City, Orange County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Codes: 92675, 92693
Historic
town that is still growing but is
prickly about development. Bedroom community with low, middle and high-income
housing. In many parts deserving of the adjective, lovely. www.mccormacks.com
Built for
the most part over rolling coastal hills. Close to the ocean but not on it
(Capistrano Beach is in Dana Point.)
Population 36,782. The census placed 32 percent of
town under age 21, a fair number of kids.
Famous for
its mission and for its swallows, the stuff of song, “When the Swallows Come
Back to Capistrano.” Every March thousands do, flying in from Argentina. An
occasion for celebrations and a town parade.
Click for regional or detailed map
Children
attend schools in Capistrano Valley district, which also serves nine other
communities, from San Clemente to Aliso Viejo to Mission Viejo. District
rankings, compared to other California schools, are in the 80th and 90th
percentiles, very high, but San Juan Capistrano has a few low-scoring
schools. In 1999, district passed
a bond to renovate and build schools. See Schools. www.mccormacks.com
In fall
2007, the district will open San Juan Hills High School in San Juan Capistrano.
In anticipation, the school board in 2005 redrew attendance boundaries for
middle schools and high schools and got into arguments with parents.
Boundary
changes are often contentious because parents and kids have strong feelings
about attending this or that school. This fight turned into a donnybrook
because it stepped into the minefield of ethnic diversity — drawing the
boundaries to mix the kids — and because some parents concluded the
district was spying on them.
In the
end, the school superintendent retired, three school board members lost
re-election and minor changes were made to the boundaries. In 2007, a new
superintendent was hired and things seemed to be settling down but the issue of
boundary changes remains. More on this following.
About
3,200 kids in private schools, the largest, St. Margaret of Scotland Episcopal,
about 1,075 students, kindergarten to 12. New Catholic high school is fleshing
out its facilities, adding a gym, tennis courts and a pool.
Overall
crime rate low. Zero homicides in 2005 and 2004, one in 2003, two in 2002, one
each in 2001 and 2000. Counts for previous years: four, zero, one, one, one,
zero, zero, one, zero, one, two, zero. The city contracts with the sheriff for
police protection. See Crime. www.mccormacks.com
Father
Junipero Serra opened Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1776 and for about 50
years it flourished until the lands were secularized and the mission fell into
disrepair.
By this
time, a small village had taken hold and until well into the 20th century, it
served the farming needs of the countryside. A tubercular priest came to the
mission to die but kept on going year after year and did much to restore the
place. And this, along with the swallows, gave the town a reputation as a nice
place to visit.
By 1960,
the hamlet had a population of about 1,100 living in about 300 homes and
rentals.
In 1961,
the town incorporated as a city, which gave planning power to the locals and
allowed them to get control of what was clearly coming: rapid development. In
the 1960s, the city built 900 residences and in the 1970s, about 5,900. In the
1980s, about 2,200 houses were erected. Since then, the city has added about
2,100 units.
Town has
cap of 12,000 units and limits annual construction to 400. Between 2000 and
2006, San Juan Cap’s population increased by 2,247. www.mccormacks.com
State in
2008 counted 11,877 houses, of which 6,154 were single detached, 2,395 single
attached, 1,809 multiples, 1,519 mobile homes. In housing units, the census
reported, 79 percent are owner-occupied, 21 rentals.
In and
about the old town, near the mission, the town generally built for the low and
middle income. This section, on the north includes blocks of apartment
complexes and older single homes, in the middle mobile home parks and
townhouses, and on the south tracts of single homes.
Here and
there, and especially in the hills and on view lots, the homes jump up the
scale. A mix. This area blossoms into a valley that leads down to Dana Point
and the Pacific.
Moving
east of Interstate 5, the housing, in many parts, ascends to affluent and rich,
often in the form of two-story, four to six bedroom homes. And ranchettes with
many horses (along San Juan Creek Road) and horse trails. Country feeling. The
hills and arroyos and freeway have forced the housing into separate
neighborhoods separated by plenty of open space. Two golf courses; country-club
subdivisions. Some tracts gated. www.mccormacks.com
For new
housing, the town is pushing the mission look, and indeed most of modern Orange
County is favoring Moorish, Spanish and Mediterranean: sandy stuccos and red
tile roofs. Cute touch: metal swallows along the freeways walls.
Summing
up: nice-looking, clean city, different from other Orange County cities in that
it has a true center — the mission and old town — which gives the
residents something to protect, improve, rally round and argue over, celebrate
(the swallows) and build a sense of community. The town throws a bash when the
swallows arrive and when they leave (late October).
About 15
parks, two golf courses, tennis, movies, Boys and Girls Club, theater, musical
events, horse trails, equestrian center, petting zoo, sports parks, community
center, recreation complex, seniors center, mission, museum, variety of
restaurants, walking tours, sports and general activities. In evening, some
residents walk or jog down to the beach.
In 1990, the city passed a $21 million
bond to buy open space. Shakespeare festival. Large community college a few
miles to north (many classes-activities open to public), and across the street
from the college, a mall with Nordstrom and Saks.
Major
shopping plaza west of the freeway. Neighborhood stores-centers. Office
buildings, auto dealer along Camino Capistrano. Costco. Hidden, historic
district near mission; shops and restaurants among shade trees. www.mccormacks.com
Commute
rail line with stops in mid- and north-Orange County and L.A.; south to
Oceanside and San Diego. Toll highway runs from San Juan Capistrano to Irvine,
near John Wayne Airport. Foothill Toll Road, Highway 241, is supposed to be
extended but is running into opposition. Roads are also to be extended from San
Clemente to Ortega Highway.
Chamber of
commerce (949) 493-4700.
•
Capistrano district has built 30 schools in 15 years. Other school districts in
Orange County and around the state have also grown at a fast pace, reflecting
the rapid increase of residents in many parts of California.
New
schools are popular with parents. The buildings are new, the equipment modern,
the computers plentiful, and so on. For this reason, large developments often
bring in an inordinate number of young families and children.
Over 10-15
years, the “first” kids move up, to be replaced by younger children. But as
home construction has slowed or stopped, the second or third group will be
fewer in number and as the community matures, the enrollments will continue to
drop. A school that was built for 700 students might only be able to muster,
say, 500 or fewer.
At some
point, the school district might come under pressure to close one or several
schools or redraw attendance boundaries. A developer building in another part
of a large district might argue, with justification, we don’t need a new school
in this or that neighborhood. We need the district to divert some kids from
their neighborhood schools to other schools. The state, which funds a lot of
school construction, might nudge the district in this direction. Taxpayers
without children or school-age children, might welcome lower taxes, a big issue
in Southern California. www.mccormacks.com
Parents
might reply, the school is up, it's working for my kids, it’s part of the
community, let's not change anything. Also, the school might be functioning as
a neighborhood center and a park. Many communities depend on school grounds for
playing fields.
In trying
to adjust its boundaries, Capistrano ran afoul of community sentiment —
no big surprise. The intensity, however, was unusual, which suggests other
factors were involved.
Capistrano
district has many kids scoring at the top, few in the middle, and a sizeable
number in the lower percentiles. In these situations, schools, when they change
boundaries, often have to craft different programs for high and low achievers —
difficult task.
Capistrano
has distinct ethnic groups. If you change boundaries and isolate or further
isolate an ethnic group, you are asking for trouble, which may not show up
right away but one day will.
As of
2007, Capistrano district, with a new superintendent, is probably delighted to
bury the boundary dispute and concentrate its energies on educating the kids.
But the problems underlying the dispute may surface again. www.mccormacks.com
For some
parents, this current situation might prove helpful. Schools with declining enrollments
often welcome students outside their attendance zones or outside the district.
If you don’t like the neighborhood school or would like a school closer to your
job, you might find it easier to secure a transfer.
• New high
school will start with a freshman and sophomore classes, add a junior in 2008
and a senior in 2009. San Juan High features four classroom buildings, one of
which includes 11 science classrooms, and a second, visual arts and technology
rooms. Another building houses a gym, locker rooms, a performing arts theater
with 500 seats and dance rooms. Outside: football-soccer field, all-weather
track, basketball and tennis courts, baseball and softball fields. To be built
by 2009: a pool, 33 meters. Among programs: international baccalaureate,
Spanish immersion, technology, choral and instrumental music, more. Nickname of school, “The Stallions.”
• Traffic
mess. The intersection of Ortega Highway (74) and Interstate 5. Many backups
spilling in the streets. City and residents are reviewing plans for a new
interchange.
• About
3,000 horses in town. Equestrian events popular. City has a program to recycle
horseshoes.
• Trains
through town. Rumbles, horns, bells. Some people have complained about noise. www.mccormacks.com
• Funds
being raised to expand library.
• Two-way
immersion program offered at San Juan Elementary School. Mixes Spanish and
English.
• Mission is
constantly fussed over and restored. Among jobs in 2007, the installation of a
retablo (altar piece), which for accuracy was built in Spain. Cost $2 million.
• In 2006,
city council said yes to a request by the San Juan Hills Golf Course (public)
to build 189 housing units for the elderly on 10 acres designated open space.
The golf course said it would use the profits to improve the course, add
trails, fund a park and hold down golfer fees. Residents said the project would
spoil views and cause traffic problems. They collected signatures, forced a
vote and defeated the proposal.
City web
site: www.sanjuancapistrano.org
