Forster Highlands (San Clemente, California)

Forster Highlands is a planned community designed in the late 1990’s by John Laing Homes (the master developer) consisting of six neighborhoods. It was named after John (Don Juan) Forster (1814 – Feb 20, 1882) one of the largest landowners in California. This development sits on a small portion of the 212,000-acre (860 km2) Forster Ranch.

Each community in Forster Highlands was built by separate developers.

The neighborhoods are called:

- Ashton built by Beazer Homes in the early 2000s, Ashton features single-family homes from 1,600 to 2,100 square feet. The floor plans include 3 to 4 bedrooms, 2.5 to 3 bathrooms and 2-car attached garages. The architecture of the homes is varied, with most being in the Spanish or Cape Cod style.

- Cantomar by Shea Homes range from 3,340 to 4,340 square feet and contain 4 to 5 bedrooms, 3 to 4.5 bathrooms and 2 to 3-car attached garages. Many of the homes sit on large lots, with some upwards of 11,000 square feet.

- Compass Pointe by William Lyon Homes Compass Pointe is a single-family neighborhood located on one of the highest peaks in Forster Ranch. The large estate-like homes, built in the early 2000's, range from 3,247 to 3,815 square feet and contain 4 to 6 bedrooms, 2.75 to 4 bathrooms and 3-car garages. The majority of homes sit on cul-de-sac streets for added privacy with little thru traffic.

- Las Veredas by Citation Homes are single-family homes ranging from 2,517 to 3,260 square feet. Buily in the early 2000's, the floor plans include 3 to 5 bedrooms, 2.5 to 3.5 bathrooms and 3-car garages.

- Ridgemore by Kaufman & Broad is a single-family community built in 2001. The floor plans range from 2,072 to 2,592 square feet and include 3 to 4 bedrooms, 2.5 to 3.5 bathroom and 2 to 3-car garages.

- San Angelo by John Laing Homes are large single-family estates ranging from 3,900 to 4,555 square feet. Built from 2000 to 2002, include 5 to 6 bedrooms, 4 to 6 bathrooms and 3 to 4-car garages. The homes sit on huge lots of land, with most ranging from 10,000 to 12,000 square feet.

There are 618 homes in the community of Forster Highlands in the northern section of an area of San Clemente known as Forster Ranch. As this community was originally planned before the Mello-Roos special assessment tax was passed, it has no Mello-Roos assessment.