Santa Clarita, California

Santa Clarita, California
Santa Clarita as seen from the Santa Susana foothills.
Official seal of Santa Clarita, California Seal
Location of Santa Clarita in California and Los Angeles County Location of Santa Clarita in California and Los Angeles County
Country	United States
State	California
County	Los Angeles
Incorporated	December 15, 1987
Government
• Mayor	Andrew Beruman
• Mayor Pro-Tem	Bob Kellar
• City Council	Frank Ferry Laurene Weste TimBen Boydston
• City Manager	Ken Pulskamp
Population  (2000)
• Total	151,088
	U.S. Census, 2000
Time zone	UTC-8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
Website	www.santa-clarita.com

A typical stretch of Valencia Boulevard in the Valencia part of Santa Clarita. The bridge in the distance carries a paseo (a type of dedicated pedestrian pathway unique to Valencia) over the roadway.

Santa Clarita is the fourth largest city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2006, California Department of Finance estimate, the city population was 177,418. The current population is calculated at 175,314 according to city population signs around the city but it is likely the population is even higher than that as the city continues to grow rapidly. It is located about 35 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, and occupies most of the Santa Clarita Valley. It is a notable example of a U.S. edge city or boomburb. The FBI rates it as the sixth safest city in the United States with at least 100,000 inhabitants. (Nearby Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks, in Ventura County, traditionally alternate between the first and second spots on the list.)

Santa Clarita was incorporated in 1987 as the union of several previously existing communities, including Canyon Country, Newhall, Saugus, Valencia, and portions of Castaic. Its principal boundaries are the Golden State and Antelope Valley freeways; their merger in Newhall Pass at the city's southernmost point gives Santa Clarita its distinctive triangular appearance on the map. Unlike many other hybrid cities' districts, communities in Santa Clarita retain a considerable degree of autonomy, to the extent that some of them—Valencia, most notably—are often mistaken for completely separate cities.

Santa Clarita's most notable attractions are the Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park on the western edge of the city, and the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), both located in Valencia.

Geography

Santa Clarita is located at 34°24′60″N 118°30′23″W
(34.416561, -118.506443)Template:GR. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 123.9 km² (47.8 mi²). 123.9 km² (47.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.04%) is water.

Law Enforcement

The City of Santa Clarita has a contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for law enforcement protection. It has its own Sheriff Station located off of Valencia Boulevard in the heart of the cities' Downtown area.

Fire Services

The City of Santa Clarita has a contract with the Los Angeles County Fire Deparment for Fire Protection. The City currently has six Fire Stations but with the increasing growth in the area 8 new Stations are planned for the area by 2012.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 151,088 people, 50,787 households, and 38,242 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,219.6/km² (3,159.1/mi²). There were 52,442 housing units at an average density of 423.3/km² (1,096.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.53% White, 2.07% African American, 0.59% Native American, 5.24% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 8.54% from other races, and 3.89% from two or more races. 20.50% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 50,787 households out of which 44.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.0% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.7% were non-families. 18.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.38.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.3% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 33.6% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $66,717, and the median income for a family was $73,588. Males had a median income of $53,769 versus $36,835 for females. The per capita income for the city was $26,841. 6.4% of the population and 4.7% of families were below the poverty line. 6.7% of those under the age of 18 and 5.9% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Local Environmental Issues

Santa Clarita has retained its small town atmosphere throughout its growth and has also been somewhat resistant to the smog that settles in on its neighboring San Fernando Valley cities. Recently, a mining company, Cemex, wished to extend its mining over towards the east side of Santa Clarita. The city is in the process of opposing this extension, citing greater traffic, environmental damage, and increased airborne particles as consequences of such an action.[1]. One other environmental issue is the connecting of the two segments of Lost Canyon Road between the Fair Oaks Ranch area in southeast Canyon Country to the Sand Canyon area in northeast Canyon Country. Even with some area opposition due to the fact there must be two bridges built across the Santa Clara River the city and county plan to have the two segments connected around 2010.

Youth involvement

Santa Clarita is also known for its extensive youth-involvement programs, including Visions in Progress (VIP), a youth advisory group to the City Council, the SCV Youth Project, which strives to increase teen involvement in the city, and the Volunteen program, which provides teens with the chance to perform community service in the city, such as the annual River Rally (a river cleanup project of the Santa Clara River). (VIP) seeks to better the communtity and also provide a safe and very exciting environment for the local teens and new residents. The Santa Clarita Valley Safe Rides program, established in 1986, is a Teen Volunteer group which helps to prevent drunk driving in teens.

Television and movie production

Santa Clarita's proximity to Hollywood has seen a number of TV shows and movies filmed in the area, including Pump Up the Volume (which was filmed in Saugus High School), 24, CSI and Weeds. In addition to these productions, the short-lived series Smith was not only filmed in Santa Clarita, but the main (fictional) characters lived in the city. The Secret World of Alex Mack was filmed at Charles Helmers Elementary School in Santa Clarita. Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers was also filmed in parts of Santa Clarita and Castaic as well. On the January 15, 2007, episode of FOX's television show 24, Valencia gained notoriety by being blown up in a nuclear explosion.

Transportation

Freeways

Santa Clarita is serviced by Interstate 5 on the western Valencia side, of the valley. The communities of Canyon County and Newhall, on the east side of the valley, can be accessed by using California State Highway 14.

Bus Service

Santa Clarita Transit provides bus service in the valley and into Sylmar. On Weekdays commuter buses make trips into Los Angeles, Warner Center, and Lancaster.

Train

Metrolink provides train service to the Santa Clarita Valley along its Antelope Valley Line which runs from Lancaster, California to Union Station, where transfers can be made to destinations in Southern California and the rest of the nation. Metrolink operates 3 stations in the city, Via Princessa Station in the Canyon Country community, Santa Clarita Station which is centrally located in the city and serves most of the Valencia and Saugus communities, and the Newhall Station which serves the community of Newhall. All stations have large parking lots to allow commuters to "park and ride."

Metrolink operates 6 days a week, Monday-Saturday.

Local Media

• The Signal
• Los Angeles Daily News LA Daily News-Santa Clarita Edition
• KHTS AM-1220 Radio [2]
• My Santa Clarita [3]
• Claritaville
• [http://www.santaclaritaguide.com The Santa Clarita Guide}

School districts

• Castaic Union School District [4]
• Newhall School District [5]
• Saugus Union School District [6]
• Sulphur Springs Elementary School District [7]
• William S. Hart High School District [8]

Colleges and universities

• California Institute of the Arts
• The Master's College [9]
• College of the Canyons [10]

External links

• Santa Clarita homepage
• Santa Clarita Valley Resources Page
• SCVTalk.com - Santa Clarita Neighborhood News/Community Journalism Site
• SCVLife.net - Santa Clarita Community, Life, and Events
• AM-1220 KHTS - Santa Clarita's Hometown Radio Station
• Santa Clarita's Community Website