Aliso Viejo, California, United States

🇺🇸 Aliso Viejo is a city in the San Joaquin Hills of southern Orange County, California. It became Orange County's 34th city in 2001, the only city in Orange County to be incorporated since 2000. It is bordered by the cities of Laguna Beach on the west and south-west, Laguna Hills on the east, Laguna Niguel on the south-east, and Laguna Woods on the north.

It is similarly named to another nearby city, Mission Viejo. Early Aliso Villas advertising photograph from 1972. Aliso Viejo Library Construction photograph in 1997.

History The Acjachemen are the Indigenous people of Aliso Viejo, who lived in the area for thousands of years. The people established numerous villages along Aliso Creek as well dividing the Acjachemen and the Tongva. With the arrival of settlers, the Acjachemen village sites would later become the southern areas of the Moulton Ranch.

The planned community of Aliso Viejo's original 6,600 acres (2,700 ha) were once part of the 26,000-acre (11,000 ha) Moulton Ranch, owned by the Moulton family, who took title in the 1890s to land originally granted to Juan Avila by the Mexican government in 1842. Over the years, portions of the ranch were sold and became Leisure World, Laguna Hills and Laguna Niguel.

In 1976, the Mission Viejo Company purchased the remaining 6,600 acres to create a new planned community – Aliso Viejo – with a master plan for 20,000 homes for a planned population of 50,000. The master plan was approved by the Orange County in 1979, and homes were first offered for sale in March 1982. Aliso Viejo's first family moved in that November. As part of the project, 2,600 acres (1,100 ha) were dedicated to Orange County as part of the Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park, and 800 acres (320 ha) were set aside for local parks, recreation, schools and community facilities.

The Aliso Viejo Community Association (AVCA) was set up to manage the local parks and community open space. It was the first community-wide association of its kind in California and has the unique ability to provide a full range of community services and facilities.

Aliso Viejo was the first planned community in California to plan a balance between the projected resident work force and the number of projected jobs within its borders. Pacific Park, the centrally located 900-acre (360 ha) business park and town centre, was expected to ultimately provide more than 22,000 jobs. Every home in Aliso Viejo was located within 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) of Pacific Park, to encourage live-and-work opportunities.

Incorporation Aliso Viejo had been an unincorporated community since 1979, and incorporated as a city in 2001 due to the efforts of the Aliso Viejo Cityhood 2000 Committee, which was responsible for introducing an initiative on the ballot for the 2001 special election. Voters passed the initiative with 93.3% in favor of incorporation. Carmen Vali-Cave, the co-founder and president of the committee, became the new city's first mayor.

The seal of the city of Aliso Viejo was adopted in 2001 at incorporation. The seal features several mountains, a sunset, a tree, and several buildings. Also, the seal features the slogan "July 2001", in celebration of the city's incorporation date.

Aliso Viejo is a general law city with a council-manager system of government. Day-to-day operations are handled by a professional city manager overseen by a volunteer city council. The City Council of Aliso Viejo consists of five members serving staggered four-year terms. Each year, the Council votes for its next Mayor and Mayor pro tem. The current City Council consists of Mayor Mike Munzing, Mayor Pro-Tem Tiffany Ackley, and Council Members David C. Harrington, Ross Chun, and William Phillips.

Crime The Uniform Crime Report (UCR), collected annually by the FBI, compiles police statistics from local and state law enforcement agencies across the nation. The UCR records Part I and Part II crimes. Part I crimes become known to law enforcement and are considered the most serious crimes including homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson. Part II crimes only include arrest data.

Geography Aliso Viejo is located at 33°34′30″N 117°43′32″W (33.575096, -117.725431) in the San Joaquin Hills of Orange County. According to the Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.5 square miles (19 km²), all of which is land. Aliso Viejo is one of several cities bordering Aliso and Wood Canyons Regional Park. Aliso Creek forms part of the city's boundary with Laguna Niguel to the south, and Wood Canyon Creek forms part of the city's western boundary. Much of the city rests on the east slope of the San Joaquin Hills, which are a coastal mountain range extending for about 15 miles (24 km) along the Pacific coast.

Biogeography The most common native species: Red Sand Verbena, Pink Sand Verbena, and Big Leaf Maple

Demographics

Aliso Viejo first appeared as a census designated place in the 1980 U.S. Census; and after incorporation in 2001, as a city in the 2010 U.S. Census.

The 2020 United States census reported a population of 52,176. The racial makeup (including Hispanics in the racial counts) was 68.3% White, 2.7% African American, 15.4% Asian. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.8%.

The 2010 United States census reported that Aliso Viejo had a population of 47,823. The population density was 6,400.4 inhabitants per square mile (2,471.2/km²). The racial makeup of Aliso Viejo was 34,437 (89.0%) White (77.8% Non-Hispanic White), 967 (2.0%) African American, 151 (0.1%) Native American, 6,996 (14.6%) Asian, 89 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 2,446 (5.1%) from other races, and 2,737 (5.7%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8,164 persons (17.1%).

The Census reported that 47,354 people (99.0% of the population) lived in households, 450 (0.9%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 19 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 18,204 households, out of which 7,095 (39.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 9,358 (51.4%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,966 (10.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 791 (4.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 987 (5.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 206 (1.1%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 4,416 households (24.3%) were made up of individuals, and 638 (3.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60. There were 12,115 families (66.6% of all households); the average family size was 3.16.

The population was spread out, with 12,395 people (25.9%) under the age of 18, 3,739 people (7.8%) aged 18 to 24, 17,138 people (35.8%) aged 25 to 44, 12,003 people (25.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 2,548 people (5.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males.

There were 18,867 housing units at an average density of 2,525.1 per square mile (974.9/km²), of which 11,049 (60.7%) were owner-occupied, and 7,155 (39.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.6%. 29,819 people (62.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 17,535 people (36.7%) lived in rental housing units.

Economy Companies located in Aliso Viejo include: • 3tera, a cloud computing software vendor • AND1, a shoe and apparel company • Buy.com, an online retailer • Centon Electronics, Inc., a manufacturer of computer memory and flash-based storage devices • Fluor, an international construction contractor for petrochemical, infrastructure, and environmental projects, headquartered in Aliso Viejo until it was relocated to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex suburb of Irving, Texas in March 2006. Some divisions still reside in Aliso Viejo. • Ketel One, a vodka company • Marie Callender's, a restaurant chain • Microsoft's office after the purchase of DATAllegro • Nimbus Data, a network storage systems and software company • Pacific Life, an insurance company • QLogic, a network storage manufacturer • Quest Software (formerly Dell Software), a software manufacturer • Smith Micro Software, a software developer • Tamiya America, US subsidiary of the manufacturer of model cars Tamiya Corporation, headquartered in Aliso Viejo until it was relocated to Irvine, CA. • UST Global, an IT, Technology and Digital Transformation company • USWeb, an Internet marketing company • Microsemi Corporation, a semiconductor company • Sony Interactive Entertainment, a multinational video game and digital entertainment company • Carbine Studios, a video game developer, partnered with NCSOFT • Metagenics, a medical manufacturing company • Meta Solar, a solar energy installation company • Vertos Medical, a manufacturer of surgical instruments used to perform minimally invasive procedures • Ambry Genetics, a health care genetic lab, a subsidiary of parent company Konica Minolta.

Economy: Top employers According to the city's 2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city include: 1 United Parcel Service; 2 Pacific Life; 3 Capistrano Unified School District; 4 Fluor; 5 Quest Software; 6 QLogic; 7 Renaissance Hotels ClubSport Aliso Viejo; 8 Pepsi Beverages Company; 9 Smith Micro Software; 10 Merit Property Management; 11 Buy.com; 12 Lennar; 13 Target Corporation; 14 Bausch & Lomb; 15 Ambry Genetics; 16 The Covington; 17 LenSx Laser; 18 Lowe's.

Emergency services Fire protection in Aliso Viejo is provided by the Orange County Fire Authority with ambulance service by Care Ambulance. Law enforcement is provided by the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Education Public K–12 A tiny portion of the city, the Bells Vireo neighborhood of El Toro Road, are contracted out to the Laguna Beach Unified School District in Laguna Beach. Due to the city's inaccessibility at times, students who live in that portion may choose to attend the Capistrano Unified School District, which includes these schools: Elementary • Canyon Vista Elementary School • Don Juan Avila Elementary School • Oak Grove Elementary School • Wood Canyon Elementary School; Middle school • Aliso Viejo Middle School • Don Juan Avila Middle School; High school • Aliso Niguel High School; Private K–12 • VanDamme Academy • St. Mary and All Angels School • Aliso Viejo Christian School.

Education: University • Saddleback College (Mission Viejo, California) • Irvine Valley College (Irvine, California) • Orange Coast College (Costa Mesa, California) • Soka University of America.

Transport: Bus The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) operates three local bus routes servicing thirteen stops within Aliso Viejo: Route 87 and Route 177 via Alicia Parkway and Route 90 via Moulton Parkway.