections for the community as well.”
Legislation is also being heard in Sacramento to turn the DMV site in Hillcrest into affordable housing.
“That’s where [Assemblymember] Chris Ward comes in with his exciting proposal for the DMV,” Nicholl said. The legislation’s really progressive. It says the DMV will stay on site and will include parking, but what it will also bring is a lot of really reasonably priced housing units.”
Some here in Hillcrest that’s a bill, which is called AB 1635, said they can support.
“Adding housing to a really older, kind of space and lot is something that’s necessary. And I think it’s really innovative that they’re going to build up. I could only imagine that it means an upgrade for the whole area,” Nina Kalita, a Hillcrest resident, said.
“This plan and the DMV proposal will enable us to get a good diversity of people coming to Hillcrest which is really what Hillcrest is all about.”
