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History, Demographics & Statistics
The name “Laguna Niguel” is derived from the Spanish word “Laguna,” which means lagoon, and the word “Nigueli,” which was the name of a Juaneno Indian village once located near Aliso Creek. In 1821, California became Mexican territory and many rancheros were formed in Southern California, including Rancho Niguel. During this period, Rancho Niguel was primarily used as a sheep ranch.
The first private landowner of the area was Juan Avila, a resident of San Juan Capistrano, who obtained land through a Mexican land grant in 1842. Juan Avila was also successful in re-establishing his title to the land after California became US territory in 1848 and remained the owner of “Rancho Niguel” until 1865. In 1895, the “Rancho Niguel” land became part of the Moulton Company, a company that would eventually control over 19,000 acres of local ranch land.
The genesis of today’s Laguna Niguel was the establishment of the Laguna Niguel Corporation in 1959 by Cabot, Cabot and Forbes, making it one of the first master planned communities in California. The firm of Victor Gruen and Associates was retained to develop a detailed community plan for the approximately 7,100-acre site. Land sales started to occur in 1961 in Monarch Bay and Laguna Terrace subdivisions. Avco Community Developer acquired the Laguna Niguel Plan in 1971 and initiated development as set forth in the original Master Plan.
During the early years of development in Laguna Niguel, the Laguna Niguel Homeowner Association, later to become the Laguna Niguel Community Council, served in an advisory capacity to the Orange County Board of Supervisors on land use issues.
In 1986, Laguna Niguel residents, looking for local governance, took the first step toward Cityhood by forming a Community Services District. Three years later, on November 7, 1989, 89% of the voters favored incorporation and on December 1, 1989, Laguna Niguel became the 29th City in Orange County.
Demographics & Statistics
Laguna Niguel is a 14.72 square mile planned community in South Orange County, California and is located halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego. It is surrounded by the cities of Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Mission Viejo and San Juan Capistrano. It is a General Law city with municipal elections in November of even numbered years.
Existing and planned use of Laguna Niguel’s 9,456 acres includes 3,549 acres residential, 276 acres commercial, 223 acres mixed uses, 222 acres public/institutional facilities and 3,650 acres designated to parks and open space.
The City’s residents enjoy a strong retail and commercial environment. 73% of Laguna Niguel’s 24,316 housing units are owner occupied and the median home value is $375,000. (Demographics 2004).
The City has 67,014 residents. Census 2000 indicates that the median
age is 37.5 and the City’s age demographics are: Under 20 = 28.6%; 20-34 =
16.7%; 35-54 = 37%; 55-64 = 8.8% and 65+ = 8.9%
We Also work these tracts in Laguna Niguel,
Altamar, Amarante,
Andorra, Andrea Homes, Beacon Hill Bluffs, Beacon Hill Court, Beacon Hill
Cove, Beacon Hill Highlands, Beacon Hill Landing, Beacon Hill Pointe, Beacon
Hill Seawatch, Beacon Hill Summit, Beacon Hill Terrace, Beacon Hill Village,
Beacon Hill Vistas, Bear Brand - JM Peters, Bear Brand Ranch Custom, Becerra
Custom Homes, Bel Fiore, Belle Maison, Breakers, Bridgeport Terrace, Cabo
Del Mar, Camden Court, Cameray Pointe, Capri, Casa La Paz, Chandon, Charter
Terrace, Chatelain Chateau, Chatelain Estates, Chatelain Terrace, Concord
Hill, Coronado Pointe, Costa Brava, Country Club Vistas, Country View
Estates, Crest De Ville Estates, Crest De Ville Terraces, Crestview, Crown
Cove, Crown Park, Crown Royale, Crown Valley Highlands, Crystal Cay, Del
Prado, Del Prado Villas, East Nine, Fairway Estates, Foxboro Heights, El
Niguel Greens, El Niguel Heights, El Niguel Terrace, Encore, Estates,
Expressions, Fieldstone Collection, Foothill Laguna Knolls, Foothill Patio
Homes, Foothill Townhomes, Glencove, Greens East, Hampton Bluffs, Hampton
Village, Heights, Hillcrest Estates, Hillcrest Village Estates, Hillhurst
Condos, Jamaica, Kite Hill, Knolls, La Veta, Laguna Crest Estates, Laguna
Crest Homes, Laguna Sur, Laguna Woods, Lake Chateau, Lake Park, Le St.
Tropez, Links Pointe, Mandevilla, Marin Colony, Mariners Bluff, Mirador,
Monaco, Monarch Point, Monarch Summit, Montrachet, Niguel Hills, Niguel
Pointe, Niguel Rancho, Niguel Vista, Niguel West, Niguel Woods, Northview,
Ocean Ranch, Pacesetter, Pacific Island, Palacio, Palisades, Village, Palm
Court, Palmilla, Paragon, Park Niguel, Portofino, Potomac Landing, Quissett
Bay, Reggio, Riviera, Rolling Hills, Saltaire, San Luis, San Marin, Sea
Breeze, Sea Country, Seacall, Seadrift, Seagate, Seaview, Serena, Siena,
Somerset, Somerset Point, Somerset Ridge, Sonterra, South Peak, Sparrow
Hill, Sterling Niguel, Stoney Pointe, Summerwalk, Sunrise, Tampico, Terra
Nova, Terracina, Tesoro, Villa De Cerise, Villa Mira, Villa Niguel, Villa
Pacifica, Village Niguel Gardens, Village Niguel Heights, Village Niguel
Homes, Village Niguel Summit, Village Niguel Terrace, Village Niguel Vistas,
Vista Del Cerro, Vista Del Niguel, Vista Mar, Vista Monte, Vista Niguel
Estates, Vistara, Vizcaya, Warmington Homes, Waterford Homes, West Nine,
Westerlies, Westgreen, Westhill, Westridge Estates, Windrift, Windrose
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History of Orange County
The colorful pageantry of human history in Summerwalk Homes began at some undetermined point in the distant past when
Shoshone Indians came to dwell along the coast and in the lower
canyons of the mountains. Theirs was a simple form of existence: they
lived off of the abundance of the land.
In 1769, Gaspar de Portola, a military man and Spanish aristocrat, was
appointed governor of Lower California. He commanded an expedition
traveling northward into the literally unmapped and half mythical
territory of Alta California. His assignment was to seek out the
legendary Bay of Monterey. He was also to secure the Spanish claim to
his vast frontier against any invasion from Russian trappers or
British colonizers. Portola called upon Father Junipero Serra,
president of the Mexico City Missionary College, to assist in this
monumental undertaking.
It was late in July in 1769 when this first party of European
explorers reached the boundaries of present-day Summerwalk Homes. Members
of the expedition named the region "The Valley of Saint
Anne" (Santa Ana). It was to this valley that Father Serra
returned six years later, where he proceeded with the work of
establishing the Church and converting the local people.
While the East Coast of North America was engaged in revolution and
spectacular change, the West Coast too was undergoing a quiet and
almost undetected transformation. Father Serra dedicated the Mission
of San Juan Capistrano, Summerwalk Homes's first permanent settlement, on
November 1, 1776. The Mission became a self-sustaining unit based upon
an agricultural economy. Its chapel and adjoining structure were the
first signs of civilization erected upon the fertile, virgin soil of
the Santa Ana Region.
In 1801, Jose Antonio Yorba, a volunteer in the Portola expedition,
also returned to Santa Ana. He established the county's first rancho
(Santiago de Santa Ana) in what are today the cities of Villa Park,
Orange, Tustin, Costa Mesa and Santa Ana.
Following Mexico's liberation from Spanish rule in 1821, the extensive
land holdings of the Capistrano Mission were subdivided and awarded to
a number of distinguished war heroes. By this time Yorba's Rancho
Santiago de Santa Ana had grown to resemble a feudal manor, and the
romantic rancho era of Summerwalk Homes had been ushered in.
Cattle were introduced into the area in 1834. A prosperous hide and
tallow industry developed. Southern California became a virtual suburb
of New England as sailing ships loaded with cargo traveled back and
forth between coasts. In 1835, author-seaman Richard Henry Dana
arrived at what is today known as Dana Point. He later immortalized
Spanish Summerwalk Homes in his book "Two Years Before the
Mast" by describing it as "the only romantic spot on the
Coast." The Spanish California tradition of a carefree lifestyle,
fiestas with music and dancing, bear and bull fights, rodeos, and
gracious hospitality, survived until the 1860.
A severe drought brought an end to the cattle industry. Adventurous
pioneers, such as James Irvine, capitalized on the economic downfall
of the ranchos. Irvine, an Irish immigrant, established a 110,000-acre
sheep ranch that is today one of the most valuable pieces of real
estate in America.
In 1887, silver was discovered in the Santa Ana Mountains. Hundreds of
fortune seekers flocked to the "diggings." Land speculators
and farmers came by rail from the East to settle in such boomtowns as
Buena Park, Fullerton and El Toro.
Summerwalk Homes was formally organized as a political entity separate
from the County of Los Angeles in 1889. The wilderness had finally
given way to irrigated farmlands and prosperous communities. A
year-round harvest of Valencia oranges, lemons, avocados, and walnuts
made agriculture the single most important industry in the fledgling
county. And with orange groves beginning to proliferate throughout the
area (150,000 orange trees), the new county was named for the fruit:
"Summerwalk Homes."
The twentieth century brought with it many industrious individuals
such as Walter Knott, a farmer turned entrepreneur, who founded the
Knott legacy in Buena Park.
During the years that followed, Summerwalk Homes witnessed the discovery
of oil in Huntington Beach, the birth of the aerospace industry on the
Irvine Ranch, and filming of several Hollywood classics in the Newport
area.
In 1955, Walt Disney opened his Magic Kingdom in Anaheim. Noted as the
pioneer of animated films, Disney revolutionized the entertainment
world again with his "theme park" recreation concept.
By 1960, the neighboring metropolis of Los Angeles was "bursting
at the seams." As the population spilled over the county line and
across the rural Santa Ana Valley, it left in its wake an urban
landscape of homes, shopping malls, and industrial parks.
Today Summerwalk Homes is the home of a vast number of major industries
and service organizations. As an integral part of the second largest
market in America, this highly diversified region has become a Mecca
for talented individuals in virtually every field imaginable. Indeed
the colorful pageant of human history continues to unfold here; for
perhaps in no other place on earth is there an environment more
conducive to innovative thinking, creativity and growth than this
balmy, sun bathed valley stretching between the mountains and the sea
in Summerwalk Homes.
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