Laguna Hills

Laguna Hills is a city in south Orange County, California, United States. Its name refers to its proximity to Laguna Canyon and the much older Laguna Beach. The 2010 United States Census reported that Laguna Hills had a population of 30,344. The city has a total area of 6.7 square miles (17 km²) of which 0.025 sq miles (0.065 km²), or 0.37% of it is water. Other newer cities nearby are Laguna Niguel and Laguna Woods, both of which are also named Laguna. In 2004, Laguna's City Hall was moved to an existing office building at 24035 El Toro Road, which was bought and renovated by the city. The building also rents out commercial space in the building, providing the city with a positive net income. In 2010, the city's population was 29,975 (98.8% of the population) with 10,469 households, of which 3,637 (34.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, and 983 (9.4%) had a female householder with no husband present. The racial makeup of the city was 22,045 (72.7%), 420 (1.4%), 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.

Geography

Laguna Hills is the primary city name, but also Aliso Viejo, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods are acceptable city names or spellings. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.7 square miles (17 km²) of it is land. 0.025 square miles of it (0.065 km²), or 0.37% of the city is water. The city is home to the U.S. Air Force Base, which is located in the city's downtown area. The U.N. Peacekeeping Force is based at the base. The United States Air Force bases in the area are based in the nearby town of Shreveport, Louisiana. The Air Force base is also known as the Shreveton Air Force Station, which was established in the late 1800s. It is the only base in the state that is not located in a National Guard base. It was the site of the World War II Battle of the Bulge, which took place in World War I. The base was also used for the Battle of Gettysburg, which occurred in the early 1800s, and the Civil War, which ended in the mid-19th century. The town is located on the Missouri River, which runs through the center of the town. It has a population of about 2,000. It also has a small airport, which serves as a hub for air traffic to and from the region, as well as other airports in the Midwest and the South. The area has a history of being heavily affected by the Great Depression and the Great Recession of the 1930s and 1940.

History

Laguna Hills is built on one of the major land grants developed during the rancho era. Don Juan Avila was granted the 13,000-acre Rancho Niguel. In 1991, 86% of the residents voted in favor of forming the City of Laguna Hills. In 2004, City Hall was moved to an existing office building at 24035 El Toro Road, which was bought and renovated by the city. The city also rents out commercial space in the building, providing the city with a positive net income. In 2000, the city annexed 149 acres (0.60 km²) of residential land, including the Aliso Viejo Community Association's Sheep Hills Park. On December 20, 1991, Lag Luna 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 of residential space, including a park for Sheep Hills Community Association members. In the early 1960s, part of the Moulton Ranch was subdivided, and part of that division became today's Lagunas Hills. It is located in the western portion of the Saddleback Valley, near the California-Mexico border. The town has a population of about 3,000 people, with about 1,000 of those living in the downtown area. It has been the site of several major wildfires, including two in the past few years. It was also the location of the Loma Linda massacre, which occurred in 1998.

Demographics

The 2010 United States Census reported that Laguna Hills had a population of 30,344. There were 11,303 housing units at an average density of 1,780.4 per square mile (687.4/km²) The racial makeup of the city was 76.83% White, 1.38% African American, 0.44% Native American, 10.20% Asian,0.15% Pacific Islander, 7.19% from other races, and 3.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.40% of the population. At the 2000 census, there were 31,178 people, 10,895 households and 7,942 families residing in the city. The average household size was 2.86, and the average family size was 3.25. The median income for a household was $102,191, and for a family of four or more, it was $165,816. The per capita income for the city is $62,827. The city has a population density of 4,532.4 inhabitants per square miles (1,750.0/km 2) The city's population is 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 Islanders, 2,470 (8.1%) from other Races, and 1,421 (4.7) from two and more races (20.6%).

Government

Laguna Hills is home to one of the California DMV field offices, where driving tests and other services are administered. The city is in California's 45th congressional district, represented by Democrat Katie Porter. In 2020, Joe Biden became the first Democratic presidential nominee to win the city since its incorporation. Fire protection is provided by the Orange County Fire Authority with ambulance service by Care Ambulance Service. There is also the MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center, a hospital equipped with a full emergency room. Law enforcement is provided for Laguna Hills by theOrange County Sheriff's Department. The only other location in the region in which the DMV operates is in San Clemente, California, which is also home to the only other DMV office in south Orange County. In the California State Legislature, Lagunas Hills is in the 36th Senate District, and in the 73rd Assembly District, representing Republicans Janet Nguyen and Laurie Davies. The City Hall is located at 24035 El Toro Road, which was bought and totally renovated by the city in 2004. In 2004, the city moved its City Hall there in 2004, but also rents out space in the building on a commercial basis, providing the city with a positive net income on the building. As of February 10, 2019, there are 18,217 registered voters. Of those, 7,002 are registered Republicans, 5,261 (28.88%) are registered Democrats, and 5,143 (28.23%) have no political party preference/are independents.

Economy

Laguna Hills Mall, closed in 2018, to be razed and redeveloped into the Five Lagunas mixed-use development. El Toro Road at the I-5 freeway is heavily populated with strip malls and fast-food restaurants. The area is busy with vehicular traffic and long-distance travel stops, thus being heavily populated by strip malls. The city's economic activity is centered on the Laguna Hills and El Toro Roads areas. It also has a number of other centers of economic activity, such as the San Francisco Bay Area and the San Diego Bay Area, as well as the Santa Monica Bay Area. It is also home to the University of California, San Diego, and the California Institute of the Arts, both of which are located in the city's downtown area. The town has a population of 2.7 million. It has a GDP of $1.9 billion. It was the site of the first U.S. presidential election in 1964. It had a population in the 1950s and 1960s of 1.8 million. The current population is 2.9 million, up from 2.4 million in 2010. It's the site of the fifth-largest city in the United States, after San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Its economy is based on the construction of homes and businesses. It has a high rate of unemployment, with the unemployment rate at 4.7%. It has one of the highest crime rates in the state, with more than 30 murders per 100,000 residents.

Education

Laguna Hills is served by the Saddleback Valley Unified School District. The city has its own high school, Laguna Hills High School, the smallest school in the district built in 1978 and one of the smallest in south Orange County with fewer than 1,700 students. LHHS has been named a National Blue Ribbon School and a California Distinguished School on multiple occasions. Lomarena Elementary School, San Joaquin Elementary School and Valencia Elementary School are high performing elementary schools in the city. La Paz Intermediate School and Los Alisos Intermediate School in neighboring Mission Viejo are also high performing middle schools. The town is located on the banks of the Santa Ana River, which flows through the southern part of Orange County and into the San Diego County line. The community is home to the San Francisco Bay Area Air Force Base, which is located in the northern part of the town. The San Diego River runs through the city, which was built in the 1950s and 1960s. It is also the site of the California Air Force Academy, which opened in the 1970s and has a campus in the early 1980s. The Los Angeles County Air Force Reserve Base is also in the town, and was founded in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In the early 1990s, the city was home to a military base, which has since been decommissioned and moved to a new base in the Santa Monica area. The district also has a base in San Diego, where it is based.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Laguna Hills, 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 65. 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 Laguna Hills = 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 17,670 individuals with a median age of 39.6 age the population grows by 0.69% in Laguna Hills, Orange County, California population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 4,765.88 residents per square mile of area (1,839.99/km²). There are average 2.93 people per household in the 10,565 households with an average household income of $87,633 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 8.20% 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 21.66%. The number of physicians in Laguna Hills per 100,000 population = 253.3.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Laguna Hills = 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 54, 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 Laguna Hills, Orange County, California which are owned by the occupant = 72.06%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 29 years with median home cost = $394,020 and home appreciation of 13.07%. 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. 10.28% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 25.81% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 14.02% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).