Aliso Viejo

Aliso Viejo (Spanish for "Old Sycamore") is a city in the San Joaquin Hills of southern Orange County, California. It became Orange County's 34th city on July 1, 2001, the only city in Orange County to be incorporated since 2000. It is bordered by the cities of Laguna Beach on the west and southwest, Laguna Hills on the east, and Laguna Niguel on the southeast. The city's original 6,600 acres (2,700 ha) were once part of the 26,000-acre (11,000 ha) Moulton Ranch. It was the first planned community in California to plan a balance between the projected resident work force and the number of projected jobs within its borders. Pacific Park, the centrally located 900-acre business park and town center, was expected to ultimately provide more than 22,000 jobs. Every home in Aliso Vie jo was located within 1+12 miles (2.4 km) of Pacific Park to encourage live-and-work opportunities. The seal features several mountains, a sunset, a tree, and several buildings. Also, the seal features the slogan "July 2001", in celebration of the city's incorporation date. The current City Council consists of Mike Munzing, Tiffany Ackley, and Council Members David C. Harrington, Chun Chun Harrington, and Janet Nguyen. The state legislature is represented by the 36th Senate District, and in the U.S. House by the 73rd Assembly District.

History

Aliso Viejo is the primary city name, but also Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills are acceptable city names or spellings. Aliso Viejo's original 6,600 acres (2,700 ha) were once part of the 26,000-acre (11,000 ha) Moulton Ranch. Over the years, portions of the ranch were sold and became Leisure World, Laguna Hills and Laguna Niguel. In 1976, the Mission Viejo Company purchased the remaining 6, 600 acres to create a new planned community. The master plan was approved by the Orange County in 1979, and homes were first offered for sale in March 1982. Every home in Aliso Vie jo was located within 1+12 miles (2.4 km) of Pacific Park, to encourage live-and-work opportunities. The Alisal Viejo Community Association (AVCA) was set up to manage the local parks and community open space. It was the first community-wide association of its kind in California and has the unique ability to provide a full-range of community services and facilities. It is the first planned community in California to plan a balance between the projected resident work force and the number of projected jobs within its borders. Pacific Park was expected to ultimately provide more than 22,000 jobs. The town center and business park is located at the center of the community, with a planned population of 50,000. The community is now home to more than 2,000 people. It has a population of more than 100,000, and it is home to one of the fastest-growing areas of Orange County.

Incorporation

Aliso Viejo incorporated as a city in 2001. The city is a general law city with a council-manager system of government. Day-to-day operations are handled by a professional city manager overseen by a volunteer city council. The City Council consists of five members serving staggered four-year terms. Each year, the Council votes for its next Mayor and Mayor pro tem. In the California State Legislature, the city is in the 36th Senate District, represented by Republican Janet Nguyen, and in the 73rd Assembly District, representing Republican Laurie Davies. The U.S. House of Representatives is in California's 48th congressional district, representedby Republican Michelle Steel. According to the California Secretary of State, as of October 22, 2018, Aliso Vie jo has 27,699 registered voters. Of those, 9,210 (33.25%) are registered Republicans, 8,800 (31.77%) areregistered Democrats, and 8,388 (30.28%) have declined to state a political party/are independents. The seal of the city was adopted in 2001 at incorporation. It features several mountains, a sunset, a tree, and several buildings. Also, the seal features the slogan "July 2001", in celebration of theCity's incorporation date. The current City Council is made up of Mayor Mike Munzing, Mayor Pro-Tem Tiffany Ackley, and Council Members David C. Harrington, Ross Chun, and William Phillips. The mayor is a former member of the Compton Unified School District Board of Trustees.

Geography

Aliso Viejo is located at 33°3430N 117°4332W (33.575096, -117.725431) According to the Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.5 square miles (19 km²), all of which is land. Much of the city rests on the east slope of the San Joaquin Hills, which are a coastal mountain range extending for about 15 miles (24 km) along the Pacific coast. The city is one of several cities bordering Aliso and Wood Canyons Regional Park. Aliso Creek forms part of theCity's boundary with Laguna Niguel to the south, and Wood Canyon Creek forms the city's western boundary. It is located on the eastern side of the Santa Catalina Islands, which lie to the west of the Los Angeles area. The City is located in the eastern part of Orange County, on the west coast of Los Angeles County, and is near the San Diego and San Francisco Bay areas. It has a population of about 2,000. It was founded in the early 1900s by a group of Southern California farmers who moved to the area to escape the harsh winters of the Southern California winters. The town was named after the town of Aliso, California, which is located to the north. The current mayor of the town was elected in 1998. The mayor was re-elected in 2010 and is currently running for a third term. He is the son of a former mayor, who was killed in a car accident in the 1970s.

Demographics

The 2010 U.S. Census reported that Aliso Viejo had a population of 47,823. The racial makeup of the CDP was 68.3% White, 2.7% African American, 15.4% Asian, and 18.8% Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 18,867 housing units at an average density of 2,525.1 per square mile (974.9/km²), of which 11,049 (60.7%) were owner-occupied, and 7,155 (39.3%) were occupied by renters. In 2000, there were 40,166 people, 16,147 households, and 10,689 families residing in what was, at the time, a Census Designated Place (CDP). The population was spread out, with 12,395 people (25.9%) under the age of 18, 3,739 people (7.8%) aged 18 to 24, 17,138 people (35.8) aged 25 to 44, 12,003 people (25.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 2,548 people (5.3) who were 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60, and there were 12,115 families (66.6% of all households); the average family size was 3.16. The median age was 35.1 years. For every 100 females, there are 92.8 males.

Economy

Companies located in Aliso Viejo include: 3tera, a cloud computing software vendor, and Marie Callender's, a restaurant chain. The city's top employers in the city are:UST Global, an IT, Technology and Digital Transformation company; Sony Interactive Entertainment; Metagenics, a medical manufacturing company; and Tamiya America, a US subsidiary of the manufacturer of model cars Tamiya Corporation. Some divisions of these companies are still located in the town. In March 2006, Fluor, an international construction contractor for petrochemical, infrastructure, and environmental projects, relocated to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex suburb of Irving, Texas. The town is home to Microsoft's office after the purchase of DATAllegro. It is also home to the headquarters of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which is based in Los Angeles, California. It also hosts the National Football League's Los Angeles office, which is located in San Diego, CA. The U.N. World Economic Forum holds its annual meeting in California in September and October. The World Economic forum's annual meeting is held in San Francisco, California, in October and November each year. It runs from September until the end of the year. The meeting is open to the public and is free of charge; it is also open to businesses that are not based in the United States, such as banks, insurance companies, hospitals, and other businesses.

Points of interest

Aliso Viejo Town Center features a movie theater, a wide variety of casual dining restaurants, PetSmart, a Barnes & Noble, a Ralphs supermarket, as well as other shops. The Town Center also includes Grand Park which is a center for community concerts and events. Soka Performing Arts Center, a 1,000-seat concert hall with acoustics designed by Yasuhisa Toyota (who also designed Walt Disney Concert Hall); opened in September 2011. Renaissance ClubSport is a $65 million property which opened in July 2008. It is Marriott's second hotel and fitness resort created in conjunction with Leisure Sports, Inc. (ClubSport) to fulfill the growing demand by local residents and hotel guests for a healthier lifestyle. The Soka University of America was dedicated on May 3, 2001, with a 103-acre campus and 18 buildings, a $250 million (land and construction) project. The Aliso Vie jo Golf Course was designed by Nicklaus Design in 1999 and became the Alisal Viejo Country Club with a redesign in 2005. The library is a branch of the Orange County Public Library system, opened on January 31, 1998, and is located in the town's downtown area. The town is home to a number of theme parks, including Disneyland and the California Institute of the Arts. The city is also home to the California State University, Los Angeles, and the University of California, San Diego. The Santa Ana River runs through the center of the town.

Sports teams

The Orange County Gladiators were an American Basketball Association (ABA) expansion team founded in November 2007 until 2009. They played their home games at Aliso Niguel High School. The team was a member of the ABA's inaugural season in 2007-08. They were the first team to play in the league's second season. They won their first game against the Los Angeles Lakers on November 7, 2007. They lost their second game on November 14, 2007 against the New York Knicks. They finished the season with a record of 2-2. The Gladiator were the only ABA team to win a game in the first season of the league. They also won their second and third games in the second season, on November 16, 2007 and November 17, 2008. They went on to win their fourth and fifth games in a row on November 18, 2007, and November 19, 2008, respectively. They last won a game on December 21, 2008 against the San Francisco 49ers at the San Francisco McCarthy Bank Arena. The last game they lost was on December 22, 2008 at the San Francos Rio Grande Valley Rockets. The loss was their first in the NBA's first season in the ABA and the first time they had ever lost a game in the Basketball and Basket League. They were the first team to play in both the NBA and the B League.

Controversy

Aliso Viejo gained national media attention when 19-year-old resident William Freund donned a cape and mask, and murdered two of his neighbors. Freund had Asperger syndrome and posted on an Internet message board for people with the disorder, in which he talked of suicide and acts of violence. The family of the two victims sued Freund's parents for "wrongful death and emotional distress" In September 2006, the principal of Aliso Niguel High School, Charles Salter, banned all school dances until further notice. In late November, it was announced that the dances would return to the school, but under new rules that banned "freak dancing" Residents were protesting the United States Postal Service's plan to build a large mail distribution facility. On March 9, 2009, the USPS announced that it would not move forward with plans to build the distribution facility due to the economic outlook at the time. The proposed facility would have up to 500 employees and USPS trucks traveling over residential streets 24 hours per day. Residents were concerned about damage to city streets, traffic and the trucks traveling through city neighborhoods. In 2008early 2009, Aliso Vie jo residents protested the U.S. Postal Service’s plan to building a largemail distribution facility in the city. The city was also the site of the infamous "Dihydrogen monoxide" incident, when a paralegal working for the city discovered the dhmo.org parody website and learned that they contain "dihydrogens monoxide".

Emergency services

Fire protection in Aliso Viejo is provided by the Orange County Fire Authority with ambulance service by Care Ambulance. Law enforcement is providedby the Orange county Sheriff's Department. For confidential support call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch, or see www.samaritans.org for details. In the U.S. call the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255. For support in the UK, call the Salvation Army on 0800 273-TALK (8255).

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Aliso Viejo, Orange County, California = 4.3. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 64. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 10. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Aliso Viejo = 5.9 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 52,176 individuals with a median age of 35.1 age the population grows by 22.19% in Aliso Viejo, Orange County, California population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 7,533.35 residents per square mile of area (2,908.80/km²). There are average 2.58 people per household in the 19,035 households with an average household income of $98,761 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 9.60% of the available work force and has dropped -5.07% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 20.26%. The number of physicians in Aliso Viejo per 100,000 population = 253.3.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Aliso Viejo = 12.8 inches and the annual snowfall = 0 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 35. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 281. 76 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 43 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 55, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Aliso Viejo, Orange County, California which are owned by the occupant = 62.62%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 13 years with median home cost = $371,050 and home appreciation of -12.20%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $7.36 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,918 per student. There are 23.5 students for each teacher in the school, 7166 students for each Librarian and 1414 students for each Counselor. 10.84% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 34.57% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 13.88% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).