Fullerton demographics from US Census:
View Population Trends
2005 2000 1990
| Population | 132,787 | 126,003 | 114,144 |
|---|
As in many cities, growth and development are contentious issues. In the 1990s, the downtown commercial district had become economically depressed, and was known mainly for being an area of sleepy antique stores and small shops. The downtown area especially off Harbor Boulevard has become more of a busy entertainment district, described by the OC Weekly as Bourbon Street West. In less than five years, some 30 businesses that sell alcohol have opened, making the downtown area much more active at night. With the festive atmosphere have come problems such as public drunkenness, fights and a shortage of parking; a police task force last year has addressed some of these problems.
There is a proposal to develop the Coyote Hills area, the last undeveloped area in the city. This controversial issue has pitted local environmentalists and slow-growth activists (who argue that the city should seek state funding to buy the area and make into a park) against the pro-business and pro-growth City Council. There are also plans to build approximately 300 condominiums or apartments downtown, leading to more density.
The 293-acre Hughes Aircraft Company's Ground Systems Group campus in western Fullerton was redeveloped into a major new residential and commercial district, called Amerige Heights, in 2001–2004. This development was accompanied by extreme shifts in neighborhood property values, first dropping precipitously in the late 1980s to early 1990s as the former Hughes employees sold their houses, and then rising rapidly as part of a general increase in real estate values throughout Orange County.
The flat downtown area is laid out in a gridplan centered at the intersection of Harbor Boulevard and Commonwealth Avenue. After recent renewal and beautification projects, it has attracted specialty stores, coffee shops, and restaurants, and has uncharacteristically retained much of its downtown character. Southeastern Fullerton is historically the industrial sector, and is home to small manufacturing, particularly east of Raymond Street and south of Commonwealth.
The hilly northern and western parts of Fullerton were for most of its history groves of citrus trees, open scrub land, and oil fields. While equestrian trails and many old estates endure along Bastanchury Road, the meandering roads through these areas today mostly connect a succession of housing tract subdivisions and commercial developments. North-central and northwestern Fullerton is broadly referred to as Coyote Hills, while the name Sunny Hills refers to the adjacent lands to the south and west. In recent years, the Fullerton City Council has tried to develop all the remaining open land throughout the city. The most notable impending project, in West Coyote Hills, has been met with high opposition by many of the citizens in the area.
Education
California State University, Fullerton, commonly Cal State Fullerton or CSUF was first established in 1957 as Orange County State College. The twelfth member of the California State University system, its main campus is located on 236 acres (1 kmē) of a former orange grove in northeast Fullerton near highway 57 and Nutwood Avenue; there are six branch campuses. In the spring quarter of 2004, 32,592 students were enrolled in 104 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. CSUF primarily serves commuter students.
Fullerton College is a two-year community college, the oldest in continuous operation in CA. Part of the North Orange County Community College District, it is situated on a 63 acre (255,000 mē) campus adjacent to Fullerton Union High School.
The city also prides itself on its public schools, including Fullerton Union High School, Fullerton Joint Union High School District as well as science magnet school Troy High School.