If you want a say in what the City of Tacoma plans for the future of Hilltop’s Martin Luther King Jr. business district, there’s a meeting this week you should attend.

The city is inviting local residents to offer their input on how the area that extends from Division Avenue to South 25th Street along along Martin Luther King Jr. Way should be developed. The meeting is set for 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Evergreen State Community College, Tacoma Campus, 1210 6th Ave., Room 105.

That area includes two major medical campuses, MultiCare Medical Center and St. Joseph Medical Center.

Over the next 18 months this project will establish a vision for future public and private investments in the MLK neighborhood, the city said. The plan will integrate these investments with the needs of current residents, businesses and property owners.

The planning effort is funded by a $100,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.

When the plan and environmental evaluation is done, it could save developers both costs and time to develop environmental, traffic and neighborhood studies prior to beginning their projects as long as those projects conformed with the overall plan for the district.

The planning effort is similar one the city is undertaking for Tacoma’s south downtown business district.