Welcome to Los Altos Hills
Los Altos Hill is a sterling Silicon Valley residential community with a strong independent streak and thriving community dedicated to maintaining their cultural and aesthetic identity. Located adjacent to the city of Los Altos, Los Altos Hills is also just south of San Francisco and just north of downtown San Jose. Unlike many of the smaller towns in the area which remained unincorporated and were subsequently absorbed by San Jose or other larger cities, Los Altos Hills incorporated specifically to avoid such a fate. Los Altos Hills is small, tight-knit community, where residents enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle and appreciate like-minded neighbors.
Lay of the Land
An entirely residential neighborhood, Los Altos Hills has a population of approximately 7,922 residents as of the 2010 census. The town has a total area of approximately 8.8 square miles and as the name would indicate is located amongst a small group of rolling hills. To say that Los Altos Hills was an affluent area would be an understatement. The median household income for the area is well over $200,000. It also constantly ranks among one of the most expensive places to live in the United States with an estimated median home price of 5.4 million dollars. Notable residents include Yuri Milner who purchased a home in Los Altos Hills for over $100 million.
Getting Around
Based on its small size, Los Altos Hills is not directly served by any of the transportations amenities enjoyed by many of the other towns in the Santa Clara Valley area. However, that poses very little concern for the residents because many of the neighboring towns enjoy extensive public transit services. By traveling an extremely short distance to Los Altos, San Jose, or any of the other neighboring cities, residents of Los Altos Hills have access to an extensive light rail system, public bus system, and major highway and freeway interchanges. San Jose has a major airport and CalTrain also runs several commuter trains all the way from Gilroy to San Francisco.
Local Highlights
Los Altos Hills is a strictly residential area. With the exception of the book store located on the campus of Foothill College there are no commercial retail operations within the city limits. It is also considered a contract city when it comes to public services such as fire and police. The town government negotiates a contract with Santa Clara County for those services to be provided. Additionally, the town does not have a library or post office. Postal services and telephone services are handled by the nearby town of Los Altos.
What Los Altos Hills does have however, is an extremely active local government and active community. This has led to some of the strictest zoning laws in the state of California. Individual homes require a minimum lot size of one acre and large setbacks from the property boundary and easements for public pathways.
The politically active citizenry of Los Altos Hills elects a five person city-council that works to preserve the spirit of the town. Additionally, there are several active community planning groups that work to provide the city-council with data regarding a variety of topics. These include everything from open space usage to a host of environmental and historic preservation concerns.
Education
Foothill College, part of the Foothill-DeAnza Community College District, is a community college that has been operating in the Los Altos Foothills area since its founding in 1957. Foothill College is an accredited university and also houses the district\’s headquarters.
There is no Los Altos Hills school district and as such students wishing to attend public school have the option of traveling to one of several schools in the neighboring towns of Palo Alto or Los Altos. Additionally, there are several private schools and alternative educational programs available for residents in the surrounding towns.
