Lake Forest, California

The city was created in 1991. Residents voted to name the city Lake Forest, after two expensive master planned residential communities, denying the longer claim to the territory by the community of El Toro. Since being founded, it has expanded its limits to include the newer communities of Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills. The multiplicity of names often creates confusion: some people in the Portola Hills neighborhood, for example, can receive mail addressed to them at Portola Hills, Lake Forest, or Trabuco Canyon. Lake Forest (along with its neighboring cities Mission Viejo and Irvine) is ranked as one of the safest cities in the country. The private research firm Morgan Quitno ranked Lake Forest as the 15th safest city in the United States.

The main business area, off the 5 freeway and on El Toro Parkway is the main city entrance and was an excellent place to shop in the 80's and 90's. However, the area gradually deteriorated, and most of the shops closed or moved to other cities. Discount retailers like the 99 Cent Store, Ross Dress For Less, and Walmart moved into the community and the El Toro Gateway. The city is attempting to buy out the aging strip malls and already destroyed Saddleback Plaza and built the new "Arbor at Lake Forest." The new center can now compete with the more upscale shopping centers and cities that surround Lake Forest like Mission Viejo, Irvine, and Laguna Hills. However, although it appears better, the stores continue to draw only discount retailers like Pay Less Shoes Source a discount retailer and "Arbor Plaza" anchor. Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills brought new homes to Lake Forest in the farthest east portion of the city. The city has two lakes from which the city gets its name. The lakes are man-made, and small custom homes, tracts, and condominiums line its shores. The lakes are vastly smaller than nearby Lake Mission Viejo, and, unlike Lake Mission Viejo, swimming is not permitted. The Clubs at Lake Forest feature tennis courts and swimming pools.

The City of Lake Forest hosts the headquarters for hard-drive maker Western Digital, telecommunications software developer Greenlight Wireless Corporation, Barbeque retailer Barbeques Galore and skateboarding footwear company Sole Technology, Inc..

Lake Forest is also home to two county parks. Whiting Ranch in the eastern part of the city was the site of a famous Mountain Lion mauling in 2004 that captured the West Coast news media.[1]

Heritage Hill historical park is home to some of the oldest buildings in the county including the Serrano Adobe, the old El Toro School House, and St. Georges Episcopal Church.

In 1994, Kathryn McCullough became the first African American mayor of any city in Orange County. She currently serves as a member of the City Council.

1 Recent annexations
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Government & Politics
5 External links

[edit] Recent annexations

Folklore states that El Toro received its name over 100 years ago. Back when El Toro was farm country, there was allegedly a water well that many farmers used. A bull fell into the well and a sign was posted above the well stating, in Spanish, "The bull has fallen into the well." Over time, part of the sign fell off, leaving only "The bull." The railroads, whose tracks ran through the area, mistakenly thought the sign was the name of the town, and thus the area of El Toro was given its name. This information was produced from "The Old El Toro Reader" by George Osterman.

The El Toro Marine Corps Air Station was located 1 mile from the city of Lake Forest in the city of Irvine. At one time, El Toro was considered a military town, but the city blossomed independently in the 1980s and 1990s and the base closed in 1999.

The city of Lake Forest has one high school, El Toro High School. The high school was opened in 1973. It has established itself as one of the top schools in Southern California, along with the other three comprehensive high schools in the Saddleback Valley Unified School District. The mascot is a bull and its teams are known as the Chargers. School colors are blue and gold.

[edit] Geography

Lake Forest is located at 33°38′30″N, 117°41′27″W (33.641642, -117.690733)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 32.7 km² (12.6 mi²). 32.3 km² (12.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.95%) is water.

El Toro/Lake Forest/Portola is located in the heart of the Saddleback Valley. It is also in the northern section of South Orange County.

It has two man-made unnamed lakes identified by the clubhouses on the lakes: the Beach and Tennis Club (Lake I) and the Sun and Sail Club (Lake II).

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 58,707 people, 20,008 households, and 14,745 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,814.8/km² (4,698.8/mi²). There were 20,486 housing units at an average density of 633.3/km² (1,639.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 76.02% White, 1.83% African American, 0.50% Native American, 9.70% Asian, 0.20% Pacific Islander, 7.51% from other races, and 4.24% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.59% of the population.

There were 20,008 households out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.1% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.3% were non-families. 19.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.31.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $67,967, and the median income for a family was $75,121. Males had a median income of $52,019 versus $37,100 for females. The per capita income for the city was $28,583. About 3.2% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.0% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Government & Politics

Of the 40,352 registered voters in Lake Forest; 25.8% are Democrats and 53.4% are Republicans. The remaining 20.8% either declined to state political affiliation or are registered with one of the many minor political parties. Richard Dixon serves as Lake Forest's mayor and Mark Tettemer is Mayor Pro Tem. The three other city council members are Kathryn McCullough, Marcia Rudolph, and Peter Herzog.

Lake Forest is part of California's 48th congressional district, and is represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman John Campbell. The city is also part of California's 70th Assembly District, represented by Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, and California's 33rd Senate District, represented by Senator Dick Ackerman.