LAGUNA HILLS CA
Date: 09/26/2015
Laguna Hills is an upscale suburban city located in southern Orange County, California, United States. Its name refers to its proximity to Laguna Canyon and the much older Laguna Beach. Other newer cities nearby%uFFFDLaguna Niguel and Laguna Woods%uFFFDare similarly named.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.7 square miles (17 km2). 6.7 square miles (17 km2) of it is land and 0.025 square miles (0.065 km2) of it (0.37%) is water.
History
Laguna Hills is built on one of the major land grants developed during the rancho era. Following Mexico's independence from Spain in 1821, those who had served in the government or who had friends in authority, were given vast lands for cattle grazing. Rancho Lomas de Santiago, Rancho San Joaquin, and Rancho Niguel covered much of the western portion of the Saddleback Valley. Don Juan Avila was granted the 13,000 Rancho Niguel on which Laguna Hills is located.
In 1894, Lewis Moulton purchased Rancho Niguel from Don Juan Avila and increased the original grant to 22,000 acres (89 km2). Moulton and his partner, Jean Piedra Daguerre, used the ranch to raise sheep and cattle. The Moulton Ranch was eventually subdivided in the early 1960s, and part of the division became today's Laguna Hills.
Incorporation efforts began in 1987 and on March 5, 1991, 86% of the residents voted in favor of forming the City of Laguna Hills. On December 20, 1991, Laguna Hills officially became a City. Subsequent annexations have included the North Laguna Hills (1996) and the "Westside Annexation" (2000) areas. The latter included 149 acres (0.60 km2) of residential land, including the Aliso Viejo Community Association's Sheep Hills Park.
In 2004, Laguna Hills' City Hall was moved to an existing office building at 24035 El Toro Road, which was bought and totally renovated by the city, which also rents out space in the building on a commercial basis, providing the city with a positive net income on the building.
Demographics
2010
The 2010 United States Census reported that Laguna Hills had a population of 30,344. The population density was 4,532.4 per square mile (1,750.0/km%uFFFD). The racial makeup of Laguna Hills was 22,045 (72.7%) White (61.7% Non-Hispanic White), 420 (1.4%) African American, 101 (0.3%) Native American, 3,829 (12.6%) Asian, 58 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 2,470 (8.1%) from other races, and 1,421 (4.7%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6,242 persons (20.6%).
The Census reported that 29,975 people (98.8% of the population) lived in households, 233 (0.8%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 136 (0.4%) were institutionalized.
There were 10,469 households, of which 3,637 (34.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 6,278 (60.0%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 983 (9.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 472 (4.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 445 (4.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 101 (1.0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,041 households (19.5%) were made up of individuals and 822 (7.9%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86. There were 7,733 families (73.9% of all households); the average family size was 3.25.
6,762 people (22.3%) were under the age of 18; 2,617 people (8.6%) aged 18 to 24; 7,638 people (25.2%) aged 25 to 44; 9,437 people (31.1%) aged 45 to 64; and 3,890 people (12.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.8 years. For every 100 females there were 95.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.6 males.
There were 11,046 housing units at an average density of 1,649.9 per square mile (637.0/km%uFFFD), of which 7,820 (74.7%) were owner-occupied, and 2,649 (25.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 11.2%. 22,307 people (73.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 7,668 people (25.3%) lived in rental housing units.
According to the 2010 United States Census, Laguna Hills had a median household income of $85,594, with 7.2% of the population living below the federal poverty line.
Emergency services
Fire protection in Laguna Hills is provided by the Orange County Fire Authority with ambulance service by Doctor's Ambulance. Law enforcement is provided by the Orange County Sheriff's Department. There is also the Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, a hospital that is equipped with a full emergency room.
