San Juan Capistrano is a city located in southern Orange County, California, USA, located approximately 23 miles southeast of Downtown Santa Ana. The city is served by Capistrano Unified School District. The City has grown from a small community of approximately 10,000 persons in 1974 to a developed city of 36,078 in 2005, with a variety of land uses providing open space, recreation, housing, jobs, shopping and services. The City prides itself on effectively maintaining its open space character by acquiring land to preserve its defining ridgelines, hillsides, and trails. Nearly 40% of the City is in open space and park land. Only about 10% of land suitable for development still remains vacant.