Community
Profiles - Orange County
San Clemente
Tucked away, just south of Dana Point and west of the I-5 there's
nestled a small Spanish Village by the Sea. At first glance the
Spanish tile roofs and white stucco walls against the blue waters
of the Pacific are reminiscent of the Greek Isles, just as Ole Hanson,
the father of San Clemente envisioned. San Clemente offers the best
of all, including the most perfect weather conditions. You can live
at the beach or on the golf course, in an award-winning planned
community or in the quaint and historical downtown district. With
its charm, character and tradition, it’s no wonder that San
Clemente is one of the most desirable areas to live! The population
is approaching 65,000.
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Dana Point
Dana Point is home to 35,110 residents and is characterized by nearly
seven miles of prominent coastal bluffs and rolling hills along
the Pacific Ocean. Most noteworthy of these bluffs is a unique promontory
known as the "Headlands" which overlooks Dana Point Harbor,
one of the most significant man-made alterations of the Orange County
coastline. Dana Point Harbor provides slips and mooring for over
2,500 boats along with over 50 specialty shops and restaurants.
The Harbor attracts thousands of visitors annually for shopping,
sportfishing, walking, bicycling, parasailing and a host of recreational
activities. The Dana Point Harbor is also considered the gateway
to Doheny State Park, one of California's most popular beach facilities.
The 62-acre State Park offers camping, picnicking, swimming, surfing,
bicycling, tide pool exploration and more.
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Laguna Niguel
Located halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, Laguna Niguel
is a 13.8 square mile planned community with a population of 60,108.
Laguna Niguel's proximity to the coast provides an ideal climate
that allows for year-round enjoyment of its beautiful parks and
nearby attractions. Over one-third of Laguna Niguel is designated
for open space and this is one of the key features that defines
the character and urban form of our City. The City offers 2 community
parks, 29 neighborhood parks, Laguna Niguel Regional Park, 3 small
county parks and 1 community pool. The City enjoys a healthy business
climate and economic environment. Commercial, business and industrial
land uses comprise eight percent of the total land area of the City.
Neighborhood professional and retail centers provide our residents
with a wide variety of goods and services.
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Laguna Beach
Laguna Beach is Southern California's premier seaside artist haven.
Though world famous, Laguna Beach still possesses a unique small-town
charm rarely found anywhere else. Quaint cottages framed by subtropical
gardens line bluffs above sandy coves along a seven mile picture-postcard
coastline. Inland, luxuriant foliage and seaview homes cover canyons
and ridges that tower more than 1,000 feet above the ocean. The
Laguna Playhouse is the oldest continuously operating theatre company
on the west coast. Today, visitors from around the world come to
Laguna Beach to enjoy the Pageant of the Masters, Festival of Arts,
the Sawdust Festival, Art-A-Fair and the Laguna Beach Film Festival
as well as its fine shops, art galleries, restaurants, and hotels,
many with breathtaking sunset views. There are approximately 26,000
people in almost 9 square miles.
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Ladera Ranch
Ladera Ranch is a master-planned community with an array of amenities
ranging from Village Clubs to parks, trails, shopping and services,
exceptional schools and extensive community services with state-of-the-art
technology connecting it all together. To create a sense of community,
Ladera Ranch villages are broken into districts which are then broken
into individual neighborhoods. Miles-long Ladera Ranch Trail connects
the entire community, as well as much of the 1,600 acres of open
space. Ladera Ranch is located between Mission Viejo and San Juan
Capistrano.
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Mission Viejo
Mission Viejo is a 10,000 acre planned community in South Orange
County, California. It is located about halfway between Los Angeles
and San Diego, along the east side of Interstate 5. Mission Viejo
is known for it's beautiful Lake that has fishing, swimming and
small boating open only to it's 90,000 residents. The climate is
Mediterranean, the two school districts serving the city are award
winning, there are multi-denominational churches, a diversity of
jobs, state of the art medical centers, outstanding sports and recreational
facilities that have produced Olympic athletes.
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Rancho Santa Margarita
This is a master-planned community where residential neighborhoods,
business and commercial centers, and open space combine to create
the perfect hometown environment. The population is 47,000 in approximately
15 square miles. More than half of the area is set aside for recreation,
including greenbelts, parks, bike and jogging paths, and recreational
facilities. Rancho Santa Margarita Landscape and Recreation Corporation,
is one of the common areas in the city, and includes a 13-acre lake
with swimming lagoon, boat rentals, 4 community pools, 10 community
parks with numerous sport fields, and Tijeras Golf Clun. Santa Margarita
Center, a 700-acre commercial and business center, is slated to
provide an estimated 30,000 jobs by the end of this decade.
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San Juan Capistrano
The City of San Juan Capistrano is a unique community grounded in
a history of native American culture, the Mission established by
Franciscan missionaries in 1776, and an agrarian past. Officially
incorporated as a city in 1961, San Juan Capistrano recently celebrated
40 years of cityhood. A council-manager form of government, with
five elected council members elected citywide, direct the city operations
and municipal services.
The City has grown from a small community of approximately 10,000
persons in 1974 to a developed city of over 39,000 in 2002, with
a variety of land uses providing open space, recreation, housing,
jobs, shopping and services. The City prides itself on effectively
maintaining its open space character by acquiring land to preserve
its defining ridgelines, hillsides, and trails and nearly 40% of
the City is in open space and parkland.
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