Talega, San Clemente, California

:"Talega" redirects here. For the disputed town with that name in the Iberian Peninsula, see Táliga."

Talega is the name of a tract housing project in the city of San Clemente in Orange County, California. It began construction in 1999.

It is located near the Northrop Grumman [http://www.st.northropgrumman.com/capabilities/space/propulsion/capistrano/capistrano.html Capistrano Test Site] (formerly TRW), active today and where the Lunar Module Descent Engine (LMDE) engines were developed in the 1960s for the moon landing. It is about 8 miles from the San Onofre nuclear power plant and east of the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

There is an 18 hole golf course, 2 elementary schools, and a middle school. It is served by the Capistrano Unified School District, and was recently annexed to San Clemente from the unincorporated territories it existed in upon the beginning of construction.

Talega is home to 9,000 residents and, when completed, will have a total of 3,500 residential units. Most are tract houses, with apartments, condos and a low-income project that share the same master pools and facilities. There are no full-custom homes - the most expensive homes in the Lucia subdivision are McMansions. The community has a predominant Spanish/Tuscan architecture, which is carried out in almost every home, and all the public spaces and buildings within the community.

Talega is a master planned community in San Clemente. It consists of 19 neighborhoods which are mostly single family homes, some condominiums and a few apartments. The Talega Specific Plan area encompasses a total of 3,510 acres in the Northeastern portion of the City. The major streets within the Talega Specific Plan are Avenida Pico, Camino La Pedriza, Avenida Vista Hermosa and Avenida Talega.

Talega is located about 3 miles from the coast and 2 miles east of the 5 freeway, between the streets of Avenida Pico and Camino De Los Mares. Some of the homes offer views of the ocean, their local golf course, mountains and it’s parks. There is a swim and Athletic Club also.

Parks

City Maintained Parks:
* Talega Park
* Liberty Park
* Tierra Grande Park

Talega HOA Maintained Parks:
* Altea Park
* Pacifica Summit Park
* Portofino Park
* Sansol/Mirador Park
* Lucia Park

Communities

• Alora (Single Family)

• Alassio by Standard Pacific Homes (Townhomes)

• Alta by Standard Pacific Homes (Single Family)

• Amalfi by Standard Pacific Homes (Single Family)

• Bella Vista by Manning Homes (Single Family)

• Careyes by Brookfield Homes (Single Family-Gated)

• Carillon by Standard Pacific Homes (Single Family)

• Cantabria (Single Family)

• Caprizi (Single Family)

• Catania by Standard Pacific Homes (Single Family-Gated)

• Cazadero by Shea Homes (Single Family)

• Coral Bay by Shea Homes (Single Family)

• Escala by Standard Pacific Homes (Single Family)

• Farralon Ridge (Single Family)

• Lucia by Laing Luxury Homes (Single Family)

• Mirador by William Lyon Homes (Single Family)

• Miraleste (Single Family)

• Monterey by Standard Pacific Homes (Single Family)

• Pacifica by Standard Pacific Homes (Single Family)

• Portomarin (Single Family)

• Ravenna (Single Family)

• Sabella by Pulte Homes (Single Family)

• San Lucar by Brookfield Homes (Single Family)

• Sansol by Standard Pacific Homes (Single Family)

• Santalana by Standard Pacific Homes (Townhomes)

• Seaside by Shea Homes (Single Family)

• Solana (Single Family)

• Stella Mare by Standard Pacific Homes (Single Family)

• Verano by Lennar Homes (Townhomes)

• Vittoria by Standard Pacific Homes (Single Family-Gated)

• Vizcaya (Single Family)

There is also an area called The Talega Gallery that is a 55+ Community consisting of the following communities:

• Seagarden

• Sandbridge

• Waterleaf

• Wavecrest

Many long time San Clemente residents smirk or rant that Talega isn't part of the San Clemente `Spanish Village by the Sea’ atmosphere. And they nearly got their wish – at least in the eyes of the real estate industry. In December of 2007 he Southern California Multiple Listing Service yanked Talega out of San Clemente and made it its own city. It provoked such uproar among San Clemente real estate agents that the MLS is putting Talega back into San Clemente. While the local Talega bashers may say it's fantastic that Talega would break away, and others might joke about it, it came as no joke to some San Clemente real estate agents trying to help Talega residents sell their homes in a down market. It meant that anyone looking to buy a house in San Clemente wouldn't see Talega.

Other controversial issues fueling the Talega bashing fire include an attempt by Talega residents to `relocate’ an extension of La Pata , a planned four-lane divided highway currently ending at Ortega Highway in San Juan Capistrano. Though the extension of La Pata has been on the Orange County Master Plan for over 25 years, many new Talega homeowners objected to the county engineers' original route, claiming they weren’t informed when the made their purchase decision. Some are suggesting the it be re-engineered; placing it `on the other side of the hill’ near the existing Forster Ranch community in northern San Clemente.

Their most recent controversy is a push for a Target Center on City owned land not too far from another existing ‘non Talega’ neighborhood; greatly increasing traffic (shoppers and delivery trucks) past homes that were built over 25 years ago. Well before there was even the thought of Talega. It looks as if they are going to get their way this tima as The sale was recently approved by the City Council.

This kind of NIMBY'ism (not-in-my-backyard) does not sit well with the old-timers in this laid back `Spanish Village by the Sea'.

External links

* [http://www.talega.com Talega.com]
* [http://www.talegatoday.com Talega Today (for Homeowners)]
* [http://www.standardpacifictalega.com Standard Pacific (Builder) Dedicated Talega Website]
* [http://www.talegagolfclub.com Talega Golf Club]
* [http://www.talegavillagecenter.com Talega Village Center]