About El Dorado Hills
El Dorado Hills is a census-designated place which encompasses 17.9 square
miles (46 kmē) of land along the western boundary of El Dorado County,
California. The population was estimated at 35,276 as of January 2006 for the
portion within the El Dorado Hills Community Services District, making it the
largest community in El Dorado County. It is located 22 miles (35 km) east of
California's State Capitol, Sacramento, in El Dorado County. El Dorado Hills
residents and businesses are most closely affiliated with El Dorado County, a
generally rural area. However, the U.S. Census Bureau considers El Dorado County
to be part of the Sacramento Metropolitan Area because it is an outlying county
socially and economically integrated with Sacramento County. El Dorado Hills, or
EDH as it is otherwise known, is recognized nationally for its high median
household income, ranking 77th in CNN Money Magazine's best places to live in
2007.
History
The modern history of El Dorado Hills dates back to the early 1960s when
original developer Alan Lindsey began its development as a master planned
community. The original master plan, prepared by architect Victory Gruen,
covered the area generally north of U.S. Highway 50, and part of the area south
of US 50 now considered to be part of the community. El Dorado Hills was
envisioned as a large-scale master-planned community that would be completely
planned from its inception as a group of residential "villages". Other land uses
in the master plan included a business park, two 18-hole golf courses, community
parks, schools, a community shopping center, and small commercial centers in
each village. The master plan emphasized open space between villages and
opportunity for outdoor recreation.
Between the late 60's and mid 1990's growth occurred at a moderate pace as
new families relocated from Sacramento, Southern California and the Bay Area.
This growth primarily consisted of residential housing, as retail developments
were limited to two shopping centers on the corners Green Valley & Francisco and
El Dorado Hills Blvd. & Hwy. 50. Each neighborhood created during this time
period was given a name and referred to as a "village" by the local inhabitants.
The original villages of El Dorado Hills include Park Village, Ridgeview, Saint
Andrews, Governor's Village, Marina Village and Lake Hills Estates. In the 1980s
and 1990s the major part of Lake Hills Estates was devolepod as the villages of
Waterford, The Summit, Green Valley Hills, Winterhaven, Marina Woods, and
Windsor Point. Additional villages developed south of Green Valley Road are
Fairchild, Sterlingshire, Highland Hills, and Highland View.
By the 1990 census, El Dorado Hills had an estimated population of 6,395
residents. Growth slowed during the early part of the 90's due to an economic
recession throughout California, but resumed at a staggering pace by the mid
1990's. Businesses, particularly those interested in escaping the high costs of
Silicon Valley began to set up operations in the El Dorado Hills Business Park
south of Highway 50. In 1995, the Parker Development Company acquired
3,500 acres (14 kmē) along the eastern boundary of El Dorado Hills to create
Serrano, one of the largest master planned communities in Northern California.
Geography and environment
Actual geography of the El Dorado Hills Community Region is significantly
different from the corresponding Census Designated Place. The CDP is to be
updated for the 2010 Census. At present the El Dorado Hills Fire Department's
district covers about 2.5 times as much land area as is included in the CDP
boundaries.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of
17.9 square miles (46.4 kmē). In a 2005 proposal to incorporate El Dorado Hills
as a city, the El Dorado Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) defined
different boundaries, enclosing 20,023 acres (81.0 kmē, or 31.3 sq mi).
In recent years El Dorado Hills has been the subject of a naturally occurring
asbestos investigation after high traces of tremolite were found in the fields
surrounding Oak Ridge High School. In May 2004, the Environmental Protection
Agency released its findings: after taking 400 air samples throughout El Dorado
Hills they found that almost every single sample had traces of asbestos fibers.
El Dorado Hills citizens responded to the findings by deriding the EPA and
hiring Richard Lee, an "expert" that has received more than $7 million dollars
over the years for testifying on behalf of the asbestos industry. Lee had
previously testified against the EPA in the Libby, Montana case. Lee declared
the EPA's findings to be incorrect. There has been no clear resolution to date
and citizens continue to live in El Dorado Hills despite the findings.
The subsurface environment of El Dorado Hills is relatively free of groundwater
and soil contamination, based upon an areawide analysis of the potential for
pesticide contamination and evaluation of underground storage tanks.(Earth
Metrics, 1989)
Demographics
El Dorado Hills was mainly a bedroom community from its origin in 1962 until
nearly the end of the 20th century. Around the year 2000 its population growth
and commercial development accelerated. Development began in its Town Center
area to form a true downtown business area, and its Business Park experienced
increasing rates of construction and occupancy.
Total population within the El Dorado Hills Community Services District (CSD)
was certified as 35,276 in January, 2006 by the California State Department of
Finance. The El Dorado Hills Fire Department reported a population of 40,929 in
its service area at the end of 2006. The Fire Department's district covers a
larger geographic area than the CSD and is more nearly equivalent to the El
Dorado County definition of the El Dorado Hills Community Region.
The El Dorado County General Plan defines the El Dorado Hills Community Region
to be about 44 square miles (110 kmē) in size. In 2008 El Dorado County will
redefine the area to be considered as the Census Designated Place (CDP) for El
Dorado Hills in the 2010 Census to be more consistent with actual community
size.
Detailed demographic data has not been updated since the census GR2 of 2000, in
part because El Dorado Hills remains unincorporated. Also, the Census data
applies to a much smaller area (17.9 square miles) is currently recognized as El
Dorado Hills.
As of the census GR2 of 2000, there were 18,016 people, 5,896 households, and
5,206 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,006.3 people
per square mile (388.6/kmē). There were 6,071 housing units at an average
density of 339.1/sq mi (131.0/kmē). SACOG's estimate for December, 2003 was
9,713 dwelling units.
The Census Bureaus's assessment of racial makeup of the CDP was 90.11% White,
0.77% Black or African American, 0.46% Native American, 4.11% Asian, 0.17%
Pacific Islander, 1.37% from other races, and 3.01% from two or more races.
4.97% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 5,896 households out of which 50.7% had children under the age of 18
living with them, 79.5% were married couples living together, 6.5% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 11.7% were non-families. 9.4% of all
households were made up of individuals and 2.7% had someone living alone who is
65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.06 and the average
family size was 3.26.
In the CDP the population distribution was 33.2% under the age of 18, 4.5% from
18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.3% who were 65 years
of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were
99.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $93,483, and the median income
for a family was $97,711. Males had a median income of $75,369 versus $45,978
for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $40,239. 1.7% of the
population and 1.5% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total
population, 1.5% of those under the age of 18 and 2.2% of those 65 and older
were living below the poverty line.
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