Yorba Linda, California
Yorba Linda is a suburban city in northeastern Orange County, California, United States, approximately 37 miles (60 km) southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. It is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and had a population of 68,336 at the 2020 census.
Yorba Linda is known for its connection to Richard Nixon, the 37th president of the United States. His birthplace is a National Historic Landmark, and his presidential library and museum are also located in the city.
Etymology[edit]
The name Yorba Linda is made up of two parts: Yorba, after Don Bernardo Yorba, a Californio ranchero who historically owned the area, and Linda, Spanish for beautiful. The name was created in 1908 by the Janss Investment Company.[6][7]
History[edit]
Indigenous[edit]
The area is the home of the Tongva, Luiseño, and Juaneño tribal nations, who were there "as early as 4,000 years ago."[8] The Tongva defined their world as Tovaangar, a nation which "extended from Palos Verdes to San Bernardino, from Saddleback Mountain to the San Fernando Valley" and included the entire territory of present-day Yorba Linda. Spanish colonization between 1769 and 1840 brought "disease, invasive species, and livestock" into the area, which "upended the ecological balance of the region and forced the Tongva to resettle around three missions."[9] The village of Hutuknga was located in the area of Yorba Linda.[10][11]
Transportation[edit]
Yorba Linda has several major highways and roads that are important through the city. Imperial Highway (SR 90), Bastanchury Road, Esparanza Road, La Palma Avenue, and Yorba Linda Boulevard are west–east streets. North–south streets include Rose Drive, Fairmont Boulevard, Lakeview Avenue, Gypsum Canyon Road, Kellogg Drive, Van Buren Street, Richfield Road, and Village Center Drive. SR 241 has its northern terminus at the southern tip of the city and SR 91 runs through the eastern tip of the city.
A Metrolink commuter rail station was rejected by its city council in 2004.[39]
Government[edit]
Municipal government[edit]
The city council consists of five members that are elected by residents to four-year terms, with a three-term limit.[75] The council elects its own mayor at the end of every year, whose duties are largely ceremonial because the city employs a council-manager form of government and the city manager runs day-to-day operations.[76]
As of 2023, the council consists of:[77]
Law enforcement[edit]
Law enforcement is currently contracted out to the Orange County Sheriff's Department (California).[85] OCSD maintains a sub-station at Arroyo Park, where Captain Cory Martino is Chief of Police Services.[86]
From 1971 to 2013, police services were provided by the Brea Police Department. Beginning in 1971, this marked the first time in the state's history that a municipality, as opposed to a county sheriff's department, provided police services to another municipality.[87] Prior to this setup, but after the city's incorporation in 1967, Yorba Linda did contract with the Orange County Sheriff's Department, which was and still is typical for municipalities that are not large enough or simply choose not to maintain an in-house police department.
In 2012, the Yorba Linda City Council met with citizens and police chiefs from the Anaheim and Brea police departments, along with Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, to vote on a new public safety contract. The meeting lasted 9 hours, finally ending at 3:00am on Wednesday April 25. The verdict, Yorba Linda would end its contract with the Brea Police Department after 42 years of service by the Brea Police Department. The city signed a 5-year contract with the Orange County Sheriff's Department becoming effective May 2013.
Infrastructure[edit]
Fire services are provided by the Orange County Fire Authority.
The Yorba Linda Water District, headquartered in Placentia, serves nearly all residents.[88][89] Golden State Water, which also has a field office in Placentia, serves the remainder.[89][90]
The city contracts out waste collection to Yorba Linda Disposal.[89][91]
Natural gas is provided by Southern California Gas Company, and electricity is provided by Southern California Edison.[89]
Yorba Linda has a history of equestrianism with 30 horse trails totaling over 100 miles.[92][93] As of August 2013, there are plans to construct public stables.[94]
Yorba Linda is part of the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District, which enrolled approximately 25,000 students as of the 2015–2016 school year.[95] A small portion of Yorba Linda, however, is directed to the Orange Unified School District.
St. Francis of Assisi School serves as the only Catholic school in the city. Many parents seeking a private school education for their children send their PS-8th graders to Heritage Oak Private School and high schoolers to nearby Lutheran High School of Orange County in the city of Orange, Servite High School (Anaheim, California) (boys), Cornelia Connelly School of the Holy Child (Anaheim, California) (girls) or Rosary High School (Fullerton, California) (girls), Mater Dei High School (co-ed) in Santa Ana, or Santa Margarita Catholic High School (co-ed) in Rancho Santa Margarita.
Yorba Linda High School opened its doors in 2009. The first full graduating class from YLHS was the class of 2012. As of 2015, one private high school, Friends Christian High School, is currently under construction.[96] Historically, a majority of Yorba Linda students also attend Esperanza[97] in Anaheim, and Valencia, or El Dorado in Placentia, the other three high schools in the Placentia-Yorba Linda School District.[98] Students can take an assessment to be placed into the magnet Troy High School in nearby Fullerton which is part of the Fullerton Joint Union High School District.
Nearby community colleges within twenty miles from the city hall include Fullerton College, Santiago Canyon College, Irvine Valley College, Cypress College, and Santa Ana College. Nearby four-year public universities include California State University, Fullerton, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and University of California, Irvine.
Yorba Linda also has a few Montessori preschools:
The Yorba Linda Spotlight Theater Company is a nonprofit theater organization for children and teenagers that provides education and performance opportunities. The theater produces full-scale musical productions as well as offering classes in the performing arts.[99][100]
