Climate, Affordability Draw a Crowd : Lancaster: Lower-priced housing originally brought explosive growth to this Antelope Valley city, doubling its population.

When he was a teen-ager, Larry Lake’s family moved to Lancaster. Forty-five years later, he still lives there. Lake, semi-retired, and his wife, Joan, raised four children in the community on their 300-acre farm.

Lake stayed in Lancaster because of the climate and the people.

“I think the climate in Lancaster is better year-round than in most parts of the country,” he said. “I enjoy the touch of four seasons we experience.

“You just can’t beat the people here. Many of them relocated to the area from the Midwest and brought their conservative Midwestern values with them. It’s a friendly hard-working type of community.”

The Lakes built their three-bedroom, three-bath home in 1959 for $30,000. The house is on the parcel that he used to operate as an alfalfa farm before he sold it. Lake currently oversees the operation of the farm for the new owners and their crop--onions.

Lancaster, located in the high desert about 56 miles northeast of Los Angeles, is one of the two major cities in the Antelope Valley. The other is Palmdale.

Palmdale is the first Antelope Valley community encountered when traveling north from Los Angeles on California 14 (the Antelope Valley Freeway). Lancaster is eight miles farther north.

Both cities experienced a phenomenal rate of growth in the past 10 years. Lancaster had the third largest growth rate of Los Angeles County cities (98%), behind only Palmdale (432%) and Walnut (132%).

While Palmdale is the older of the two cities, Lancaster’s population is now larger, almost doubling from 48,027 residents in 1980 to 95,101 residents in the preliminary 1990 census figures. Palmdale’s population rose from 12,297 residents in 1980 to 65,357 in 1990.

The recent population explosion in Lancaster may be primarily attributed to the affordability of housing in the community.

“In mid-August, the median price for a new attached home was $102,251, and the median price for a new detached home was $139,971,” Dirk Kittridge said. Kittridge is a market analyst for the Meyers Group, an Encino real estate consulting firm.

There are many housing options in Lancaster. As of August, there were 54 new developments on the market, Kittridge said. Among the major developers are West Venture, Hillside Residential, the Larwin Co. and Cambridge Development.

“There are some good deals to be had in Lancaster--more amenities at a lower price,” Kittridge said.

The resale market in Lancaster also offers affordable prices.

“Average resale is running around $110,000 to $120,000,” said Jim DeBruyn, owner of Re/Max Antelope Valley realtors. “The price range for a single-family home is running from about $90,000 to $400,000 plus.

“At the low end you’re going to get a two- or three-bedroom, one- or two-bath home with an average of 1,000 or 1,100 square feet. Someone at the high end is going to get a custom home, anywhere from three to six bedrooms, two or more bathrooms and 2,500-plus square feet.”

Apartment are available as well, with small studio units starting at $345 and two-bedroom, two-bath townhouses with two-car attached garages starting at $655.

Affordability was the main reason the Wes Clay family moved to Lancaster from Brea. “I could buy a new home here for less than what I sold my 33-year-old Orange County home for,” Clay said.

Clay, his wife, Kathleen, and their three children moved into their new house in September. They purchased a 2,050 square foot home with four bedrooms, three baths and a two-car garage for $160,000.

Like one-third of his neighbors, Clay is a commuter. As a sales representative for the Square D Co., an electrical manufacturer, he travels to the San Fernando Valley, downtown Los Angeles and once a week to City of Industry.

While driving more than 100 miles a day might deter some prospective residents from the area, the commute doesn’t bother Clay.

“Lancaster is part of my territory, I was driving out here twice a week anyway,” he said. “I like the atmosphere here--it’s friendly and outgoing. I like the clean air, larger sized yards, and the neighbors are great. What more could you ask for?”

The first inhabitants of the Antelope Valley were Piute Indians; they shared the land with herds of antelope that once roamed the foothills. Lt. Pedro Gages was believed to be the first white man to cross the valley in pursuit of deserters from the Spanish navy in 1772.

In the 1860s, as the Southern Pacific Railroad completed its line through the valley, the first settlers arrived. The railroad gave the area’s farmers an opportunity to ship produce quickly and economically.

In 1884, M. L. Wickes, a Los Angeles real estate entrepreneur, founded the community of Lancaster, naming the settlement for his Pennsylvania birthplace.

The 1930s brought the Army Air Corps to Muroc Dry Lake, which eventually became Edwards Air Force Base. The nearby Air Force base, with the later addition of the Air Force Test Center, became a major influence in Lancaster’s economy, employing more than 14,000 civilians and military personnel.

Increased government defense spending changed the character of Lancaster and the Antelope Valley in the 1950s as the area became a major center for aircraft manufacturing and related activities.

Northrop opened its Palmdale plant in 1952, while Lockheed, Rockwell International and the Douglas Division of McDonnell Douglas established plants in the Antelope Valley in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s.

The growth of the aerospace industry there resulted in rapid residential growth for Lancaster. Census figures show a 19% growth rate in Lancaster between 1960 and 1970, and a 55% growth rate between 1970 and 1980.

The growth ended agriculture’s days as the dominant land use in the region.

“Alfalfa farming used to be a major crop in Lancaster, but water became too costly to support it,” Lake said. “Less farming means more dust, so it has become a little more uncomfortable out here.”

Added resident Lynn Harrison:

“From a physical standpoint, the worst thing about the area is living with all the dust. The wind has always been a problem out here, and with all the development and construction it (the dust) has gotten worse.”

Harrison, a contract consultant, has lived in Lancaster since 1969. She recently retired from the City Council after serving eight years, including two terms as mayor of the city.

Her family moved to the Antelope Valley in 1955 and she decided to stay because “I grew up here, my roots are in the community,” she said. “I especially like the atmosphere here, it’s so different from metropolitan Los Angeles. I think it’s a great place to raise a family.”

Harrison lives with her two sons in a two-story home she purchased in 1974 for $41,000. The house has three bedrooms, three baths and a two-car garage.

The former mayor is concerned about the changes in the community. “The community is in a state of dramatic change,” she said. “We’re starting to feel urban ills--crime, drugs, gangs and smog.”

The crime rate in Lancaster is normal for a growing community, according to deputy Michael Grimes of the Antelope Valley station of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. “There are more crimes reported, but that’s only because of the population growth,” he said. “Statistically, the crime rate hasn’t changed.

“Gangs are a reality, just as they are anywhere else in Southern California. We have five people working full time on gang detail to nip it in the bud.”

Harrison is confident that Lancaster residents can solve their problems. “This is a strong-minded community,” she said. “(The people) are active--they won’t turn away from the problems--they’ll band together to fight them.”

The rapid growth in Lancaster is regarded as a mixed blessing by some residents, among them Tony Maglothin, 35, the manager of a Dal Tile warehouse and showroom in Lancaster.

“The tremendous growth has been good for business,” Maglothin said. “It makes us (Lancaster) more self-sufficient, but we may become overgrown.”

Maglothin moved to the community from the San Fernando Valley four years ago to open the tile store. Last June, after being a renter, he purchased his first home in Lancaster. It is a three-bedroom, one-bath house with a three-car garage; he paid $110,000 for it.

He likes the area because of its small-town atmosphere. “It’s quieter, friendlier, and there’s no smog,” he said.

Jesse and Bettye Davis moved to Lancaster in 1981 when he retired from the Air Force. They purchased a four-bedroom, two-bath home with a two-car garage for $108,000.

Davis, 57, and his wife, 53, came to the area because he had accepted a job with Northrop. He is a parts manager and commutes to Gardena, a drive that takes him over an hour each way. Bettye Davis, a supervisor in management and procedures, travels north to Edwards Air Force Base and also teaches dance classes at Studio 81 in Lancaster.

They don’t like a lot of the changes they’ve seen in Lancaster.

“There are too many people now, too many houses,” Jesse Davis said. “People don’t know you any more, even the clerks don’t know you by name.”

“Everywhere you look, they are putting up houses,” added Bettye Davis. “Seems like they’ve allowed building on every corner.”

“We don’t have enough traffic lights,” said Jesse Davis. “Even at 4:10 a.m. when I go to work, I am waiting in traffic.”

AT A GLANCE Population 1990 estimate: 85,446 1980-90 change: 77.9% Median age: 32.6 years Annual income Per capita: 13,797 Median household: 36,543 Household distribution Less than $15,000: 17.0% $15,000 - $30,000: 22.5% $30,000 - $50,000: 30.8% $50,000 - $75,000: 20.6% $75,000: + 9.0%