Former Truck Stop Gears for Growth : Castaic: Bordered by Angeles National Forest, town off Interstate 5 gets set for 10,000 new homes.

Ruben and Becky Rodriguez knew exactly what they wanted when they set out to buy their first home three years ago--a comfortable house in a friendly community, clean air and a reasonable commute. They just didn’t know where they would find all that--at a price they could afford.

They found their home in Castaic, a small unincorporated community 50 miles north of downtown Los Angeles on the northern edge of the county.

Castaic might seem at first to be unlikely house-hunting territory. Perhaps best known as the last truck stop before the Grapevine on Interstate 5, the community is so small it doesn’t even have a stoplight and it has no shopping to speak of.

The Rodriguezes chose Castaic because the housing was affordable and the town has a friendly atmosphere that makes it a good place to rear a family. They also liked the location because they enjoy hiking and fishing and can do both in their “own back yard.” They bought a two-bedroom, two-bath house with a pool and spa for $120,000 in 1987.

Like most Castaic residents, they are commuters. Ruben, a supervisor of screen process printing, and Becky, an accountant, both work for Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale. They make an 80-mile round-trip each day, leaving the house at 7:15 a.m., but feel the commute is well worth it.

“Depending upon which one of us is driving, we sometimes make the trip in 30 minutes,” Ruben said.

Last August, Ruben and Becky moved up to a new home in Castaic--a four-bedroom, three-bath, two-story home with a three-car garage for $240,000 in the North Bluff tract. They kept their first home and are now landlords.

“We love living in Castaic,” Becky said. “We’re here to stay.”

Castaic is surrounded by rolling hills and nestled in the shadows of the San Gabriel Mountains. The population is about 8,000, but that will change soon. The community is on the brink of a population explosion.

Jeff Preach, a three-year Castaic resident and a realtor with the Castaic Century 21 office, moved his wife and three children to Castaic because of the community’s family atmosphere and the growth potential in the area.

“Several years ago,” he said, “the population was less than 3,000. There are now 10,000 homes in various stages of development, from being on the board to final construction. With the completion of these homes, the population is likely to rise by about 35,000 people.”

Such rapid expansion might concern residents who fear their peaceful rural community will become just another overcrowded city, but Preach believes it will be controlled development.

The natural boundaries surrounding the town--Castaic Lake, the Angeles National Forest and the Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho--will help control the growth, he said.

More than half of the 10,000 homes anticipated in Castaic’s future will be in the master-planned community of North Lake.

According to developer Dirk Gosda, North Lake will be a self-contained community built on a 1,400-acre parcel just north of Castaic Lake and on the east side of Interstate 5. Gosda is one of the partners in Cook Ranch Associates, which owns the property.

If North Lake gets its final approval in the next six months as Gosda expects, the first residents will move in during the latter part of 1992.

Gosda said North Lake will offer housing ranging from rental units and starter condos to luxury homes on an 18-hole championship golf course. If Cook Ranch Associates were delivering homes in today’s real estate market, Gosda estimates, condos would start at $100,000 and the golf course homes might cost up to $750,000.

“We have designated two school sites and several park sites,” he said. “We’ve been working closely with the county and hope to bring a library to the community as well.”

Last summer the North Lake developers hosted a community picnic for Castaic residents to give them an overview of the proposed North Lake development.

An exit poll at the picnic showed that 97% reacted favorably to the plans, Gosda said.

Prospective residents who don’t want to wait two years for a home can choose from homes being built by Presley of Southern California in North Bluff or the Larwin Co.’s Bravo or Sunset Pointe tracts.

Prices at North Bluff start at $240,000 and homes range from 1,591 to 2,311 square feet. North Bluff will have 208 homes when completed.

Bravo is nearing a sellout of 289 homes and features floor plans ranging from 1,769 to 2,121 square feet with prices starting at $259,990.

Larwin recently started model construction at Sunset Pointe in the Hillcrest Estates area of Castaic. Sunset Pointe will consist of 890 homes, ranging from 1,861 to 2,383 square feet. Prices will start in the mid-$200,000s. Models are to open in late spring and the first residents should move in this fall.

For those who aren’t interested in a new home, Monica Barkley, a real estate broker in nearby Valencia, said the average price for a single-family residence is $230,000. Older homes start at $170,000 and a home with acreage in the Romero Canyon area may cost up to $600,000.

Condominiums with two-bedrooms, two-baths and two-car garages start at $136,000 and top out at $159,000 for three-bedrooms. Prefab modular homes start at $147,900 for two bedrooms, Barkley said.

According to realtor Preach, 25% of Castaic’s new residents are coming from the Antelope Valley, people who originally bought in Palmdale and Lancaster because home prices were lower but who are now tired of the long commute.

They are even willing to “buy down” in house size to shave miles off their daily drives, Preach said. Living in Castaic instead of the Antelope Valley could be a cut in driving time of 10 hours or more each week for the commuter.

Two Castaic residents who don’t commute are William and Yolanda Cipolla. They have lived in Castaic with their daughter Michelle for nine years. William Cipolla is an inspector at a nearby Valencia firm; Yolanda is a teacher’s aide at Castaic Middle School.

She laughed as she admitted it takes her three minutes to drive to work. William’s drive takes less than lO minutes.

They bought their three-bedroom home for $80,000 in 1981. Yolanda said they moved to Castaic for the peace and quiet, and the people. “I like the feeling of a small community,” Yolanda Cipolla said. “When we lived in Saugus we waved hello and goodby to our neighbors. Here our neighbors became our friends.”

The Cipollas are concerned about Castaic’s rapid growth. One of the reasons they left Saugus was because they felt it was too congested, and they don’t use Castaic Lake on weekends because it’s too crowded with visitors.

Castaic Lake was designed and built by the state Department of Water Resources in 1972 as a terminal reservoir on the west branch of the State Water Project. Castaic Dam separates the upper lake, Castaic Lake, from the lower lake, called Castaic Lagoon.

Castaic Lake, with a shoreline of 29 miles, offers water skiing, power boating, fishing and sailing. The nearby Angeles National Forest has hiking trails, off-road vehicle trails and overnight camping.

One thing Castaic residents don’t like about their community is the lack of shopping. The closest shopping centers are lO miles south of Castaic in Newhall and Valencia. A retail center and grocery store is planned, but won’t be built until the population grows larger.

Castaic residents face another problem that most towns don’t confront--the almost constant stream of big-rig trucks that pass through the town on I-5, one of the nation’s most heavily trafficked shipping corridors.

The major problem with the truck traffic is illegal parking--drivers often double- or triple-park their rigs and leave their engines running when they stop to eat, buy fuel or sleep in town.

Motorists can’t see around the trucks and trailers to pull into traffic, and sometimes the residents can’t get into or out of local businesses because the trucks block the driveways.

“In the past, it seems that the trucks intimidated the average driver, but I think the relationship now is more like one between a cat and a dog,” said Tony De George, the Chamber of Commerce president and owner of Castaic Hardware.

“They may not like each other but they learn to get along,” he said.

The truckers play an important role in the economic life of the community, De George said, adding that the town’s motels have made accommodations for the big rigs. The new McDonald’s restaurant recently built a special parking lot for trucks and other large vehicles.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department provides police protection in Castaic. Lt. Dennis Burns said “the crime rate is really low; really no big problems out there,” adding that the main concern is with the parking at the truck stops.

Dan Troncale, 72, has lived in Castaic since 1921. Now retired, he spends his days running a small herd of cattle on a neighbor’s property.

Troncale’s family moved to Castaic from Bouquet Canyon almost 70 years ago because they felt there wasn’t enough land for the 1,000 head of goats and small herd of cows they owned.

Troncale’s father made Romano cheese. Troncale said he’s lived in Castaic since the “horse and buggy” days, and that the town is too crowded now.

“There were only a few families in Castaic back then,” he said. “Now there are houses everywhere. There’s hardly any place left to run cattle anymore; they’re being squeezed out.

“You can’t even ride a horse downtown anymore,” Troncale lamented.

AT A GLANCE

Population

1990 estimate: 8,000

Median age: 28.4 years

Annual income

Per capita: 14,094

Median household: 54,221

Household distribution

Less than $15,000: 10.8%

$15,000 - $30,000: 10.6%

$30,000 - $50,000: 22.9%

$50,000 - $75,000: 34.3%

$75,000 + 21.5%