The area was originally part of the Mission Rancho Lands of San Diego granted to the
Catholic Church by the King of
Spain. When the Missions were secularized by Mexico in 1834, the land was deeded over to various men, including Don
Santiago Argüello, who eventually divided and sold some of land. More modern development of the community began after the Korean War, when the Navy built its Cabrillo Heights housing project in the early 1950s. The Serra Mesa Community Planning Area also includes the Lincoln (formerly Cabrillo) Navy Housing, Cabrillo Village, Cabrillo Heights, Mission Village, and
Birdland neighborhoods. Birdland is home to three hospitals (Sharp Memorial, Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women and Newborns, and Rady Children's), including two of the six designated trauma centers in San Diego County as well as the only women's hospital and the only hospital dedicated solely to pediatric care. Six acres of the Civita development (formerly Quarry Falls), and the western slope of Murphy Canyon fall within Zip Code 92123. The Escala development, along with Fenton Parkway (Costco) are part of
Mission Valley (92108), but feed into the Taft Middle School service area. In 2008, the Serra Mesa Community Council sued the city of San Diego for approving construction of Palladium at Aero, a large development that they said was out of scale with the neighborhood, without requiring an environmental impact report. The lawsuit was settled with some concessions on the part of the developer, and construction went ahead in 2013. ==Education==