Featured Apartment:
Sacramento- Citrus Heights - 1 bedroom - 1 bath - spacious, clean & sunny unit! - Brick Building - Hardwood Floors - Modern Kitchen - Spacious Living Room - Large Bedroom w/ Double Sliding Door Closet - Updated Bathroom - Off Street Parking - access to commuter rail, bus, shops & restaurants, first and last months rent (NO SECURITY DEPOSIT) View More Listings -->
Citrus Heights Information
Citrus Heights is a city in Sacramento County, California, USA. As of the 2000
census, the city had a total population of 85,071. As of 2006, the city's total
increased to 86,883. [1] It has two ZIP Codes: 95610 and 95621.
Geography
Location of Citrus Heights, California
Citrus Heights is located at 38�41′41″N, 121�17′26″W (38.694702,
-121.290548)GR1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a
total area of 37.2 km� (14.4 mi�), all land. The city incorporated January 2,
1997 (1 January according to the official city website), becoming only the fifth
city in Sacramento County.
Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 85,071 people, 33,478 households, and
21,660 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,288.9/km�
(5,929.3/mi�). There were 34,897 housing units at an average density of
938.9/km� (2,432.3/mi�). The racial makeup of the city was 84.64% White, 2.87%
African American, 1.01% Native American, 2.85% Asian, 0.34% Pacific Islander,
3.56% from other races, and 4.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of
any race were 10.04% of the population.
There were 33,478 households out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18
living with them, 46.4% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 35.3% were non-families. 26.9% of all
households were made up of individuals and 9.5% had someone living alone who was
65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average
family size was 3.06.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.2% under the age of 18, 10.2%
from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65
years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there
were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $43,859, and the median income
for a family was $51,207. Males had a median income of $38,614 versus $29,399
for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,744. About 5.6% of
families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9%
of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.
Early history
(Early and 20th century histories sourced extensively from the city's website
including considerable copying)
Throughout most of the Spanish-Mexican period of the growth of California
(1542-1848), settlement was limited to a narrow coastal strip along El Camino
Real, with only a few isolated frontier outposts of civilization. One of these
outposts was the vast estate of John Augustus Sutter, a German-Swiss immigrant,
who was granted 11 square leagues of land in the Sacramento Valley under the
condition that he settle 12 other families on the land. One of these Mexican
land sub-grants was the Ranch Del San Juan, an approximately 20,000-acre tract
of rich farm land originally granted in 1844. This sub-grant included
present-day Citrus Heights.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of February 1848 ended the Mexican-American War
(1846-1848), and California was ceded to the United States. The discovery of
gold and the rush of 1849 that followed saw the population of the new territory
increase from roughly 10,000 in 1848 to approximately 50,000 at the end of 1849.
In September of 1850, California pressed the United States government for
admittance into the Union and became the 31st state. California's Mexican land
grant parcels were then divided up into a smaller American county-township
system, with Sacramento County being one of California's original 27 counties.
Townships were established throughout the county, with present-day Citrus
Heights a part of Sacramento County's Central Township. Central Township had no
settlements, few inhabitants, and no roads when it was first established.
Central Township's isolation ended abruptly in 1850 when a new shorter road to
Auburn knifed its way diagonally through the Township following along
present-day Auburn Boulevard to Sylvan Corners, where it veered off in a
northerly direction along today's Old Auburn Road. From early spring to late
fall, heavily loaded freight wagons traversed this dusty road bound for Auburn,
leading to a number of way stations along the route for teamsters to stop for a
night's sleep.
Early pioneer settlers in the Central Township established their ranches in the
late 1850s along Old Auburn Road. As a rule, each pioneer family settled on a
quarter section (160 acres) of land, built a house and a barn, dug a well, and
set about clearing the land for farming. Because the land had to be cleared of
native oak trees, many of the early settlers earned their income selling cords
of firewood to nearby Sacramento. Early farmers sold their wheat crops to
flouring mills, while hay and barley were grown mostly for use as food for their
livestock.
A schoolhouse was built in 1862, spurred on by W.A. Thomas' conviction that
Citrus Heights housed enough children to justify a school district. Mr. Thomas
donated five acres of land on the northwest corner of Sylvan corners, and deemed
it Sylvan School. Once completed, it became the educational, civic, social, and
religious center of the community. Community parties and church services were
held in the small, one-room building, as well as daily classes. In 1864, the
County Board of Supervisors approved a petition by local farmers to provide an
access road from Old Auburn Road to the eastern part of the district, which has
since been known as Greenback Lane. In January 1863, ground was broken for the
Central Pacific Railroad, and a year later the railroad passed through the
Central Township. The completion of the railroad through the area brought an
influx of settlers and increased exportation of agricultural crops by local
farmers. Continued migration of settlers to the area led to the need for a
second grammar school, the San Juan School, south of Winding Way.
Among the newcomers of the 1860s and 70s was Cornelius Donahue, who established
a ranch near Citrus Heights in 1863, then expanded it in 1872 to include the
lands that now house Sunrise Mall and Birdcage Center shopping centers. Peter
Van Maren, an early settler who was a leading agriculturalist in the region,
maintained a vast estate of nearly 1,000 acres by 1875. In 1910, the quiet
pastoral life of the rural Sylvan district underwent a marked change when the
real estate firm Trainor & Desmond bought up large tracts of idle land and
subdivided them into 10-acre lots. As a promotional ploy to attract buyers, the
firm replaced the name Sylvan with the more euphonious sounding name of Citrus
Heights, and it has remained so.
20th century history
Irrigation water, provided originally (1911) by the Citrus Heights Water Takers
Association and distributed by the North Fork Ditch Company, transformed the
rural grain farms, grazing areas and orchards[1] into the present urbanized
community. Further impetus to the urbanization of Citrus Heights occurred in
1912 with the construction of the state highway system and Highway 40, the
predecessor to today's Interstate 80. Highway 40 originated in San Francisco and
followed a northeasterly route toward Sacramento, and on along Auburn Road to
Roseville. As early as 1914, the Golden Eagle-Barker Stage line offered
passenger bus service from Roseville to Sacramento, via Citrus Heights.
Adolph Van Maren, successor to his father Peter Van Maren, played a leading role
in community development for many years. He served on the San Juan School Board,
and contributed to the development of the San Juan High School in 1915. The
present site of the Citrus Heights Community Club House on Sylvan Road is on
land donated by Van Maren, while the actual building is the old Sylvan School
House moved after a new school facility was built in 1927. The increase in both
resident population and visitors traveling on the new state highway led to
increased business opportunities. William Cobb established a store and service
station opposite the school, and Mr. Alexandra established the Cripple Creek
Service Station and Auto Camp further up on Auburn Boulevard.
A volunteer fire-fighting group was organized in 1934, and later in 1935 the
Citrus Heights Fire District, Inc. was born. One of the most fondly remembered
community activities was the annual Road Days, sponsored by the Community Club.
Begun in 1924, almost all of the township's 200 families came out to help patch
holes in country roads, clean drainage ditches, plant trees on school grounds,
and lay sidewalks. Although the first small library facility in Citrus Heights
was run out of a private home with an inventory of 50 books in 1908, the
community built a new library building at the corner of Auburn Boulevard and
Sylvan Road in 1930. The year 1932, during the Great Depression, saw the end of
the Citrus Heights attempts at fruit farming, as a winter freeze destroyed most
of the working orchards.
A substantial influx of newcomers following the end of World War II put a severe
strain on Citrus Heights' limited water supply. New subdivisions of one, two,
and five-acre lots were creating increasing needs for the provision of public
facilities to new families seeking a rural town. In 1947, Citrus Heights
obtained its own post office. New businesses continued to appear along Auburn
Boulevard, Mariposa Avenue, and Greenback Lane to accommodate the growing
population. Increasing demand for housing in the 1940s attracted developers to
the area, which was easily accessible from Interstate Highway 80 and the
Southern Pacific Railroad system, with a local switchyard.[1]
The San Juan Unified School District saw phenomenal growth and completed the
decade with eight elementary schools and one high school. Around this time, Mrs.
Eugene Desimone organized the Citrus Heights Ladies in White as an emergency
rescue unit of 50 members, each holding advanced first-aid cards and required to
respond 24 hours a day. The advent of professional ambulance service in 1983 led
to the group's disbandment.
By 1960, the population of rural Citrus Heights had reached 22,600. Auburn
Boulevard continued to serve as the community's main street, spurred by the
construction of the Grand Oaks Plaza (1960), one of the first enclosed malls in
the country. Later, significant commercial development, including Sunrise Mall,
Birdcage Walk, Fountain Square, and Sunrise Village, shifted the commercial
focus eastward toward Greenback Lane. During this time, the rocket motor
manufacturing plant Aerojet General was booming; employing more than 19,000
people at its peak during the early 1960s, after which it saw a steady decline
to less than 4,000 in 1977. The plant attracted new residents to Citrus Heights,
developing a more professional and scientific demographic.
In 1970, ground was broken for the giant Sunrise Mall, spurring a great deal of
new growth in the Sunrise Boulevard-Greenback Lane area. By 1975, 101 shops,
anchored by four department stores, employed 2,500 people within Sunrise Mall.
Then in 1976, across Sunrise Boulevard from the Mall, rose Birdcage Walk, a
collection of shops and businesses laid out along a park-like walkway. The two
shopping centers spurred the construction of hundreds of businesses in the
surrounding area. Sunrise Village, the third of the city's big three retail
centers, began construction around 1976. The Village, located at the
intersection of Sunrise Boulevard and Madison Avenue, added approximately 40,000
square feet of retail space in the 1980s. Radiating outward from the Sunrise and
Greenback commercial corridors were large office buildings and row upon row of
new apartment house complexes and housing tracts, the bulk of which were built
during the 1970s and 1980s.
In 1974, a Community Planning Advisory Council was formed to update the
Community Plan and provide for orderly growth of the area. The objective of the
updated Community Plan was to provide a balance of land uses that were mutually
compatible, functional, healthful, and aesthetically pleasing. The community
then decided the solution to achieving orderly and efficient development,
circulation and public facilities was incorporation, rather than annexation into
the city of Sacramento. That same year, voters affirmed their position with an
overwhelming defeat to consolidate with the capital city.
The incorporation movement experienced a number of defeats throughout the 1970s
and 1980s, attributable primarily to opposition by the County Board of
Supervisors. During this time, the Citrus Heights Community Council, an advisory
body to the County Board of Supervisors, fought for increased land use controls
and public services. The community's population was spiraling upward, and
quickly developing the last of the area's rural properties. The county seemed
unable to resolve growing problems resulting from increased urban growth,
particularly the number of county Sheriff officers needed to combat the
community's car thefts, residential burglaries, and vandalism.
In November of 1984, the leadership of the Chamber of Commerce led the final
effort to bring cityhood to Citrus Heights. A handful of citizen-members of the
Chamber of Commerce circulated petitions and received the necessary signatures
to start the incorporation process, forming the Citrus Heights Incorporation
Project (CHIP).
During the next several years, CHIP fought an uphill battle with the County of
Sacramento to place the incorporation on the ballot. The County Board of
Supervisors sued the County Local Agency Formation Commission and CHIP, arguing
that all County residents, rather than Citrus Heights residents alone, should be
allowed to vote on incorporation. Opponents argued that all residents of the
County would be affected by possible tax revenue losses from a Citrus Heights
incorporation. In 1993, the matter was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, who
declined to hear the case. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the State Supreme Court
ruling that only residents of the proposed City should vote on incorporation.
In 1994, after agreement with the County was reached, the effort gained momentum
and took on the challenge to raise funds to pay for the mandated Environmental
Impact report. Once accomplished, the County Board of Supervisors approved the
measure for the November 1996 ballot and a full campaign was initiated.
Finally, after a 12-year battle with the County of Sacramento, the Citrus
Heights residents voted on the issue. The voters approved the measure to
incorporate the City on November 5, 1996, effective January 1, 1997. The measure
won handily, with 62.5% of the votes.
Environmental
Average annual precipitation in Citrus Heights is approximately 22.9 inches[2]
The acoustical environment commonly violates environmental noise guidelines as
set forth by Sacramento County, the county guidelines calling for residential
levels not to exceed 60 CNEL (Community Noise Equivalent Level). For example
sound level measurements in some established residential areas are above the
value of 63 CNEL.[3] Most of the noise content in Citrus Heights is contributed
by motor vehicle operation, with smaller amounts coming from aircraft noise and
other sources.
Points of interest
* Rusch Botanical Gardens
* Sunrise Mall
* Brooktree Park, Home of Northridge Little League Baseball