Coto de Caza, California facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Coto de Caza, California
Unincorporated community Census-designated place
Coto de Caza in 2016
Location of Coto de Caza within Orange County, California.
Country	United States
State	California
County	Orange
Area
• Total	7.82 sq mi (20.26 km2)
• Land	7.80 sq mi (20.20 km2)
• Water	0.02 sq mi (0.06 km2)  0.29%
Elevation	709 ft (216 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	14,710
• Density	1,886.38/sq mi (728.36/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code	92679
Area code	949
FIPS code	06-16580
GNIS feature IDs	1867008, 2407666

Coto de Caza is a special kind of community in Orange County, California. Its name means "Hunting Reserve" in Spanish. It's a census-designated place (CDP), which means it's an area that looks like a town but isn't officially a city. It's also a guard-gated private community, meaning there are gates and security to control who enters.

About 14,710 people lived here in 2020. Coto de Caza is a planned community, which means it was designed and built in a very organized way. It has about 4,000 homes and is one of the oldest and most expensive planned communities in Orange County. The idea for Coto de Caza started in 1968 as a hunting lodge, and the community was finished in 2003. Inside Coto de Caza, there's also a smaller private community called Los Ranchos Estates, which has large custom homes.

History

Coto de Caza as it appeared in 1974

The idea for Coto de Caza began in 1964. It was a project started by two big companies, Chevron and Arvida. In 1979, Arvida took over the project completely.

Later, in 1983, Orange County approved the big plan for Coto de Caza to have about 5,000 homes. The community officially opened three years later. Coto de Caza became known as a place for outdoor activities. It had a famous tennis college and a large 36-hole golf course.

In 1984, other big companies like Disney also joined in developing Coto de Caza. In 1996, a company called Lennar took over. Under Lennar, Coto de Caza started focusing on building more luxurious homes. This made the average price of homes go up a lot, from $375,000 in 1996 to over a million dollars later on.

Geography

Coto de Caza is located in the southeastern part of Orange County, California. It sits in a valley called Wagon Wheel Canyon.

The area of Coto de Caza is about 8 square miles (20.7 square kilometers). Most of this area is land, with only a very small part being water.

Climate

Coto de Caza has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate. This means it has hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters, much like the climate found around the Mediterranean Sea.

Demographics

In 2020, Coto de Caza had a population of 14,710 people. Most residents were White, making up about 82.3% of the population. There were also people who identified as African American (1.7%), Asian (8.4%), and Hispanic or Latino (11.2%).

In 2010, the population was 14,866. About 88.1% of the people were White, and 7.9% were Hispanic or Latino. Most people in Coto de Caza live in families, and many households have children. The average household size was about 3 people.

The community is known for its high income levels. In 2010, the average household income was very high, showing that Coto de Caza is a well-off area. Only a very small percentage of the population lived below the poverty line.

Economy

Residents of Coto de Caza usually go shopping in nearby towns. These include Rancho Santa Margarita, Mission Viejo, Las Flores, or Ladera Ranch.

Thomas F. Riley Wilderness Park

The Thomas F. Riley Wilderness Park is a large natural area that surrounds Coto de Caza on three sides. This park is open to everyone. It's a special place that protects wildlife and plants.

The park has a nature center that teaches local schools and community groups about the outdoors. It also helps protect endangered plants and animals that live there. Park Rangers and staff from Orange County Parks take care of the park.

Education

Most students living in Coto de Caza go to schools in the Capistrano Unified School District. Some of the elementary schools they attend are Tijeras Creek Elementary and Wagon Wheel Elementary. For middle school, many go to Las Flores Middle School. High school students often attend Tesoro High School. There is also a private school, Santa Margarita Catholic High School, located near the North Gate.

There are other private schools nearby, like St. John's Episcopal School and St. Junipero Serra Catholic School, which are outside the community gates.

Years ago, there was a plan to build a public school inside Coto de Caza. However, the residents were concerned about it. They worried it would affect their privacy and security. They also felt it would bring many non-residents into their private community. The reason for the proposed school was that Wagon Wheel Elementary, which is just outside the gates, had too many students. If the new school had been built, it would have been the first public school inside a gated community.

Notable people

See also

In Spanish: Coto de Caza (California) para niños