Anaheim Hills is not a city. It is the hillside eastern part of the City of Anaheim, south of SR-91, so a home there gets Anaheim city services, electricity and water from the city-owned Anaheim Public Utilities, and Anaheim's zoning, permit and short-term rental rules. Yorba Linda, its neighbor to the north, is a separate city with its own rules, Southern California Edison for power, and water mostly from the Yorba Linda Water District.
Both offer hillside homes, a range of lot sizes, fire hazard zones to check and quick access to SR-91 and the 241 Toll Road. The differences that change your monthly cost and how you can use the property are lot types and horse rules, special taxes, utilities, school district lines and rental rules. For each area's full profile, see our Yorba Linda and Anaheim area guides.
Yorba Linda vs Anaheim Hills at a glance
- Government: Yorba Linda is its own city. Anaheim Hills is part of the City of Anaheim, whose General Plan calls it the Hill and Canyon Area.
- Lots: Yorba Linda's north and east have many lots of a third to a half acre; Anaheim Hills mixes estate lots with clustered homes on smaller lots.
- Horses: Yorba Linda publishes a lot-size table for keeping horses in certain zones. In Anaheim Hills, it depends on the parcel's zoning and any HOA.
- Special taxes: Yorba Linda bills a landscaping and lighting assessment; Anaheim has three 1989 Mello-Roos districts named for Anaheim Hills communities.
- Utilities: SCE and mostly Yorba Linda Water District in Yorba Linda; Anaheim Public Utilities for electricity and water in Anaheim.
- Rentals: Yorba Linda prohibits short-term rentals; Anaheim does not allow new ones.
Anaheim Hills is part of Anaheim: what that means
Listings often treat Anaheim Hills as a separate place, but it is a set of neighborhoods inside the City of Anaheim. That matters to a buyer:
- City government: The Anaheim City Council sets local rules, and the city handles zoning and building permits, so check permit history with Anaheim.
- Utilities: Anaheim Public Utilities, which describes itself as a city-owned, not-for-profit electric and water utility, serves the hills as it does the rest of Anaheim.
- Rules and taxes: Anaheim's short-term rental, ADU and fire hazard rules apply in the hills as they do in the flatlands, and Anaheim's own Mello-Roos districts are the ones that can appear on a hillside tax bill.
Yorba Linda has a wrinkle of its own. Its General Plan identifies the Yorba Linda Country Club area and the Fairlynn neighborhood as unincorporated county islands, so some homes with Yorba Linda addresses follow County of Orange zoning and permits rather than the city's.
Housing stock and lot sizes
Yorba Linda
Yorba Linda is mostly single-family housing. Its General Plan designates about a third of residential land as Medium-Low density, with lots typically a third to a half acre in the northern and eastern parts of the city, a designation the plan says easily accommodates horses. Many older west-side neighborhoods fall under a designation with a 7,500-square-foot minimum lot. Planned developments such as Travis Ranch and Vista del Verde mix condominiums and patio homes with detached homes, so one community name can cover different housing types.
Anaheim Hills
Anaheim's hillside neighborhoods have been developing since the 1960s, partly under specific plans such as The Highlands at Anaheim Hills, Sycamore Canyon and The Summit of Anaheim Hills. Lots range from estate parcels of roughly half an acre to an acre, a designation the General Plan limits to this area, to clustered homes on smaller lots that leave the slopes as open space.
Horse keeping and equestrian zoning
Yorba Linda's Planning FAQ says horses are permitted on lots of 15,000 square feet or more in the R-A, RLD and R-E zones. On lots under 15,000 square feet, but not under 10,000, in those zones or in the R-S and R-U zones, keeping horses requires a conditional use permit. The number allowed rises with lot size, from one horse on 10,000 to 15,000 square feet to six on lots over 30,000 square feet up to one acre, plus two more for each acre above the first. The city also lists more than 100 miles of trails for hikers, bikers and equestrians, and its Casino Ridge and Quarter Horse staging areas, both with trailer parking, lead directly into Chino Hills State Park.
In Anaheim Hills, whether you can keep a horse depends on the parcel's zone under Anaheim's municipal code and on any homeowners association's CC&Rs. Confirm both with the city's planning staff and the HOA before you buy with horses in mind. In either city, ask whether existing barns, arenas and corrals were permitted.
HOAs, Mello-Roos and assessments
- Yorba Linda assessments: Many bills carry a line labeled "LNDSCP & LTG #1" for the Yorba Linda Street Lighting and Landscaping Maintenance District, which the city calls the LMAD. The amount varies by zone. Since the city stopped subsidizing zones in deficit in 2015, several local zones have voted on whether to raise assessments or reduce maintenance.
- Yorba Linda special taxes: The County Treasurer's index of Mello-Roos bonds for 2018-19 lists a Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District CFD No. 1 and no City of Yorba Linda district. Only the parcel's bill shows whether a home is in a district.
- Anaheim Hills special taxes: The City of Anaheim publishes Mello-Roos reports for CFD No. 1989-1 Sycamore Canyon, CFD No. 1989-2 The Highlands and CFD No. 1989-3 The Summit, named for Anaheim Hills specific plans. Its two other districts, Stadium Lofts and Platinum Triangle, are in the flatlands.
- HOAs: Condos and townhomes come with an association, and planned tracts in either area may too. Ask for every association's budget, reserves and rules on animals, RVs and rentals.
Our guide to Mello-Roos vs HOA costs explains how the two add up, our guide on how to look up Mello-Roos shows how to read a bill, and our property tax calculator estimates the total. This is general information, not tax advice; confirm amounts with the levying agency or a CPA.
School districts by address
Yorba Linda is served by Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified, whose Find Your School tool looks up assignments by street name. Anaheim is split among several districts: Orange Unified runs a group of Anaheim Hills schools that includes Canyon High School, and Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified serves other parts of Anaheim.
Check every address with the Orange Unified School Locator or the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified Find Your School tool, including county-island homes in Yorba Linda. Neither the city name nor the listing settles it.
Utilities: Anaheim Public Utilities vs SCE
Anaheim Public Utilities provides electricity and water in Anaheim Hills. Yorba Linda's city page lists Southern California Edison for electricity and SoCalGas for gas, and says most residents get water from the Yorba Linda Water District while some are served by Golden State Water.
The Yorba Linda Water District, independent of city and county governments, serves Yorba Linda plus portions of Placentia, Brea, Anaheim and unincorporated Orange County. Near the city line, confirm the water provider on a recent bill.
Commute: SR-91, the 241 and the new connector
- SR-91: The main east-west route toward Riverside County and Los Angeles County. The 91 Express Lanes run 18 miles from SR-55 to I-15, with tolls paid by FasTrak transponder.
- SR-241: The Toll Roads says the 241 runs from SR-91 in Yorba Linda to Oso Parkway in Rancho Santa Margarita, with tolls collected electronically.
- 241/91 Express Connector: A tolled direct connection from the northbound 241 to the eastbound 91 Express Lanes, and from the westbound 91 Express Lanes to the southbound 241. The Toll Roads says final design is complete, the project was advertised in May 2026 and completion is estimated in 2029.
- Rail: Yorba Linda has no Metrolink station. Anaheim Canyon station, near La Palma and Tustin avenues, is on the Inland Empire-Orange County Line.
Fire hazard zones
Yorba Linda says CAL FIRE released updated Local Responsibility Area maps on March 24, 2025, and the City Council adopted them; the city reports more than 6,500 acres in Moderate, High or Very High zones, over 4,700 of them Very High. It notes that Very High zones require clearing flammable material around structures, sellers must disclose High and Very High zones, and new buildings face stricter fire-resistant standards.
Anaheim's General Plan describes its eastern hillsides, including Anaheim Hills, as wildfire-prone with mapped Very High zones, and names the 2017 Canyon Fire 2 among past fires that damaged homes there. Check any address on CAL FIRE's map viewer and start insurance quotes early; our homeowners insurance guide explains what to expect.
Short-term rentals and ADUs
- Yorba Linda: Municipal Code Section 5.50.030 prohibits renting a home or accessory building for less than 30 consecutive days.
- Anaheim: Under a 2019 ordinance, most existing permitted short-term rentals may continue under strict rules, but new ones are not allowed. If a home already has a permit, ask the city whether it can continue after a sale.
- ADUs: Both cities allow ADUs under state law, and Anaheim offers pre-approved ADU plans. HOA design rules and hillside grading can still limit what fits.
Which fits you: Yorba Linda or Anaheim Hills?
- You want room for horses: Yorba Linda's published zone and lot-size rules make a parcel easier to check before you offer.
- You want a view lot or an estate parcel: both have them; compare fire zone, insurance and slope maintenance.
- Monthly cost is the limit: compare HOA dues, the LMAD line or any CFD, utility providers and insurance, not just the price.
- You hoped for short-term rental income: Yorba Linda prohibits it, and Anaheim does not allow new rentals.
How Remark Homes can help
Remark Homes is a veteran-owned brokerage based in Tustin. We pull the tax bill, HOA documents, zoning, utility providers and school assignment for each home you consider in either area. See our home buying services to get started.
Frequently asked questions
Is Anaheim Hills its own city?
No. Anaheim Hills is part of the City of Anaheim, so Anaheim handles zoning, permits and local rules, and Anaheim Public Utilities provides electricity and water.
Does Yorba Linda have Mello-Roos?
Not citywide. Many bills carry the city's landscaping and lighting assessment, and some parcels may be in a school district CFD, so check the home's tax bill.
Can you keep horses in Yorba Linda?
Yes, in the R-A, RLD and R-E zones on lots of 15,000 square feet or more, with a conditional use permit for some smaller lots and limits based on lot size.
Is the 241/91 Express Connector open?
Not yet. The Toll Roads says the project was advertised in May 2026 with completion estimated in 2029.
