"I've never seen the community this galvanized over one issue," said Nancy Moors.

The issue: getting an interim height ordinance, far below current zoning standards, approved by the city council. The vote is set for July 8th during a meeting of the city council.

Current zoning allows for 150 to 200 foot structures to be built in some areas of Hillcrest and Mission Hills, including Hillcrest and Mission Hills business districts. The proposed interim height ordinance is under what current zoning allows, about a hundred feet under, and what many in Hillcrest and Mission Hills believe is a height more suited for the community.

The Uptown Interim Height Ordinance (IHO) task force feels that for the outer regions of Hillcrest and Mission Hills, 50 feet is high enough, while closer to the busy centers of Hillcrest and Mission Hills, another floor or two can be added, totaling 65 feet. The proposed ordinance, says John Taylor of the Hillcrest town council, is a compromise. In the past, the residents of the Uptown area thought that two and three story buildings would be best for the neighborhood. Taylor says that at a Hillcrest town council meeting in February, Mayor Sanders agreed with the compromise of 50 and 65 feet height restrictions, at least until a new community plan is developed and agreed upon.

Taylor and the Uptown IHO task force need all the help they can get. He is unsure where many council members stand on the issue and is sure the big-named developers and realtors will be in force at the meeting, ones like; La Jolla Pacific Developers, the builder who proposed the 148 foot condominium project at 301 University, the San Diego Association of Realtors, and the Chamber of Commerce.

The city council meeting will be hearing the proposal from the Uptown IHO task force at 2:00pm. For more information go to hillcresttowncouncil.com or sandiego.gov.