It is one of the largest master planned developments in the U.S. Several times it has won "Safest City" awards due to its extremely low crime rate. Saddleback College is a local community college. Donald Bren, an urban planner at the Irvine Company created a master plan which placed roads in the valleys and houses on the hills, contoured to the geography of the area. Much of the city of Mission Viejo was completed by 1980. The houses and shopping centers in the city are almost uniformly designed in a Spanish mission style, with "adobe"-like stucco walls and barrel-tile roofs. Lake Mission Viejo is a private lake with boating, beaches, and fishing. Many homes and condos are built on the lake. |