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Rural life, tucked away in the O.C.

Most of the residences in the 120-home community of Olinda Village in Brea feature 15,000-square-foot lots.
(Annie Wells / LAT)
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Special to The Times

Although Orange County may be best known as a location for glitzy television dramas and a history steeped in citrus trees and amusement parks, Olinda Village, a small community in the north county town of Brea, has a much cruder background. That’s crude as in oil, of course.

Beginnings

The town of Olinda formed after an 1890s oil boom in the nearby hills; it later grew into what is now the city of Brea. The word Brea, in fact, is Spanish for tar.

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But deep in those very same hills, in the crevices of Carbon Canyon, the 120-home Olinda Village today is a much-sought-after neighborhood, richer in quality-of-life attributes than in oil.

Drawing card

Olinda Village, residents say, provides the serenity of country living. Sitting deep in the hills of Carbon Canyon, the village, which sits on six streets and was built in 1964, is surrounded by hills, fauna and wildlife. Just a few miles away are scenic Carbon Canyon Regional Park and Chino Hills State Park, where streams, hiking trails and shady sycamore trees beckon.

The community, surrounded by open space and hills, enjoys cool breezes blowing through the canyon by day and quiet nights punctuated only by the sound of coyotes and owls.

“It is one of the best-kept secrets in Orange County for places to live,” said Suzanne Stroud, a village resident and agent with Winkleman Realty in Fullerton. “It is one of the few places in Orange County that you feel like is rural living yet only five miles to major shopping and freeways.”

Village resident Claire Schlotterbeck agrees.

“I like topography…. I’ve always somehow managed to live in hills,” she said. “For us it was really the size of the yard and the kind of people who chose to live out here. They appreciate open space and they know they have to be active to protect it.” Schlotterbeck is executive director of the nonprofit group Hills for Everyone, which established Chino Hills State Park. “There are fires and traffic, but you trade that for seeing the stars at night.”

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Stock report

Olinda Village’s housing stock is mainly 1960s single-story homes, with a number of custom homes added over the years, Stroud said. The original tract homes are in the 1,900- to 2,800-square-foot range and sell today from about $800,000. The larger homes with upgrades and pools sell for more than $1 million.

There are a few 1- and 2-acre horse properties, but most homes are built on 15,000-square-foot lots. And there are newer adobe-style homes as well.

There is a small condo complex with 1,100-square-foot units selling in the $450,000-to-$500,000 range.

Insider’s view

Many Olinda Village residents are original owners, and others who moved here later have stayed put. Said Schlotterbeck: “A lot of people who moved to the village have either lived here a long time or are transplants from the Midwest who had big yards … and wanted the same thing in California.

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“I’m the new kid on the block, and I’ve been here since 1978. It’s pretty amazing. It’s a pretty stable neighborhood.”

Good news, bad news

The common Southern California refrain of traffic being a problem is sung here as well. “The canyon road narrows down to two lanes, and we have all of the Chino Hills commuter traffic traveling through the canyon to avoid the crowded freeways,” Stroud said. “Things have gotten better since the road was widened at the mouth of the canyon to accommodate the new homes built several years ago.”

Additionally, living amid wildlife, although serene, can have its disadvantages; coyotes, birds of prey and rattlesnakes make appearances from time to time. Small dogs and cats do not always fare well.

Report card

“The school has been the real centerpiece for the community,” said Schlotterbeck, whose twin boys attended. “I felt like we were getting a private education in a public school.”

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On the most recent Academic Performance Index, Olinda Elementary School scored 885 out of 1,000; Brea Junior High, 842; and Brea-Olinda High, 797.

Historical values

Residential resales:

Year...Median Price

1990...$256,000

1995...$219,750

2000...$329,000

2004...$604,500

2005...$700,000*

*Year to date


Sources: DataQuick Information Systems, Hillsforeveryone.org; https://www.orangecounty.net ; https://www.ci.brea.ca.us/

Southern California Multiple Listings Service;

California Department of Education,

api.cde.ca.gov/.

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