The tracts were developed in the late 1980s through the early 1990s. The development was named after Gaspar de Portolá, California's first terrestrial Spanish explorer, who passed through the vicinity in 1769.
Geography
Portola Hills is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of, all land.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,391 people, 2,164 households, and 1,729 families residing in the CDP. The population density was. There were 2,181 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the CDP was 84.60% White, 1.63% African American, 0.30% Native American, 6.76% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 2.64% from other races, and 3.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.03% of the population. There were 2,164 households out of which 52.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.4% were married couplesliving together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.1% were non-families. 14.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.4% 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 3.30. In the CDP, the age distribution of the population shows 32.9% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 41.4% from 25 to 44, 18.0% from 45 to 64, and 2.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males. Estimated median household income in 2016: $126,434 Estimated per capita income in 2016: $50,437
The community of Portola Hills has 2,181 housing units on of land with an average housing density of. There are 14 tracts of housing built in single and multi-family configurations that can be classified as Condominium, Townhouse, Semi-Detached and Detached:
Condominium – 2 tracts with a total of 225 units featuring 1 and 2 bedroom floorplans ;
Townhouse – 3 tracts with a total of 657 units featuring 2 and 3 bedroom floorplans ;
Semi Detached – 2 tracts with a total of 378 units featuring 2 and 3 bedroom floorplans ; and
Detached – 7 tracts with a total of 921 units featuring 3 to 6 bedroom floorplans.
Schools
Children living in the area attend Portola Hills Elementary. Built in the mid-1990s, Portola Hills Elementary was subject to litigation between the SVUSD school district and the developer concerning land movement at the school site. The litigation was dismissed due to procedural issues regarding the statute of limitations. In 2004, three buildings were vacated for safety reasons due to damage potentially caused by the land movement and the students relocated in portable/temporary classrooms until a permanent solution could be made. As of mid-2008, the developer entered into a School Facilities Funding and Mitigation Agreement with the school district for development originally known as "Portola Hills South" and now known as "Portola Center." That agreement requires the developer to pay the district $2,900,000, solely for use in the repair of the school. As of June 2008, the district is moving forward with plans to repair two buildings and potentially demolish/rebuild the third provided approval is obtained from the Department of State Architecture.
