Overview
About Ceoanthus
The Ceoanthus area, named on the city's map for the Ceanothus Drive that runs through it, sits on the slope above Aliso Canyon in South Laguna, on Monterey, Holly Drive, Brooks, Ceanothus Drive, Paso del Sur, Rico Road, Ocean View and Toto Loma. The city draws it as evacuation zone 7 and records 359 households inside it. Across 122 acres the assessor counts 293 parcels on twenty-one named streets, and the city zones 276 of its 292 parcels R1.
Twenty-eight of the 122 acres fall inside the mapped coastal zone and seventeen belong to Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park, whose 4,500 acres and thirty miles of trails begin at the boundary. Half a mile of city trail runs inside the line. The South Laguna Village Green at Catalina and Monterey carries a fenced playground with climbing equipment, grassy areas, barbecues and picnic tables, though no public restrooms. Laguna Beach Unified serves the slope from four campuses and 2,291 students.
View available homes in CeoanthusHistory
How Ceoanthus was built
The name is a plant, and it is the right plant for this hillside. Ceanothus is a genus of roughly fifty to sixty nitrogen fixing shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family, known in California as California lilac, buckbrush or soap bush. About forty two species are endemic to the California floristic province, and it is ceanothus that turns the coastal hills blue and white in late winter.
Hangover House at 31172 Ceanothus Drive was built in 1938 for the adventure writer and lecturer Richard Halliburton, designed by the architect William Alexander Levy. It straddles a ridge with steep sides above Aliso Canyon, and the precarious look of the thing is where the name came from.
By the Numbers
Ceoanthus by the numbers
Lifestyle
The Ceoanthus lifestyle
Laguna Beach occupies 8.84 square miles with a population of about 23,000 and roughly six million visitors a year on the city's own count, and provides its own police, fire and marine safety protection.
Beaches north of Aliso Creek close between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.; beaches south of the creek close between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.; Thousand Steps Beach closes between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
The city permits surfing at Agate, Brooks, Rockpile and Thalia Street beaches. Smoking fines on city beaches, parks and trails run $100, then $200, then $500 within twelve months.
Schools
Schools serving Ceoanthus
Laguna Beach Unified serves Ceoanthus along with the rest of the city, from four campuses and 2,291 students on the 2024-25 federal count: El Morro Elementary 404, Top of the World Elementary 536, Thurston Middle 524 and Laguna Beach High 815. Attendance is set by the district and can change, so confirm the current assignment for a specific address with the district before relying on it.
K-5 · 404 students
K-5 · 536 students
6-8 · 524 students
9-12 · 815 students
FAQs
Common questions about Ceoanthus
How big is this area and how is it laid out?
The city's published boundary encloses 122 acres, drawn as evacuation zone 7, with 359 households on the city record. The assessor counts 293 parcels on twenty-one named streets on the slope above Aliso Canyon in South Laguna, among them Monterey, Holly Drive, Ceanothus Drive, Paso del Sur and Rico Road. The city zones 276 of the area's 292 parcels R1.
Is it Ceoanthus or Ceanothus?
The city's evacuation zone register spells the area Ceoanthus, and that is the published name used here. The street itself is Ceanothus Drive on the county address roll, after the native shrub, and every historical source uses that spelling. Expect to see both.
Which schools serve this area?
Laguna Beach Unified serves the whole city from four campuses and 2,291 students on the 2024-25 federal count: El Morro Elementary 404, Top of the World Elementary 536, Thurston Middle 524 and Laguna Beach High 815. Elementary assignment is set by the district and can change, so confirm the current one for a specific address with the district office.
When was it built?
Three tracts were recorded between 1924 and 1948, by W. K. Hillyard, J. L. McBride and A. J. Stead. About a third of the structures inside the boundary predate 1950, and construction since has been spread evenly across the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s rather than concentrated in one decade.
What is Hangover House?
A 1936 house at 31172 Ceanothus built for the adventure writer and lecturer Richard Halliburton, designed by the Los Angeles architect William Alexander Levy. It straddles a ridge with steep sides above Aliso Beach and Aliso Canyon in a famously precarious position, and the city's historic resource record notes that it used a hundred tons of concrete and fifty tons of steel.