Unincorporated Neighborhoods/Towns,
San Diego County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Codes: 91901, 91935, 92019
Over the
last 30 years as the freeways and roads have been improved, small clusters of
homes or tracts have sprung up in what used to be the remote parts of the
county. www.mccormacks.com
Some of
these communities are located east of Spring Valley and Lemon Grove and south
of Alpine. Moreover, single homes, often perched on view lots, are being built
in greater numbers.
These
“hamlets” include Jamul (Ha-mool), Steele Canyon Estates, Dehesa and Harbinson
Canyon. They are spaced over a vast region, dotted with boulders, hills,
valleys and mesas, and for the most part have little to do with one another.
But this
may change if the towns keep developing and if the county government approves
more tracts — a sticky point. San Diego County is arguing over
controlling development in the hinterlands.
At the
same time, strong forces are pushing for more development. State laws have been
liberalized to permit Las Vegas-style gambling with slot machines at Indian
reservation casinos. Casinos at Alpine and Dehesa are attracting thousands of
people and creating the demand for more services.
Jamul
started as a farm hamlet. It has stores, a post office and a school district,
enrollment about 1,200, which includes a primary school, an intermediate school
and a middle school. Academic rankings range from the 60th to the 80th
percentile. Respectable. Students move up to Steele Canyon High, opened in
2000. See Schools. www.mccormacks.com
The 2000 census counted 5,920 residents
in and near Jamul and put the number of housing units at 1,789. Of these, 90
percent are owner occupied. These numbers should be taken with a grain of salt.
In 2006,
the county estimated that 9,931 people live in the Jamul area, residing in
about 3,221 housing units, about 93 percent of them single homes. Lacking
precise boundaries, Jamul can be “defined” in several ways.
Steele
Canyon Estates consists of large upscale homes built around a golf course. On
some maps, Steele Canyon shows up as Jamacha.
Homes and
ranchettes can be found in the vicinity of this subdivision, which is just a
few miles east of Rancho San Diego (see profile on Rancho San Diego).
Stores,
supermarkets, restaurants have opened at Rancho San Diego, bringing in the
conveniences of suburbia. www.mccormacks.com
Schools
are being built to educate the higher number of children. Cuyamaca College is
located in Rancho San Diego; classes, activities, low fees, nice ornament for
region.
Demographics
in Rancho San Diego and Steele Canyon run upscale and this usually means high
academic scores.
Located
north of Steele Canyon, Dehesa, about 9,300 people in about 3,400 homes, almost
all single family, features an upscale golf course (Singing Hills).
The Sycuan
Indian Reservation is located at Dehesa. It has a large casino, a Taj Mahal in
the middle of nowhere but popular. The tribe also owns hotels and real estate
in downtown San Diego and the Singing Hills course.
Harbinson
Canyon, set among the trees, is a resort community, most of the housing decades
old and modest, more country cabins than tract homes. Nudist colony at edge of
town. Quaint village. Few stores. Fire station. Population 3,645. A short drive
to Alpine and its stores. www.mccormacks.com
County
park in Harbinson Canyon and several in the region but not many; the county
government shies away from park costs.
In the
2003 wildfires, Harbinson Canyon lost homes. Crest, a hamlet west of Harbinson
Canyon, was also hard hit by the fires.
If you
like the open country but need the comforts of civilization, these are the
towns to visit. Cut the brush back; fire safety.
• Tribe
wants to open a casino with hotel at Jamul. Many residents opposed; fight has
been going on for 10 years.
• In 2006,
funding was secured to install 22 fire hydrants in Harbinson Canyon and 39 in
Crest. www.mccormacks.com
• In 2006,
Sycuan Indians purchased 1,236 acres in Dehesa Valley from a sand mining firm
and closed its operation. The land is located near the tribe’s reservation.
