Placentia, California


Placentia is a city in northern Orange County, California. The population was 50,533 during the 2010 census, up from 46,488 in the 2000 census. This includes the community of Atwood, which is included in the city of Placentia, and is located in its southernmost quadrant. Primarily referred to as a bedroom community, Placentia is known for its quiet neighborhoods.
In 1971, Placentia was honored with the prestigious "All America City" Award, given out annually by the National Civic League to ten cities in the United States.

History

In 1837, the Mexican government granted the area that is now Placentia to Juan Pacifico Ontiveros as part of the Rancho San Juan Cajón de Santa Ana land grant. In 1865, American pioneer Daniel Kraemer arrived and purchased 3,900 acres. Many other American pioneers soon followed and the community developed. The local school district was originally named the Cajon School District. In 1878, the school district's name was changed to Placentia School District, Placentia being derived from a Latin word meaning "pleasant place to live." The town eventually took its own name after the school district.

Geography

Placentia is located in Orange County at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of. of it is land and 0.22% is water. State Route 57 runs through the southwest section of Placentia. State Route 91 passes directly south of the city. Districts in Placentia include the neighborhood of La Jolla and the formerly unincorporated community of Atwood.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Placentia has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps.

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Placentia had a population of 50,533. The population density was 7,677.0 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Placentia was 31,373 White, 914 African American, 386 Native American, 7,531 Asian, 74 Pacific Islander, 8,247 from other races, and 2,008 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18,416 persons.
The Census reported that 50,196 people lived in households, 253 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 84 were institutionalized.
There were 16,365 households, out of which 6,310 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 9,399 were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,070 had a female householder with no husband present, 897 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 747 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 91 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,880 households were made up of individuals and 1,274 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.07. There were 12,366 families ; the average family size was 3.44.
The population was spread out with 12,445 people under the age of 18, 5,202 people aged 18 to 24, 13,945 people aged 25 to 44, 12,598 people aged 45 to 64, and 6,343 people who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.7 males.
There were 16,872 housing units at an average density of 2,563.2 per square mile, of which 10,681 were owner-occupied, and 5,684 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.7%. 31,761 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 18,435 people lived in rental housing units.
According to the 2010 United States Census, Placentia had a median household income of $75,693, with 12.2% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 46,488 people, 15,037 households, and 11,683 families residing in the city. The population density was 7,051.3 inhabitants per square mile. There were 15,326 housing units at an average density of 2,324.6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 67.76% White, 1.77% African American, 0.83% Native American, 11.16% Asian, 0.18% Pacific Islander 13.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 31.10% of the population.
There were 15,037 households out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.5% were married alternative couples living together, 50.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.3% were non-families. 16.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.07 and the average family size was 3.42.
In the city, the population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $62,803, and the median income for a family was $68,976. These figures had risen to $77,496 and $83,674 respectively as of a 2007 estimate. Males had a median income of $46,956 versus $34,184 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,843. About 5.7% of families and 8.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.2% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Placentia has a $20,000,000 Metrolink project that started in the downtown area in 2013. This project is in conjunction with the Orange County Transit Authority, and will assist in the continued revitalization of the area, which is also scheduled for the building of more transit oriented housing to complement the train station, mixed use, retail and entertainment. All designed to enhance Placentia's unique presence in Orange County. Placentia is also working with the OCTA on the OC Bridges project. The project, combined with the city of Fullerton, provides approximately $580,000,000 in funding to build underpasses and/or overpasses at the major north-south roadways in the two cities. The roadways are Lakeview Avenue, Rose Drive/Tustin Avenue, Orangethorpe Avenue, Kraemer Boulevard, Placentia Avenue, State College Boulevard and Raymond Avenue. The underpasses and overpasses at Placentia, Kraemer, Rose/Tustin and Lakeview are complete.

Top employers

According to Placentia's 2012 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
#Employer# of Employees
1Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District2,500
2Placentia-Linda Hospital390
3Hartwell300
4Premedia305
5City of Placentia215

Arts and culture

The George Key Ranch Historic District is a historic citrus ranch and Victorian ranch house in Placentia. It is now within the 2-acre George Key Ranch Historic Park, with the historic house museum, outdoor displays, and a citrus grove. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Placentia-Santa Fe District is in the southwest or downtown area. The town is home to the A. S. Bradford House, a historic house museum. It is also home to the 100 year old Berkenstock Mansion.
In 1973, " Guillermo Aranda and "founding apprentice artist" Ernesto "Neto" Paul collaborated with the art students of the University of California, Irvine in painting a mural on the walls of the . Aranda was invited by a Professor at UCI. The following year the chairman of Toltecas en Aztlan, and the board director of The Centro Cultural De La Raza, Guillermo Aranda, also invited these same Orange County artists referred to as the "Santa Ana Muralists/Santa Ana Artists," to come to Chicano Park and paint on one of the first pillars of Chicano Park.

Government and politics

Local

Placentia is a charter city with an elected city council, elected city clerk, and elected city treasurer and professional city manager.
;Placentia Elected Officials
;Placentia Appointed Officials
;Mayors since 1989
MayorTerm
Norman Z. Eckenrode1989–90, 1993–94, 1996–98
Arthur G. Newton1990–91
John O. Tynes1991–92
Maria Moreno1992–93
Michael Maertzweiler1994–95, 1999–2000
Carol Downey1995–96
Constance Underhill1998–99, 2006–07
Chris Lowe2000–02
Scott P. Brady2002–03, 2004–06
Judy Dickinson2003–04
Gregory Sowards2008–09
Joseph Aguirre2009–10
Scott W. Nelson2007–08, 2010–11, 2012–14
Jeremy Yamaguchi2011–12, 2015–16
Chad Wanke2014–15, 2017–18
Craig Green2016–17
Rhonda Shader2018–19

Unless otherwise noted, mayoral terms begin and end in December.
The voters of Placentia also elect the Boards of the Placentia Library District and the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District.

State and federal representation

In the California State Legislature, Placentia is in, and in.
In the United States House of Representatives, Placentia is in.
According to the California Secretary of State, as of February 10, 2019, Placentia has 27,328 registered voters. Of those, 10,285 are registered Republicans, 8,510 are registered Democrats, and 7,400 have no political party preference/are independents.

Education

Placentia Library District

Placentia is home to one of the 13 special district libraries in California. The Placentia Library District is a single-purpose library district governed by an elected Board of Trustees. Its principal source of income is property tax proration. The library's early history is much like other communities. Beginning in 1914, the Women's Christian Temperance Union established a reading and recreation room for boys in a storefront on Bradford Avenue. After a successful petition and election by the residents, the Placentia Library District was officially formed on September 2, 1919. The new library district included seven square miles of the Placentia area: the north line was beyond Golden Avenue, the east line along Linda Vista through Hazard's subdivision,the south through Golden State Tract but not as far as Miraloma Avenue and the west line along the Fullerton boundary. The Library Board of Trustees hired Placentia's first Librarian, Sara Rideout, for $0.25 an hour, and the Women's Christian Temperance Union turned over their reading room and 193 books. The library officially opened to the public on January 15, 1920, from 2:00–5:00 p.m. and 7:00–9:00 p.m. By 1926, a new library building was needed to meet the needs of the growing community. The building, designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival style by renowned architect Carleton Monroe Winslow, features beautiful Talavera tiles created by Mexican potter, Pedro Sanchez. In March 1927, the grand opening was held for the new library building located at 143 S.Bradford Avenue. In 1974, the library again become too small for its growing collection and was moved to its current location in the Civic Center Plaza. That same year the library boundaries expanded to reflect the same boundaries as the city.
Today the Placentia Library District has over 330,000 people visit each year and has over 42,000 library cards issued. The Library holds over 102,000 materials. In September 2018 the Placentia Library began a major $2.3 million renovation/modernization project as part of the library’s centennial anniversary. The project was completed on September 14, 2019.

Public schools

Placentia is a part of the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District. There are three high schools in the city:
In addition, Placentia supports three public middle schools: Kraemer Middle School, Valadez Middle School Academy, and Tuffree Middle School. The city houses numerous public elementary schools: Brookhaven Elementary, George Key Elementary, Golden Elementary, Morse Elementary, Melrose Elementary, Ruby Drive Elementary, Sierra Vista Elementary, Tynes Elementary, Van Buren Elementary, and Wagner Elementary.

Independent schools

The Parkview School provides an independent study K-12 school for students who are "homeschoolers, student actors, junior athletes, chronically ill, or in various other situations for which an alternative to classroom-based instruction is desirable."

Transportation

The Metrolink 91/Perris Valley Line passes through the southern portion of the city. The city has been preparing the area of a proposed new station located at Melrose Avenue and Crowther Avenue in Old Town Placentia. The project is estimated to cost $35 million; the city will contribute $5.4 million. A tenative completion date has been set for December 2021.
In 2007, the city became for the cargo-carrying trains which pass through the city regularly every day, utilizing locomotive grade crossing predictors and inter-crossing ground-based radio communications to effect a corridor where crossing gate arms become actuated prior to the train's approach, enabling trains to not be required to announce their approach by sounding the Morse Code letter "Q" on its whistle which is otherwise mandated by the Federal Railroad Administration. The city's offer information on the Zone's scope and any temporary or long-term alterations to the Quiet Zone.
The city is served by the Orange County Transportation Authority with