Unincorporated Neighborhoods,
San Diego County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Codes: 91941, 92020
Unincorporated
communities, generally upscale, located east of La Mesa and South of El Cajon. www.mccormacks.com
The county
government has lumped them all, excepting Steele Canyon, into “Valle De Oro,”
2006 population 42,197, median age 39, kids under 18 making up 23 percent of
the residents. These numbers say family towns with many of the kids departing
the nest.
School
scores, for the most part, are high. The demographics indicate low crime but
precise numbers are difficult to obtain. The region is protected by the
sheriff’s department, which doesn’t break out statistics for individual
communities but does for the region, which also includes Spring Valley to the
south. These stats show seven homicides in 2005. The counts for the previous
years are nine, zero, two, zero. See Crime.
If you
questioned residents, it is doubtful that any would say they live in Valle De
Oro. The name will not be found on maps. The county, for planning reasons, is
trying to make sense out of the area and has resorted to a name that doesn’t
resonate with the locals.
Despite
this drawback, the effort to clarify is necessary. Maps, local guides and
school districts loosely define the approximate borders of these communities
and assign them addresses that mislead.
This
following map shows the approximate county borders for the communities. These
communities, being incorporated, do not have legal boundaries. Mt. Helix flows
into Casa De Oro. Rancho San Diego includes a specific development and the
surrounding housing. www.mccormacks.com
Note: Casa
De Oro, above Highway 94, Spring Valley below. Spring Valley extends east to
the intersection of Jamacha Boulevard and Highway 94 (Campo Road). Rancho San
Diego starts at Jamacha Boulevard and includes Cuyamaca Community College and
the Cottonwood golf course. But some residents of the Cottonwood neighborhood,
just above the golf course, may identify themselves by that name.
Three school districts
serve Valle de Oro.
•La Mesa-Spring Valley,
elementary and middle schools. Most of Mt. Helix and almost all of the Casa De
Oro. But some students from these neighborhoods may be assigned to schools in
Spring Valley and La Mesa.
• Cajon Valley,
elementary and middle schools. Some of Mt. Helix, Rancho San Diego, Cottonwood,
Steele Valley.
• Grossmont High
district. All the high schools. For Mt. Helix and parts of Casa De Oro the
closest schools are Grossmont High and Helix High, both in La Mesa. For Rancho
San Diego, Cottonwood and Steele Valley, the closest schools are Valhalla High
and Steele Canyon High. www.mccormacks.com
For a reading on the
academics, with slight differences, all the high schools are scoring about the
80th percentile, the top 20 percent in the state.
Before purchasing or
renting, check with the school districts to find out where your children will
be placed. See Schools.
The communities:
• Mt. Helix, located
just east of La Mesa and closely oriented to that city’s schools and stores,
especially Grossmont Mall (Macys, Barnes and Noble Books). See La Mesa
The
community is built over hills and Mt. Helix, elevation 1,373 feet. The mountain
and its approaches have some of most exotic, striking homes in the state. In
2001, one fellow who described himself as a techno-freak, built a rotating home
near the summit. Great views from many of the homes. www.mccormacks.com
As you
descend from the peaks, the homes step down in grandeur but many fall into the
category of well-to-do, well-kept. Large and small lots and some small homes.
Country feeling. This used to be avocado land and many trees remain.
Ice plant
for ground cover on the higher homes; too steep for lawns. Streets meander
around the hills. Curbs and sidewalks few.
A
neighborhood for bosses and professionals — about 47 percent of adults
employed, according to 2000 census.
• Casa De
Oro. Located south of Mt. Helix, the land split by mesas and ravines,
descending to Highway 94. Mix of housing, many middle class plus, and except
for the opulent homes, Casa De Oro and Mt. Helix blend into the one another.
Casa De
Oro has more fill-in homes and toward Highway 94 newer homes and overall
presents a slightly newer look. www.mccormacks.com
Many view
homes on streets that are fairly steep. The rough terrain and ravines spread
out the homes. Avocado trees. Country feeling. Part of Casa De Oro will shop in
La Mesa, part in the stores along Highway 94. Library near the Highway 94.
Sample school rankings,
Murdock Elementary, near Mt. Helix, the 90th percentile, and Spring
Valley Middle, near Highway 94, the 50th percentile. The first
school draws from affluent neighborhoods, the second, from a mix of
demographics.
• Rancho San Diego.
This community draws much of its identity from a large master-planned
development (19,000 residents, about 6,000 housing units) of the same name,
which itself was derived from a Spanish land grant for the region.
The
development built housing for the middle and upper-middle market, the designs
favoring the Mediterranean style of creamy stucco and red tile roofs.
But the area also
contains many large and well-appointed and modern homes, built over the last 20
years. www.mccormacks.com
Moving north from the
freeway, the terrain ascends into hills that have created many vistas with
views. This may have pushed the housing up market. Or Mt. Helix with its
gorgeous homes may have set the tone for the region. Or the golf courses,
Cottonwood and Steele Canyon, may have nudged housing upscale. Or all of the
above.
The result is a middle
to rich area with high demographics that are reflected in the school scores,
generally in the 80th and 90th percentiles, top 20
percent in state.
Shops and stores at
Rancho San Diego Village, Rancho Plaza and the large Rancho San Diego Towne
Center, which has a movie theater with 12 screens. Branch library.
• Steele
Canyon Estates consists of large upscale homes built around a golf course. On
some maps, Steele Canyon shows up as Jamacha. Just removed from the golf course
and scattered around the region are many ranchettes (several acres, some with
small stables).
Some of
the tracts will have homeowner associations. www.mccormacks.com
Many of
the new homes lack curbs and gutters; that’s the country style. But where there
are new tracts, curbs and gutters and buried utility lines are the rule.
South of Spring Valley and east of Steele Canyon much of the land is sparsely developed or free of housing.
Commute
Mt. Helix is a short
drive from the La Mesa interchange, one of the glories of highway engineering,
ramps and overpasses almost beyond number. But easily figured out. Highway 125
and Interstate 8.
Casa De Oro is oriented
toward Highway 125 and on its south side Highway 94 (which connects to Highway
125).
Rancho San Diego and
Steele Canyon, Highway 94.
Trolley station in
downtown La Mesa. www.mccormacks.com
The whole region is
about 15 to 25 miles from downtown San Diego. At peak hours these will often be
long miles. Highway 125 was recently extended almost to the Mexican border.
Education
• Cuyamaca Community
College enrolls about 8,000 students, full and part-time, and offers many
classes and activities that are aimed at the public, not just traditional
students (fresh out of high school).
Of note,
the offerings include many exercise classes and the use of a well-equipped gym
and exercise room. Among the unusual: how to ride a horse. This part of the
world has many horses.
Ofher
classes cover computers, business, investing, and childcare and the typical
curriculum needed to transfer to four-year universities.
• In 2006, Steele
Canyon High School, after years of trying, won school board approval to change
itself into a charter. This means that the school will do more of what it wants
and less of what the district board wants, a tilt toward teacher and parent
control. More on this following. Helix High also has charter status. www.mccormacks.com
• In 2004, the
Grossmont high school district passed a $274 million bond with most of the
money going up to renovate and upgrade (new labs, etc.) all the schools in the
district.
In 2002,
the La Mesa-Spring Valley district passed a $44 million bond to rebuild its plumbing, add science labs and expand libraries.
In 2000,
the El Cajon district passed a $75 million bond to renovate its schools and
build a new one.
When homes
are built, the fees often include money for schools.
Parks and
Recreation
San Diego
County, like many county governments, has tried to stay out of parks and
recreation. www.mccormacks.com
But in
recent decades, as the unincorporated areas have gone more and more suburban,
the counties have been kicked into providing parks and more municipal services
or the means — generally local taxing districts — to fund them.
Mt. Helix
and Casa De Oro, being older communities, have very little in the way of parks,
about three.
Rancho San
Diego, built later, has eight parks or open spaces. Since 1991, the households
have taxed themselves (less than $100 a year) to maintain the parks and fields.
Mt. Helix residents were asked to join this district but said no (Mt. Helix can
avail itself to parks in La Mesa).
For about
seven years, Rancho San Diego held fundraisers and applied for government funds
for a YMCA, which was opened in 2006. The facility has 11 acres of playing
fields.
The
community for a long time has asked for a sheriff’s substation but has yet to
get one. www.mccormacks.com
In the
2003 Crest fire in the east county, people were upset to discover that
fire-fighting equipment was lacking and that the 23 fire agencies were unable
to coordinate with one another. (Some of these agencies may be consolidated).
The YMCA
delay, the sheriff’s protection, the uneven supply of parks and other issues
point to a complaint common in many unincorporated towns — inferior
services, under funded or non existent or poorly organized.
In some
instances, the private sector, for a fee, comes through with an exercise club.
Or the playing fields at the schools or community college are pressed into
service for soccer and Little League.
This muddling is acceptable to many but
in some situations it leads to annexations or city incorporations. Cities, as a
rule, do a much better job on municipal services than county governments.
Rancho San
Diego is starting to act like a would-be city. It is taxing itself for some
services and insisting on local control — chartering Steele Hills School
— in other matters. www.mccormacks.com
If moving
into the area, ask about sports and rec programs.
Rancho San
Diego has many trails and is near five golf courses.
