Ocean View Hills, San Diego, CA

Before Pardee Homes started building in 1998, the slopes that became Ocean View Hills were known locally as the Pits, a spot for off-road riding and bonfires. Today this master-planned San Diego neighborhood sits between Interstate 805 and State Route 905, with Otay Mesa wrapping around its eastern and southern sides and Chula Vista across the Otay River valley to the north. The homes are the newest in the South Bay part of the city. Expect detached two-story houses with Spanish-style touches, attached garages and private backyards, plus townhome and apartment communities. Newer building continues at Playa del Sol, where Pardee and Tri Pointe have their Luna and Veraz sections. Many streets sit on view terrain, and some front yards are kept up by the homeowners association. Parks are spread through the plan. Cesar Solis Community Park on Del Sol Boulevard is the biggest, Ocean View Hills Neighborhood Park sits on the parkway that shares its name, and Vista Pacifica Park and Sunset Park on Sea Bird Way handle the smaller pockets. Open space on the northern slopes drops toward Otay Valley Regional Park, and sidewalks and walking paths link much of the plan. Shopping is concentrated at the Dennery Road center, anchored by Vons, and most of what is there is national chains. Little Sakana, an all-you-can-eat sushi spot with only three locations, is one of the few exceptions. For tacos with more personality, Palm Avenue in Otay Mesa West and San Ysidro Boulevard are both a short drive away. Ocean View Hills School, a K-8 campus run by the San Ysidro district, sits inside the community. The 805 and the 905 are right at the edges, so getting downtown or to the border crossing is simple by car. Transit means the 905 bus along Otay Mesa Road to the Iris Avenue trolley station. The newness cuts both ways. Everything is planned and consistent, but there is no older main street or locally owned cafe scene to wander, and nearly every errand involves a parking lot. Ocean View Hills shows its planning most in the layout, with parks, the school and the Dennery Road center placed so that few streets are far from any of them.