City, Orange County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Codes: 90631, 90632, 90633
Bedroom
community located on the north, bordering
Los Angeles County. Built over hills and mesas. Good mix of housing, old and
new, small and large, hill homes with views. www.mccormacks.com
A town
that is sometimes confused with its neighbor, La Habra Heights — separate
city, upscale, located in Los Angeles County. See La Habra Heights.
La Habra,
as of 2007, counted 62,635 residents. Census in 2000 placed 33 percent of town
under age 21. Many young families. Town got its big boom in the three decades
after 1950 when about 77 percent of its housing stock was constructed.
Click for regional or detailed map
Four
homicides in 2005, zero in 2004, five in 2003, zero in 2002, one each in 2001
and 2000, four in 1999, six in 1998, three in 1997, one in 1996, and for
preceding years, three, zero, four, three, six, one, two and two. See Crime.
During
routine traffic stop in 2005, man opened fire on two officers and wounded them.
Suspect fled, shot at chasing officers, who shot back and wounded him. In 2007,
the assailant, now on his “third strike” according to California sentencing
laws, was convicted and faces life in prison. Officers recovered.
Most of
the children attend the schools of the La Habra Elementary District, grades
kindergarten through eighth. Some streets on the northwest side are in the
Lowell Elementary District, which is based in Los Angeles County. www.mccormacks.com
Almost all
students move up to the schools of the Fullerton High School District, which in
2002 passed a $68 million renovation bond. Many of the students attend La Habra
and Sonora High schools, state rankings in 70th percentiles, top 30 percent in
state.
Scores in
the La Habra elementary district range from the 30th to 60th percentile; in
Lowell district, they land in the 80th and 90th percentiles. In 2000, voters
approved a $16 million bond to build and renovate schools in the La Habra
Elementary District. See Schools.
With
enrollments declining, some districts are worrying about finances. Schools have
an unusual configuration: Four primary schools (kindergarten-second grade),
three primary-plus (grades three to five), two middles (grades six to eighth.)
The state
in 2008 counted 19,932 housing units — 10,581 single detached, 1,750 single
attached, 6,868 multiples, 733 mobile homes.
La Habra
built 5,400 housing units in the 1950s, about the same number in the 1960s,
then 4,400 in the 1970s, and in the 1980s, about 1,900 homes, apartments and
townhouses. In the 1990s, La Habra erected about 1,100 units. The 2000 census identified
57 percent of all units as owner occupied, 43 percent rentals. www.mccormacks.com
In the
broad picture, La Habra offers suburban housing built over 50 years. The first
housing will favor the three-bedroom home and the often plain styles of the
postwar years. The newer housing will tend to terra cotta roofs and creamy
stucco, large kitchens and walk-in closets. The variety in age and styles
translates into variety in prices.
Downtown
La Habra and its surrounding streets favor cottages and the first suburban
tract homes. As you move into the north hills on the east side, the homes
become newer (1970s and 1980s) and larger and more upscale. Some homes have
views facing south.
The
downtown sits in a bowl. Moving south, the terrain rises into often steep
hills. Here's where you will find the newest homes in town, many of them with
at least four bedrooms and views of the downtown and the north hills. Lambert
Avenue mixes apartments, single homes and mobile homes, and throughout the
downtown new homes, through infilling, are mixed with old.
On the east, near Lambert, is an
industrial-commercial section with several large warehouse-distribution
centers.
In its
stores, La Habra presents the strip designs of the 1950s, particularly along La
Habra Boulevard. But in recent years, the city has landed a half dozen or so
giant stores. They include, a big supermarket, a Petco, a Target, a Wal-Mart, a
Sam's Club, a Lowe's Home Improvement and a Home Depot. For several years, the
construction of a Costco was hung up over a suit filed by unhappy neighbors; in
2005, a judge ruled for Costco. Location: La Habra and Beach boulevards. www.mccormacks.com
The city
council and business owners, through redevelopment, are fixing up the downtown
and encouraging the Spanish-Mediterranean style.
On top of
the Elks Club sits a giant plastic elk. Kinda funky and reassuring. Starbucks.
Anchoring
the downtown is the city hall, a library, a museum with a children's carousel,
a post office and a park.
Twenty-two parks, a golf course, senior center, usual activities,
baseball, soccer, etc. About a dozen parks are open to dogs but they must be
leashed. Skate park. Every year, the city throws a corn
festival and serves about 100,000 ears of corn.
La Habra
is next to Fullerton, which has a community college and state university. To
reach the freeways, you have to drive the streets. The haul can be tiring but
many jobs are located in or near La Habra.
Chamber of
commerce (562) 697-1704.
• How
close can a lap dancer get? City and saloon got into a legal fight over this.
In 2005, the courts ruled for city: dancers must stay two feet away. www.mccormacks.com
• Boys and
Girls Club is adding a gym and multipurpose-dance room.
City web
site: www.ci.la-habra.ca.us
