4S RANCH -- One of North County's newest communities, 4S Ranch, was virtually unheard of outside a relatively small area along the Interstate 15 corridor two years ago.

Now more than halfway complete, the seven-year-old community is starting to emerge as a distinct development with its own identity.

Some of that achievement can be attributed to careful planning on the part of the community's developer. Those who know 4S Ranch well, though, say its residents' willingness to reach out to each other has also created a strong sense of emotional connection.

"It's the people factor," two-year resident Allie Smits said Friday. "Everywhere you go, people smile and say hi, even if they don't know you."

Standing over her daughter, Kaylee, as the 2-year-old played with a friend in 4S Ranch's Heritage Park, Smits waved her hand toward her house across the street.

"People on my block stop on the street or in the park to catch each other up on things," she said. "And I know probably a dozen moms I can call if I need someone to take my daughter for an hour or so on short notice. You don't find that in a lot of places these days."

Historical ties

4S Ranch was born on paper about 10 years ago.

Spread over 2,900 acres about two miles west of Interstate 15, the community sits on land that was once part of a large ranch owned by an English sea captain, Joseph Snook. The property is bounded by Lake Hodges on the north, Rancho Bernardo on the east, Black Mountain on the south and the Santa Fe River on the west.

Various stories about the ranch's brand suggest it refers to Snook, his wife and the couple's two children, or Snook and his siblings.

The Ralphs family, of grocery chain fame, bought the whole ranch parcel in 1938. In the 1990s, the family sold about 3,400 acres to a developer that later became part of Newland Communities.

That developer mapped out the 4,715-home community now referred to as 4S Ranch on about 1,683 acres on the property's southern end. Some 1,200 acres on the northern end have been designated as open space.

The project is known as a master-planned community because it includes sections for homes in different price ranges, and stores, small businesses, parks and other amenities spread around two main roads that form a large cross at the heart of the project. The size and density led Rancho Bernardo community leaders and residents to oppose the project when it was going through a lengthy county approval process.

The potential effect of 4S Ranch on neighboring communities' infrastructure and Interstate 15 traffic were the biggest concerns cited.

County supervisors approved 4S Ranch's creation after the developer agreed to spend millions to improve freeway onramps and offramps and to connect two of the new community's thoroughfares to existing east-west roads. Newland also committed to building a library, a sheriff's station and other amenities in 4S Ranch.

Rich in amenities

The developer broke ground on the community in 2001. Newland teamed with several home builders -- including William Lyon Homes, Lennar, Standard Pacific Homes and Fieldstone Communities -- to create more than two dozen separate 4S Ranch neighborhoods.

Each has its own architectural style, price ranges and floor plans.

More than half the homes are now complete and sit mostly south of Camino del Norte, a six-lane parkway that is 4S Ranch's east-west spine. Hundreds more homes are planned or in various stages of construction for an area north of Camino del Norte.

Marketing information from Newland shows the array of housing available ranges from town homes with just under 1,000 square feet to executive homes with more than 5,000 square feet. Prices range from the low $400,000s to more than $1 million.

The community also has a 265,609-square-foot shopping center, 4S Commons, whose store and restaurant offerings include Ralphs, Chili's, Ace Hardware, Bed Bath & Beyond and World Market. A smaller retail center, 4S Village, houses small restaurants, a dry cleaner, a real estate office and other service-oriented businesses.

Three of four schools planned for 4S Ranch have been completed and are open. Children in kindergarten through fifth grades attend Stone Ranch or Monterey Ridge elementary schools, while sixth- through eighth-graders go to Oak Valley Middle School.

All the campuses are run by the award-winning Poway Unified School District, which plans to open Del Norte High School in the southern end of 4S Ranch in fall 2009.

Recreation opportunities include 4S Ranch Community Park, which contains a pool, a Boys & Girls Club, an outdoor roller hockey rink, playing fields, and tennis and basketball courts. Smaller parks dot the development, which will be ringed by a 10-mile trail system when the community is finished.

Demographics hard to come by

Jessica Noble, regional marketing manager for Newland, said 4S Ranch home-buyers tend to be 30somethings with young children. But the community also gets its share of people in other demographic categories, she said.

"We have such a wide price point (that) we attract a wide variety of people," said Noble.

She and Newland Vice President Mike Rust declined to be more specific about 4S Ranch's demographics or provide sales information, saying the information was proprietary.

Representatives for the San Diego Association of Governments, the county's planning department, and several real estate consultants said they were unable to provide demographic information for 4S Ranch because its use of Rancho Bernardo's 92129 ZIP code means the community typically is lumped with others when it comes to census information and marketing studies.

The San Diego North Chamber of Commerce was able to provide demographics for the area within a three-mile radius of Camino del Norte and Camino San Bernardo, which sits along 4S Ranch's eastern edge.

Those numbers show that area has an estimated population of about 55,000 and a median age of about 40. Average household size in that section is 2.53 members, and the average household income is just over $94,000, the numbers show.

Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Gary Powers said that although those demographics include a fair number of Rancho Bernardo residents, they make 4S Ranch a potential marketing mecca. His organization started holding annual street fairs and other events in the community about three years ago, in an attempt to make outsiders more aware of it, he said.

Inside connections

Newland made it easy for those living in 4S Ranch to keep abreast of events and activities. The developer requires all homes to be wired for Internet service and other technology, and it established an Intranet, or dedicated online network, accessible by all residents.

4S Ranch's homeowners association maintains the network, which keeps those who log on informed about the community's schools, parent-teacher associations, local events and activities such as organized walking groups, and book and wine clubs. Users can also use the Intranet to communicate with each other.

The community's pedestrian-friendly layout, many sidewalks and outdoor gathering places also encourage people to get out and mingle, said Rust.

"We are very proud of our community in that we see a lot of residents walking in the community of all different ages," he said. "We have a mothers group that has their strollers out every day. And kids walk all over the community."

Sections of roads that will connect Bernardo Center Drive to Carmel Valley Road and Camino del Norte to the adjacent community of Black Mountain Ranch are scheduled to open this spring. The new roads will open the promised east-west routes that will help relieve some of the traffic 4S Ranch contributes to Interstate 15, Rust said.

Thom Pruett is among the people happy to be living in the community. Sitting outside in 4S Village with a friend Friday, he said he and his wife, Michelle, moved to the new development from Tierrasanta about a year ago because they were thinking about starting a family.

"We came up and looked around said, 'This is nice,' " Pruett said, adding that the couple were pleased with Newland's commitment to open space. "We liked that idea -- you know, 'urbanize but also keep some open areas.' "

Rik Morosini, 41, an entrepreneur sitting in the same center, said he also loves living in 4S Ranch.

"The people are great," he said. "It seems like everyone's got great attitudes and smiles. And it's 20 minutes to the beach with that new Ted Williams (Parkway) open."

Contact staff writer Andrea Moss at (760) 739-6654 or amoss@nctimes.com.