Overview
About Gates
The Gates covers 26.9 acres and holds 149 homes on seven streets, with a median lot of 7,370 square feet, the fifth largest detached lot median in Lake Forest. The whole boundary sits in FEMA flood zone X, and the city zones the mapped residential ground R1 for single-family residential, a designation only Lake Forest I also carries.
The city's pool layer counts 27 backyard pools inside the boundary, fifteen solar installations and two spas, with no shared pool. El Toro Water District supplies the water, street sweeping runs Tuesday afternoons, and the city's build year layer places 26.6 of the 26.9 acres in its Pre 1970 band, the only community here where that band covers essentially the whole boundary.
View available homes in GatesHistory
How Gates was built
The Gates holds some of the oldest housing in this set. The city's build year layer places essentially the whole 27 acre boundary in its pre 1970 band, the only community here where that is true, which puts these homes in or before the years when Occidental Petroleum was building the first lake communities and turning El Toro from a farm town into a suburb.
The Gates holds 149 homes on seven streets, with a median lot of 7,370 square feet, fifth largest in the city, and the whole boundary in flood zone X. The city zones the residential ground here R1 for single family homes, a designation that only Lake Forest I also carries, which is another marker of how early this ground was laid out.
By the Numbers
Gates by the numbers
Lifestyle
The Gates lifestyle
Lake Forest keeps 31 parks open from dawn to dusk. The Lake Forest Sports Park and Recreation Center opened in November 2014 on 86 acres, with 57 of them given over to sports fields, and the city runs the largest free skatepark in Orange County at Etnies Skatepark.
Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park holds 1,575 acres of county open space against the north edge of the city, and the city's trail map carries 49 named trails.
Across the whole city the general plan sets 3,756 acres to residential use and 3,065 acres to open space and parks, which is why so much of Lake Forest reads as green from the ridgelines.
Schools
Schools serving Gates
The City of Lake Forest property record names Olivewood Elementary for addresses inside the Gates, with Los Alisos Intermediate for middle school and Mission Viejo High for high school. All three are Saddleback Valley Unified campuses.
9-12 · 1,566 students
7-8 · 595 students
K-6 · 396 students
FAQs
Common questions about Gates
How big is the Gates?
The community covers 26.9 acres on the city's published boundary and holds 149 homes on 152 parcels across seven streets. The median parcel measures 7,370 square feet, the fifth largest of the thirty-three Lake Forest communities on this site where a parcel median describes a detached lot.
Who built the Gates?
The owner's certificate on the recorded map for tract 4753 names Roseglen Construction, Inc. and Amberwood Construction Corp. as the subdividers, both signing in February 1964. The map records 237 lots on 60.71 acres and was drawn in December 1963 by licensed surveyor Winston I. Keerl.
How old are the homes?
The city's residential build year layer places 26.6 of the community's 26.9 acres in its Pre 1970 band. The Gates is the only Lake Forest community on this site where that band covers essentially the whole boundary, and its four subdivision maps were recorded in 1963 and 1964.
Which schools serve the Gates?
The city's property record names Olivewood Elementary, Los Alisos Intermediate and Mission Viejo High for addresses inside the boundary. All three are Saddleback Valley Unified campuses.
Is there a community pool?
No. The city's pool layer records 27 pools inside the boundary and every one is a private backyard pool, alongside two spas and fifteen solar installations.