Lake Forest, California

Lake Forest is a city in Orange County, California, United States. The population was 85,858 at the 2020 census.

Lake Forest incorporated as a city on December 20, 1991. Prior to incorporation, the community had been known as El Toro. Following a vote in 2000, Lake Forest expanded its city limits to include the master-planned developments of Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills. This expansion brought new homes and commercial centers to the northeastern boundary of the city.

Lake Forest has two lakes from which the city gets its name. The lakes are man-made, and condominiums and custom homes ranging from large to small line their shores. Neighborhood associations manage the lakes (Lake 1, known as the Lake Forest Beach and Tennis Club, and Lake 2, the Sun and Sail Club.) Each facility features tennis courts, gyms, basketball courts, barbecue pits, volleyball courts, multiple swimming pools, saunas, hot tubs and club houses for social events.

The "forest" for which the city is also named lies in the area between Ridge Route, Jeronimo, Lake Forest and Serrano roads, and consists mostly of eucalyptus trees. It is also man-made, and was created in the first decade of the 1900s when a local landowner, Dwight Whiting, planted of eucalyptus groves in the vicinity of Serrano Creek as part of a lumber operation intended to draw development to the area. El Toro High School kept its name and continues to do so to this day. In subsequent years as the city came to be referred to as Lake Forest, mentions of "El Toro" in the press usually referred to the Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, decommissioned in 1999 and later repurposed.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of . of its land and of it (0.47%) is water. 1850–1870 1880-1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

2000 2010

| align = right

Most of the community was listed as an unincorporated area under the name El Toro in the 1970 U.S. census;

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

|White alone (NH)

|33,575

|49,309

|39,161

|44,177

|style='background: #ffffe6; |40,506

|88.00%

|78.66%

|66.71%

|57.18%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |47.18%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|350

|1,051

|998

|1,158

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,312

|0.92%

|1.68%

|1.70%

|1.50%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.53%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|158

|211

|143

|195

|style='background: #ffffe6; |153

|0.41%

|0.34%

|0.24%

|0.25%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.18%

|Asian alone (NH)

| rowspan="2" |1,560

| rowspan="2" |5,598

|5,647

|9,985

|style='background: #ffffe6; |16,650

| rowspan="2" |4.09%

| rowspan="2" |8.93%

|9.62%

|12.92%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |19.39%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|113

|172

|style='background: #ffffe6; |144

|0.19%

|0.22%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.17%

|Other race alone (NH)

|20

|52

|102

|166

|style='background: #ffffe6; |450

|0.05%

|0.08%

|0.17%

|0.21%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.52%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|1,630

|2,387

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,698

|2.78%

|3.09%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.47%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|2,490

|6,464

|10,913

|19,024

|style='background: #ffffe6; |21,945

|6.53%

|10.31%

|18.59%

|24.62%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |25.56%

|Total

|38,153

|62,685

|58,707

|77,264

|style='background: #ffffe6; |85,858

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Lake Forest had a population of 85,858. The population density was .

The census reported that 99.5% of the population lived in households, 0.3% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.2% were institutionalized.

There were 29,728 households, out of which 34.9% included children under the age of 18, 59.2% were married-couple households, 5.6% were cohabiting couple households, 21.3% had a female householder with no partner present, and 13.9% had a male householder with no partner present. 17.9% of households were one person, and 7.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.87.

The age distribution was 21.3% under the age of 18, 8.3% aged 18 to 24, 27.8% aged 25 to 44, 28.1% aged 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 39.5years. For every 100 females, there were 97.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.0 males age 18 and over.

2010 census

The 2010 United States census reported that Lake Forest had a population of 77,264. The population density was . The racial makeup of Lake Forest was 54,341 (70.3%) White, 1,295 (1.7%) African American, 384 (0.5%) Native American, 10,115 (13.1%) Asian, 191 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 7,267 (9.4%) from other races, and 3,671 (4.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19,024 persons (24.6%).

The Census reported that 76,749 people (99.3% of the population) lived in households, 299 (0.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 216 (0.3%) were institutionalized.

There were 26,224 households, out of which 10,407 (39.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 15,603 (59.5%) were married couples, 2,710 (10.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,299 (5.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,217 (4.6%) unmarried partnerships, and 201 (0.8%) same-sex couples. 4,883 households (18.6%) were made up of individuals, and 1,432 (5.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93. There were 19,612 families (74.8% of all households); the average family size was 3.30.

The population was spread out, with 19,115 people (24.7%) under the age of 18, 6,775 people (8.8%) aged 18 to 24, 22,099 people (28.6%) aged 25 to 44, 22,184 people (28.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 7,091 people (9.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.5 males.

There were 27,088 housing units at an average density of , of which 18,579 (70.8%) were owner-occupied, and 7,645 (29.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.3%. 54,082 people (70.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 22,667 people (29.3%) lived in rental housing units.

Economy

The city is home to the headquarters of eyewear manufacturer Oakley, Inc.; in-flight entertainment provider Panasonic Avionics; Karem Aircraft an aircraft company developing UAVs; telecommunications software developer Greenlight Wireless Corp.; barbecue retailer Barbeques Galore; restaurant chains Johnny Rockets and Del Taco; medical equipment maker Apria Healthcare; reverse mortgage lender Access Home Lending; and skateboarding companies Sole Technology, Inc., Etnies, Autism Behavior Services Inc., and Tilly's; among others.

Top employers

According to the city's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

{| class="wikitable"

! #

! Employer

! # of employees

| 1

|Panasonic Avionics Corporation

|2,290

| 2

|LoanDepot

|2,049

| 3

|Oakley

|1,400

| 4

|Schneider Electric (Invensys)

|500

| 5

|Spectrum Brands

|494

| 6

|Cox Communications

|491

| 7

|Bal Seal Engineering

|423

| 8

|The Home Depot

|348

| 9

|Walmart

|340

| 10

|Alcon Research

|315

Arts and culture

Lake Forest is served by two branches of the Orange County Public Library system known as OC Public Libraries: the El Toro branch and the Foothill Ranch branch.

The city is the location of Rick Warren's megachurch, Saddleback Church, the sixth-largest evangelical church in the United States.

The city of Lake Forest puts on an annual summer concert at Pittsford Park. Other public events include the Fourth of July 5K run and fireworks display over the lake at the Sun & Sail Club.

On Wednesdays at 4 pm, there is a farmers market at the Sports Park and Recreation Center, where locals can go and buy products from the local farmers and vendors.

In 2020, the classical music organization Chamber Music | OC moved its operations from Chapman University in Orange, California to the Lake Forest Business Center where they are headquartered.

Parks and recreation

Lake Forest Sports Park and Recreation Center opened on November 1, 2014, across the street from Saddleback Church. The 86.2-acre Sports Park, built with fees collected from developers for a "study" that led to the rezoning of surrounding areas, is one of the largest sports parks in Orange County. The Recreation Center houses classrooms/activities rooms and a gymnasium, hosting many education and recreation programs that have previously been hosted at the rented City Hall facility.

Heritage Hill Historical Park and Museum is home to some of the oldest buildings in Orange County, including the Jose Serrano Adobe, an original adobe home and settlement built in 1863; El Toro's first school, the old El Toro School House; El Toro's first church, St. Georges Episcopal Church; and the Harvey Bennett Ranch House, built in 1908, from which the Bennett Ranch development in Lake Forest derives its name. The Bennetts raised oranges for Sunkist, and owned the State-deeded water rights to Aliso Creek, which was very rare in California, and instrumental to their success. It is also the location of "Ritchie's Park," per signs along Aliso Creek, which was a naturally set childhood playground along the stream, where all of the Bennett children and grandchildren played. Frequently, the children found Indian artifacts along the banks, and met relatives of the Indians whose ancestors had actually lived there, including "Al" and "Cy" who were older Indians working for the Bennetts. The park is named for Richard Bennett Harvey, the grandchild whom Harvey and Frances Bennett raised, their seventh and last "child" who grew up on the ranch in youth, and lived there later in early marriage, working on the ranch until it was sold. The Bennett's son, Richard Beach Bennett, was educated in Animal Husbandry at California Polytechnic State University, Pomona, and grew replacement trees for farmers, before starting his own ranch in Balcom Canyon in Ventura County.

Lake Forest also has etnies Skatepark, which is the largest public skatepark with over .

Government

thumb|Former Lake Forest City Hall

Marine Corps Air Station El Toro was located from the city of Lake Forest in the city of Irvine. At one time, El Toro was considered a military town, but the city blossomed independently in the 1980s and 1990s before the base closed in 1999.

Doug Cirbo serves as Lake Forest's Mayor and Mark Tettemer serves as Mayor Pro Tempore. In addition to Cirbo and Tettemer, the three other City Council members are Robert Pequeno, Scott Voigts, and Benjamin Yu.

State and federal representation

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin:1em; font-size:95%;"

|+ Lake Forest city vote by party in presidential elections

|- style="background:lightgrey;"

! Year

! Democratic

! Republican

! Third Parties

|align="center" |2024

|align="center" |50.07% 21,519

|align="center" |46.44% 19,955

|align="center" |3.49% 1,500

|align="center" |2020

|align="center" |52.38% 23,810

|align="center" |45.40% 20,638

|align="center" |2.21% 1,006

|align="center" |2016

|align="center" |46.00% 16,221

|align="center" |46.76% 16,488

|align="center" |7.24% 2,553

|align="center" |2012

|align="center" |40.72% 13,307

|align="center" |56.57% 18,484

|align="center" |2.71% 885

|align="center" |2008

|align="center" |44.23% 14,937

|align="center" |53.40% 18,034

|align="center" |2.37% 802

|align="center" |2004

|align="center" |34.71% 11,200

|align="center" |64.11% 20,691

|align="center" |1.18% 381

|align="center" |2000

|align="center" |36.13% 10,968

|align="center" |60.56% 18,386

|align="center" |3.31% 1,005

|align="center" |1996

|align="center" |34.19% 7,511

|align="center" |54.94% 12,069

|align="center" |10.87% 2,389

|align="center" |1992

|align="center" |27.58% 6,908

|align="center" |45.76% 11,464

|align="center" |26.66% 6,680

In the California State Legislature, Lake Forest is in , and in .

In the United States House of Representatives, Lake Forest is in .

According to the Secretary of State of California, as of February 10, 2019, Lake Forest has 46,014 registered voters. Of those, 17,329 (37.66%) are registered Republicans, 13,402 (29.13%) are registered Democrats, and 13,080 (28.43%) have no political party preference/are independents.

Historically, Lake Forest has, like most of southern Orange County, been a Republican fortress in presidential elections. Changing demographics and the intensely polarizing urban/rural divide, however, has made Lake Forest more fertile footing for Democrats, who in recent elections have been trimming the GOP margins in the city. In 2020, Joe Biden became the first Democratic presidential nominee to win Lake Forest since its incorporation.

Education

Lake Forest has one high school, El Toro High School, which opened in 1973, and one high school on the border of Lake Forest and Mission Viejo, Trabuco Hills High School. The city also has eight elementary schools and a middle school. The mascot is a bull and its teams are known as the Chargers; its school colors are blue and gold. Lake Forest is served entirely by the Saddleback Valley Unified School District, or SVUSD.

Notable people

Nolan Arenado, MLB All-Star, St. Louis Cardinals
Creighton Braun, soccer player
Michael Bryant, soccer player
Brad Bufanda, actor
Lauren Chamberlain, professional softball player for USSSA Pride, holds record for most career home runs in NCAA
Matt Chapman (baseball), MLB player, Oakland Athletics
Jake Ellenberger, UFC fighter in welterweight division
Ekaterina Gordeeva, 1988 and 1994 Olympic gold medalist in pair skating (married to Ilia Kulik)
HORSE the Band, hardcore music act
Ilia Kulik, 1998 Olympic gold medalist in men's single skating (married to Ekaterina Gordeeva)
Ryan Lasch, ice hockey player
Mark Muñoz, UFC fighter in middleweight division
Eddie Paskey, "Lieutenant Leslie" from Star Trek: The Original Series
Brandi Passante, TV personality
Ginger Reyes, rock bassist with the bands The Smashing Pumpkins and Halo Friendlies
Austin Romine, catcher for El Toro High School's baseball team, drafted by New York Yankees in 2007
Kaitlin Sandeno, Olympic swimming champion, El Toro High School grad
Lindsay Soto, football broadcaster
Christine Woods, actress in ABC television show FlashForward
Elaine Youngs, Olympic volleyball champion
Sydney "SYNJ" Jarvis, singer and TV personality

Former

Florence Griffith Joyner – athlete, Olympic gold medalist, laid to rest at El Toro Memorial Park.
Diane Murphy - actress on Bewitched - El Toro High School graduate.
Erin Murphy - actress on Bewitched - El Toro High School graduate.
Nicole Brown Simpson - deceased former wife of O. J. Simpson, laid to rest at Ascension Cemetery.
Jonathan Thulin - contemporary Christian singer and recording artist.

References

External links

Chamber of Commerce Homepage
Early history of El Toro: El Toro and Its History, Charlotte Moulton, 1932, Orange County History Series, Volume 2