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The Highlands is a neighborhood and unincorporated district in San Mateo County, California, United States. It is bordered by Interstate 280 to the west, State Route 92 to the south, Polhemus Road to the east, and Crystal Springs Road, which parallels San Mateo Creek, to the north. The town of Hillsborough is just north of the Highlands and the city of Belmont is to the south. [1]
The Highlands is known for its scenic views. The stunning geographical features and proximity to two major highways (Interstate 280 and State Route 92) make the Highlands both very attractive and convenient.
The Highlands sits on top of Pulgas Ridge, west of the city of San Mateo overlooking the Lower Crystal Springs Reservoir which lies just to the west and straddles the San Andreas fault. The Cahill Ridge of Montara Mountain lies just to the west of Crystal Springs and gives a dramatic view to the west side of the Highlands. The east side of the Highlands offers beautiful unobstructed views of San Francisco Bay, the San Mateo Bridge, and on clear days, Mount Diablo in Contra Costa County.
On three sides, the Highlands is surrounded by open space, with canyons to the north and east and a more gentle sloping hillside to the west.
Due to its location on the top of a ridge, near the gap in the Santa Cruz Mountains where SR 92 transects the mountains, the Highlands receives a good deal of foggy weather as hot dry air in the Central Valley pulls cool, moist air off the Pacific Ocean. Temperatures in the Highlands are typically five to ten degrees (F) colder than cities just to the south of the SR 92 gap.
The Highlands Recreation District was formed in 1957 [2] with an elected Board of Directors. In 1958 they began construction on building the facilities, and now offer a year-round swimming pool, tennis courts, playground, community social room, and gym. [2] The Recreation District offers children's programs from infant and toddler day care to teen cooking classes as well as adult educational and community programs.
The Highlands is also very close to Sawyer Camp Trail and many residents are able to jog or bike to the trail from their homes. The trail runs for 6 miles (10 km) along the Lower Crystal Springs Reservoir and offers scenic views, wildlife and safe paved trails for jogging, biking, walking, roller blading, and bicycling. Cañada Road, which runs parallel to I-280, is also easily reached by joggers and bicyclists from the Highlands. Cañada Road is closed to traffic on Sundays from March to October to allow safe jogging, walking, bicycling or roller blading with scenic views of Upper Crystal Springs Reservoir. The area is adjacent to Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve, which also includes hiking trails.
The Highlands was developed as a working-class neighborhood in the mid 1950s. Developer Joseph Eichler, between 1956 and 1964, built most of the homes using a Modernist style now called "California Modern", inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright. [3] The homes are post and beam construction featuring much glass, skylights, and atria. Most have a flat or gently sloped roof and in-floor radiant heating. Many of the neighborhood homes retain their original exterior form and are sought after by enthusiasts of Modern architecture. The neighborhood also includes the experimental X-100, one of only two Eichler houses built using steel rather than timber, as well as Eichlers with additions or other modifications from their original form and homes built by other developers in more traditional styles.
Adjacent to the Highlands neighborhood is a large, undeveloped parcel of land that is zoned as a Resource Management district by San Mateo County. Highlands residents have been fighting development of this parcel for over two decades. Many residents of the Highlands feel that the open space surrounding the Highlands is one of the many charms that makes the neighborhood unique and highly valued and do not wish to see further development there. Additionally many are concerned about the safety of building on the steep hillsides that comprise the parcel. Recent recommendations by the San Mateo County Planning Commission related to development on this parcel may have much wider implications for similarly zoned parcels across the county.
In prior years there has also been vigorous debate in the Highlands about changing the zoning laws to restrict development or alteration of original Eichler homes to a single story. Authority over zoning in the Highlands is held by the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. Current zoning allows for homes up to 36 ft. high (up to three stories). The original single-story Eichlers are 9 to 11 ft. high while two-story homes in the neighborhood by other developers reach up to 23 feet in height. The neighborhood includes over 700 single-story Eichler homes, a handful of original two-story Eichler homes built up against steep hillsides, and 55 later 2nd story additions (remodels).
The Highlands Community Association is a volunteer-run community association. It is not a homeowners association and, as such, does not have authority to set laws or policies in the neighborhood. Membership in the Highlands Community Association requires a nominal fee. The Association publishes a monthly newsletter, the Highlands Lowdown, which has been in continuous publication since 1954.
The Association also sponsors an annual 4th of July festival, begun and continuously run since 1960. The 4th of July festival includes a parade and fireworks display on the evening of July 3rd. The fireworks display is intended for the Highlands community only, not outside guests. Following the parade on the morning of July 4th are other activities including a water carnival with swim races, arcade games, food, a foot race and other activities.
The United Methodist Church in the Highlands offers community discussions, day care services and has an active theater group known as the Crystal Springs Players.
The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is Mountain View, south of Palo Alto and north of Sunnyvale and Los Altos. Most of the Peninsula is occupied by San Mateo County, between San Francisco and Santa Clara counties, and including the cities and towns of Atherton, Belmont, Brisbane, Burlingame, Colma, Daly City, East Palo Alto, El Granada, Foster City, Hillsborough, Half Moon Bay, La Honda, Loma Mar, Los Altos, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Pacifica, Palo Alto, Pescadero, Portola Valley, Redwood City, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Mateo, South San Francisco, and Woodside.
San Mateo County, officially the County of San Mateo, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City is the county seat, and the third most populated city following Daly City and San Mateo. San Mateo County is included in the San Francisco–Oakland–Berkeley, CA MSA, Silicon Valley, and is part of the San Francisco Bay Area, the nine counties bordering San Francisco Bay. It covers most of the San Francisco Peninsula. San Francisco International Airport is located in the northeastern area of the county and is approximately 7 miles (11 km) south of the city and county limits of San Francisco, even though the airport itself is assigned a San Francisco postal address. The county's built-up areas are mostly suburban, and are home to several corporate campuses.
Emerald Lake Hills or Emerald Hills is a census-designated place and neighborhood in unincorporated San Mateo County, in the state of California, United States. Situated among oak-studded hills between Woodside, Redwood City, and San Carlos roughly bounded by Edgewood Road, Alameda de las Pulgas, Farm Hill Boulevard, and Interstate 280. The population was 4,406 at the 2020 census and the per-capita income was $68,966, making it the 22nd wealthiest place in California and the 82nd highest income places in the United States
San Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. About 20 miles (32 km) south of San Francisco, the city borders Burlingame to the north, Hillsborough to the west, San Francisco Bay and Foster City to the east and Belmont to the south. The population was 105,661 at the 2020 census.
Filoli, also known as the Bourn-Roth Estate, is a country house set in 16 acres (6.5 ha) of formal gardens surrounded by a 654-acre (265 ha) estate, located in Woodside, California, about 25 miles (40 km) south of San Francisco, at the southern end of Crystal Springs Reservoir, on the eastern slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Now owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Filoli is open to the public. The site is both a California Historical Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Hudson Highlands State Park is a non-contiguous state park in the U.S. state of New York, located on the east side of the Hudson River. The park runs from Peekskill in Westchester County, through Putnam County, to Beacon in Dutchess County, in the eastern section of the Hudson Highlands.
State Route 35, generally known as Skyline Boulevard for most of its length, is a mostly two-lane state highway in the U.S. state of California. It runs along the ridge of the Santa Cruz Mountains from the high point of State Route 17 near Lexington Reservoir in Santa Clara County to State Route 1 just south of Daly City in San Mateo County, where it crosses SR 1 and loops around Lake Merced to become Sloat Boulevard in San Francisco. SR 35 then continues along Sloat Boulevard until it reaches its terminus when it meets SR 1 again at 19th Avenue.
Joseph Leopold Eichler was a 20th-century post-war American real estate developer known for developing distinctive residential subdivisions of Mid-century modern style tract housing in California. He was one of the influential advocates of bringing modern architecture from custom residences and large corporate buildings to general public availability. His company and developments remain in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Los Angeles.
The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) is a U.S. National Recreation Area protecting 82,116 acres (33,231 ha) of ecologically and historically significant landscapes surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area. Much of the park is land formerly used by the United States Army. GGNRA is managed by the National Park Service and is the second-most visited unit of the National Park system in the United States, with more than 15.6 million visitors in 2022. It is also one of the largest urban parks in the world, with a size two-and-a-half times that of the consolidated city and county of San Francisco.
The Pulgas Water Temple is a stone structure in Redwood City, California, United States, designed by architect William G. Merchant. It was erected by the San Francisco Water Department to commemorate the 1934 completion of the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct and is located at the aqueduct's terminus; originally water flowed through a vault under the temple itself, but new requirements for treatment require it to be diverted to a plant nearby. The name comes from Rancho de las Pulgas, an early Spanish land grant. Pulgas is the Spanish word for "fleas", which were encountered by early Spanish explorers of the area.
Crystal Springs Reservoir is a pair of artificial lakes located in the northern Santa Cruz Mountains of San Mateo County, California situated in the rift valley created by the San Andreas Fault just to the west of the cities of San Mateo and Hillsborough, and I-280. The lakes are part of the San Mateo Creek watershed.
Sawyer Camp Trail is a popular 6-mile (9.7 km) trail located in the San Andreas Fault rift valley in San Mateo County, California near Hillsborough and the San Mateo Highlands. Officially, it is a segment of the longer Crystal Springs Regional Trail. Approximately 300,000 people use the trail every year. It provides excellent views of San Francisco Peninsula's Crystal Springs Watershed. The trail is managed by San Mateo County and totally surfaced in asphalt. There is considerable biodiversity along the trail due to the variation in habitat and the presence of serpentine soils. In particular the plant communities of Northern coastal scrub, grassland and California oak woodland are present.
Carole Highlands is an unincorporated community in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It is contained between East West Highway to the south, University Boulevard to the north, Larch Avenue, Hopewell Avenue, and 15th Avenue to the west, and Riggs Road to the east. Carole Highlands borders the adjacent neighborhoods of Chillum, Green Meadows, Lewisdale, and Langley Park in Prince George's County, while bordering the city of Takoma Park in Montgomery County. For statistical purposes, it is part of the Langley Park census-designated place (CDP). The community also has a community association and non-profit: Carole Highlands Neighborhood Association
Acanthomintha duttonii is a species of annual plant endemic to San Mateo County, California in the family Lamiaceae. It is commonly called San Mateo thornmint and is found growing on serpentine soils near the Crystal Springs Reservoir in a six-mile (10 km) long strip on the east side of Montara Mountain at elevations of approximately 150 to 300 meters.
San Mateo Creek is a perennial stream whose watershed includes Crystal Springs Reservoir, for which it is the only natural outlet after passing Crystal Springs Dam.
Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve is a public recreation area in the Santa Cruz Mountains, San Mateo County in northern California. It is managed by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD).
The Phleger Estate is a park in San Mateo County, California, United States. The park is located outside the town of Woodside and adjacent to Huddart County Park. The park was acquired in 1991 by the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) for $25 million and is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA).
Rancho Cañada de Raymundo was a 12,545-acre (50.77 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day San Mateo County, California given August 4, 1840 to Raimundo, a native of Baja California, who was sent out by the padres of Mission Santa Clara to capture runaway Mission Indians in 1797. On the 1856 Rancho de las Pulgas and 1868 Easton maps, the valley of Laguna Creek was referred to as the Cañada de Raymundo. Laguna Creek was also alternatively known as Cañada Raimundo Creek. In 1841 Rancho Cañada de Raymundo was granted to John Coppinger by Governor Juan Alvarado for helping in the revolt led by Alvarado against the Mexican authorities in Monterey. The two and one half league long by three-quarter league wide grant consisted the eastern slopes and valleys in the present-day Woodside area. The grant began at Alambique Creek, the north border of Rancho Corte de Madera, and extended north to Rancho Feliz. Rancho Cañada de Raymundo was bounded on the east by Rancho de las Pulgas. The rancho contained Laguna Grande, then a natural lake that was the campsite of the Portolà expedition on November 5, 1769, and was bisected by Laguna Creek, which flowed from southeast to northwest through the lake on its way to San Mateo Creek.
San Andrés Creek, now called San Andreas Creek, is a perennial stream that flows 5.9 miles (9.5 km) southeasterly along the San Andreas Fault from Sweeney Ridge in San Mateo County, California, providing the inflow to and outflow from San Andreas Reservoir, and then entering Lower Crystal Springs Reservoir, where it was a historic tributary to San Mateo Creek. San Mateo Creek then carries its waters over Crystal Springs Dam northeast to San Francisco Bay.
Laguna Creek is a perennial stream that flows northwesterly for 2.6-mile (4.2 km) along the San Andreas Fault from Woodside in San Mateo County, California and, after crossing the Phleger Estate and Filoli, enters Upper Crystal Springs Reservoir, where it is a historic tributary to San Mateo Creek. San Mateo Creek then carries its waters over Crystal Springs Dam northeast to San Francisco Bay.