Mountain House, San Joaquin County, California

For other communities with this name, see Mountain House, California (disambiguation).

Mountain House
—  census-designated place  —
Mountain House Position in California.
Coordinates: 37°46′26″N 121°32′39″W / 37.77389°N 121.54417°W / 37.77389; -121.54417Coordinates: 37°46′26″N 121°32′39″W / 37.77389°N 121.54417°W / 37.77389; -121.54417
Country	USA
State	California
County	San Joaquin
Government
- Type	Community Services District
- Senate	Tom Berryhill (14th Senate District)
- Assembly	Joan Buchanan (15th Assembly District)
- U. S. Congress	Jerry McNerney (D)
Area[1]
- Total	3.192 sq mi (8.268 km2)
- Land	3.192 sq mi (8.268 km2)
- Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)  0%
Elevation[2]	79 ft (24 m)
Population (2010)
- Total	9,675
- Density	3,031/sq mi (1,170.3/km2)
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP codes	95391
Area code(s)	209
FIPS code
GNIS feature ID	2628761
Website	wiki.mhvillages.com * http://mhcsd.com/
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Mountain House, San Joaquin County, California

Mountain House is a census-designated place and planned community in San Joaquin County, California. An exburb of the San Francisco Bay Area, Mountain House is located 5 miles (8 km) from the City of Tracy near Interstate 205. In November 2008, the community appeared in nationwide news reports as having the highest percentage of negative equity in the U.S.—the most homes "under water", worth less than their mortgage.

Mountain House plan

^[3] Mountain House is projected to be a small full-fledged city developed over 30 year period by Trimark Communities. The community covers 4,784 acres (19.4 km²) in San Joaquin County. The town will be organized into 12 distinct neighborhoods including 10 family neighborhoods and two age restricted neighborhoods each organized around a Neighborhood Center containing a neighborhood park, a K-8 school, and a small commercial area.At buildout the community will have 15,500 households or approximately 40,000 people and over 20,000 onsite jobs will be created by a planned 143 acres (0.58 km²) business park of 143 acres (0.58 km²). Major shopping and other services will be met by three Village Centers and a 39-acre (160,000 m²) Town Center.Construction began in 2001, but expansion of Mountain House is currently on hold due to the late 2000s economic recession. Currently, four villages have been built in 3,200 homes: Wicklund, Bethany, Altamont and Questa.^[4]

Notable dates

• November 10, 1994 - Mountain House project approved by San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors
• May 14, 2001 - Trimark breaks ground on Mountain House project
• January 18, 2003 - First home foundation poured
• August 24, 2004 - Wicklund Elementary School opens
• November 22, 2005 - Kamilos' College Park Specific Plan III & Delta College approved by San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors
• November 6, 2007 - Mountain House votes to form independent Community Services District
• December 7, 2007 - Delta College site annexed to Mountain House CSD through a public-private partnership with Kamilos
• November 2008 – noted for having the highest percentage of homes "under water" in the U.S.
• August 17, 2009 - Delta College Mountain House Campus opens for classes
• June 8, 2010 - Voters approve unification of Lammersville School District.
• January 2011 - 15-year-old resident Thia Megia becomes youngest finalist ever on American Idol.
• July 1, 2011- Lammersville school district is officially Unified school district

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 3.2 square miles (8.3 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

The 2010 United States Census^[5] reported that Mountain House had a population of 9,675. The population density was 3,030.8 people per square mile (1,170.2/km²). The racial makeup of Mountain House was 3,467 (35.8%) White, 903 (9.3%) African American, 45 (0.5%) Native American, 3,830 (39.6%) Asian, 71 (0.7%) Pacific Islander, 663 (6.9%) from other races, and 696 (7.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,637 persons (16.9%).

The Census reported that 9,675 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 2,807 households, out of which 1,676 (59.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,985 (70.7%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 227 (8.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 151 (5.4%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 186 (6.6%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 31 (1.1%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 299 households (10.7%) were made up of individuals and 18 (0.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.45. There were 2,363 families (84.2% of all households); the average family size was 3.73.

The population was spread out with 3,351 people (34.6%) under the age of 18, 501 people (5.2%) aged 18 to 24, 3,780 people (39.1%) aged 25 to 44, 1,676 people (17.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 367 people (3.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31.4 years. For every 100 females there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.2 males.

There were 3,237 housing units at an average density of 1,014.0 per square mile (391.5/km²), of which 2,205 (78.6%) were owner-occupied, and 602 (21.4%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.6%. 7,444 people (76.9% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 2,231 people (23.1%) lived in rental housing units.

Demographers estimate Mountain House will reach 45,000 people by 2026.

Government

In 2007, Mountain House approved the creation of a Board of Directors to administrate a Mountain Home Community Services District. A five-member board was elected in 2008.^[6]

Parks and recreation

Mountain House has plans for 18 parks.There are four current parks in Mountain House: Wicklund, Bethany, Altamont, Questa and two larger parks: Central Park and Mountain House Creek Recreation Park.^{[citation needed]}

Education

Mountain House plans to have a total of 14 state-of-the-art schools which includes: 12 K-8 schools, one high school and a satellite college campus.

Lammersville Joint Unified School District

Students in Mountain House and Lammersville are served by Lammersville Joint Unified School District^[7] Mountain House currently has three k-8 elementary schools, Wicklund, Bethany, and the latest addition, Questa, which opened on August 24, 2010. All Mountain House high school students attend high schools in Tracy Unified School District.^[8]

Higher education

A satellite campus of San Joaquin Delta community college opened in August 2009.^[9]

Media

The Tracy Press is a twice-weekly newspaper that covers both Tracy and Mountain House and has operated since the 19th century. The Stockton Record is a daily paper that covers the San Joaquin County area.

Transportation

The nearest railroad service is located in Tracy, California, operated by Altamont Commuter Express(ACE). Tri-Delta Transit provides bus service to Hacienda Business Park and the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station.^[10] A Intermodal train station, transit center and bus system are planned for Mountain House and would be built in future.^[11]

Financial downturn

In November 2008, The New York Times reported that Mountain House was the "most underwater community in America,"—the zip code with the highest amount of negative equity on its homes.^[12] With home values decreasing across the nation, Mountain House was described as the worst-hit, with 90% of its homes worth less than the amount their owners owe in mortgages.^[12] The average homeowner in Mountain House was reported to be $122,000 in debt.^[12] Many local businesses in the 95391 zip code were closing because the homeowners were cutting back on their spending and could not support them.^[12]

CalPERS, an agency that manages pensions for California public employees, invested heavily in Mountain House beginning in 2005, purchasing approximately 9,000 residential lots from Shea Homes. By May 2010, the $1.12B investment by CalPERS had been reduced to 18% of that figure: $200M.^[13] Even though home values had dropped significantly, CalPERS determined that they would hold onto the investment, counting on a recovery of the housing market.^[13]

References

1. ^ U.S. Census
2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Mountain House, San Joaquin County, California
3. ^ Brinkley, Leslie (August 5, 2004). "New Bay Area Suburb". http://www.mountainhouse.net/news/archives/homeown.php. Retrieved August 5, 2004. 
4. ^ Lafferty, Justin (October 24, 2009), "Mountain House business still on hold", Tracy press, http://tracypress.com/view/full_story/4126777/article-Mountain-House-business-still-on-hold?, retrieved October 24, 2009 
5. ^ All data are derived from the United States Census Bureau reports from the 2010 United States Census, and are accessible on-line here. The data on unmarried partnerships and same-sex married couples are from the Census report DEC_10_SF1_PCT15. All other housing and population data are from Census report DEC_10_DP_DPDP1. Both reports are viewable online or downloadable in a zip file containing a comma-delimited data file. The area data, from which densities are calculated, are available on-line here. Percentage totals may not add to 100% due to rounding. The Census Bureau defines families as a household containing one or more people related to the householder by birth, opposite-sex marriage, or adoption. People living in group quarters are tabulated by the Census Bureau as neither owners nor renters. For further details, see the text files accompanying the data files containing the Census reports mentioned above.
6. ^ Keith Reid, "Five elected in first race for Mountain House board", Stockton Record, November 05, 2008
7. ^ "Voters approve Lammersville school unification". Tracy press. Jun 08, 2010. http://www.tracypress.com/view/full_story/7841347/article-Update--Voters-approve-Lammersville-school-unification?instance=home_news_lead_story. Retrieved Jun 08, 2010. 
8. ^ Young, Kevin (Feb 24, 2011). "Mountain House inches toward high school". Tracy press. http://www.tracypress.com/view/full_story/11610048/article-Mountain-House-inches-toward-high-school. Retrieved Feb 24, 2011. 
9. ^ Lafferty, Justin (Aug 17, 2009). "Delta College in Mountain House". Tracy press. http://tracypress.com/view/full_story/3204011/article-Delta-College-classes-finally-kick-off-in-Mountain-House?. Retrieved August 17, 2009. 
10. ^ "Mountain House commuters have transportation option", Stockton Record, 4 February 2006
11. ^ Todorov, Kerana (October 7, 2003). "Mountain House Public Transit". Tracy Press. http://www.mountainhouse.net/news/archives/plans_rolling.php. Retrieved October 7, 2003. 
12. ^ ^{a b c d} Streitfeld, David (November 10, 2008). "A Town Drowns in Debt as Home Values Plunge". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/11/business/11home.html. Retrieved August 3, 2011. 
13. ^ ^{a b} Kasler, Dale (May 6, 2010). "Fund Held Underwater: CalPERS to wait for Mountain House rebound: City hardest hit in nation by real estate slump". The Modesto Bee. http://www.modbee.com/2010/05/06/1156033/fund-held-underwater-calpers-to.html. Retrieved August 3, 2011. 

External links

• Mountain House developer's website