San Diego adopts new housing plans in Hillcrest, University City

• Last year, the city issued more housing permits than it had in decades, potentially indicating that years of deregulatory actions were beginning to translate into new homes.

Driving the news: The council approved new blueprints for both Hillcrest and University City, loosening zoning restrictions to make it easier for developers to build apartments.

• In Hillcrest, the changes make way for up to 17,200 new homes in the coming decades.
• In the university area, up to 30,000 new homes could be built.

Reality check: The goal of both plans is to increase development, but community plans are not mandates.

• The new zoning restrictions will increase how much development can occur, but actual results don't always reach that new capacity, even over 20-30 years.

The other side: The community planning group for Uptown, which includes Hillcrest, voted to reject the city's plan, citing concerns over traffic and density.

• The University City planning group, rather than giving an up or down vote on the city's plan, sent the city a 75-page letter of proposed changes, including a scaled-down option that would add 22,000 homes.