May Newsletter
Call to Action
Support our CPG application at City Council
Our CPG application is going before the full council on May 21st (exact time is still TBD). Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more information on how you can support us! In the meantime, please consider running as a candidate in the election should the council approve the new CPG structure.
Neighborhood News
Recent Town Hall on Plan Hillcrest
We recently held another town hall to facilitate and gather community feedback on the update to the community plan for Hillcrest. We had a great turnout and gathered a lot of feedback that was provided to the City’s Planning Department and staff. We’ve summarized the feedback we gathered in a recent blog post.
Transforming the 163 Freeway
As part of the discussion on the updated to Hillcrest Community Plan we’ve been hearing about the potential for a lid to be built over parts of the 163. We’re very keen on seeing something like this happen in the future. It would be a huge opportunity to reconnect the eastern and western parts of Uptown. There is so much potential for new park space, a public plaza, retail, housing and more. We want to give a big shout out to Andrew Bowen over at KPBS for covering the story on this one. Read his report below:
KPBS - Hillcrest, hungry for park space, looks to the 163 freeway
Legislation Highlights
Greater Hillcrest MAD (Maintenance Assessment District)
This month’s legislation highlight is local! Maintenance Assessment Districts (MADs) are a legal mechanism by which property owners can vote to assess themselves to pay and receive services above-and-beyond what the City of San Diego normally provides. Currently there are two MADs in Hillcrest. The initiative passed committee a month ago and now has passed City Council unanimously. If approved by the property owners within the district it is slated to merge the two separate MADs in Hillcrest, and dramatically increase funding for:
Safety, order and responding to homeless, vagrancy issues
Sidewalk cleanliness and regular pressure washing
Trimming and replacement of damaging trees and landscaping
Installing and improving decorative amenities such as street furniture, fixtures, equipment, lighting
Identifying new public spaces, including designing, planning, funding, and managing them
Managing the new Normal St Promenade (without this new funding this space won’t get any maintenance!)
We are super excited for the potential for nicer, cleaner, and safer streets!
On Our Minds
Does Building More Housing Help Affordability?
We think the debate on this is long overdue to be settled and done. In a past newsletter we’ve talked about real world examples of abundant housing policies working to promote affordability. Now we’ve got the academic research to back it up too. So what did the research find? The same thing we’ve been seeing play out in forward thinking cities across the country. More housing supply means more affordable housing.
Upcoming Events
City Budget Town Hall
Our city councilmember, Stephen Whitburn, is having his office host a budget town hall, in partnership with the city’s Independent Budget Analyst (IBA). The town hall will be held on Tuesday, May 7th at 7 pm at the Balboa Park Club's Santa Fe Room (2144 Pan American W Rd, San Diego, CA 92101) . This presents a valuable opportunity for everyone to engage, participate, and learn more about the City's budget process.
Our Regular Meeting
We meet every other Sunday to discuss issues, events, and advocacy centered around the Uptown neighborhood. All are welcome. Join us in-person or virtually for our next meeting on Sunday, May 5th at 1:30pm at West Bean Coffee Roasters at 4th Ave and Laurel in Banker’s Hill. You can see all our upcoming events and meetings on our community calendar. Come join us!
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