Oak Park, California

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Oak Park is a census-designated place located in Ventura County, California covered by census tracts 74.03 and 74.04. As of the 2000 census, those tracts had a total population of 14,625 people.

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Demographics 4 Education 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

Oak Park was formed from ranchland owned by Jim and Marian Jordan, stars of the radio show Fibber McGee and Molly. The land was purchased by Metropolitan Development Corporation in the 1940s and '50s. Homes were developed starting in the late 1960s. Kanan Road (named after a local family) was the only access road to the community, from Agoura Hills, California in neighboring Los Angeles County. As such, the community was served by police and firefighters based in the nearest Ventura County city, Thousand Oaks, 10 miles (16 km) away, with L.A. County services responding when able.

In 1967 Ventura County officials who were concerned about the isolation of the community proposed a land swap with L.A. County, but they were rebuffed. The isolation -- coupled with the distance to junior and senior high schools -- also drove down the property values, and homeowners found it difficult to sell their properties.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors created a Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) in 1975 to represent the community to County agencies. The MAC persuaded the Ventura County Board of Supervisors to trim Metropolitan Development Corp.'s initial development plan from a population of 26,000. Today there are about 15,000 residents. All available land within Oak Park has now been developed, with the remaining vacant land owned by the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District.

The community was initially served by the Simi Valley Unified School District, with the nearest post-elementary schools being Sinaloa Junior High (about 20 miles (32 km) away) and Royal High (about 22 (35 km) miles away). Since the Simi Valley Unified School District had no plans to build post-elementary schools in Oak Park, the residents seceded and formed Oak Park Unified School District in June 1977. Oak Park High School opened for classes (initially grades 6-12) in the spring of 1981.

In 1999 the United States Postal Service assigned Oak Park its own ZIP code, 91377.

[edit] Geography

Oak Park is located at 34°10'18" North, 118°45'28" West (34.171756, -118.757899)^GR1.

The CDP has a total area of 10.5 km² (4.1 mi²). All of the area is land and none of it is covered by water. However, there are many small creeks in the area.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there are 14,625 people, 5,160 households in the two census tracts. The population density is 1,392.5/km² (3,567.1/mi²). The average density of housing units is 491.4/km² (1,258.5/mi²). The actual local density is about twice that because over half the land area is public parks.

The racial makeup of the CDP is 82% White and 12% racial minorities.

49.7% of the households have children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.7% are married couples living together, 9.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 11.5% are non-families. 8.7% of all households are made up of individuals and 2.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.83. The median age of the population is 36.3.

The median income for a household in the CDP is $89,200. Males have a median income of $81,698 versus $42,083 for females. 13.0% of the households have incomes of less than $30,000. 43.1% of the households have incomes greater than $100,000.

[edit] Education

Among residents age 25 or greater, 11% have no education beyond a high school diploma, 22% have some college education without earning a degree, 10% have an associate degree, 35% have a bachelor degree, and 18% have advanced degrees.

The community is served by the Oak Park Unified School District (OPUSD), which has three elementary schools (K-5), a middle school (6-8), Oak Park High School (9-12), and Oak View High School (an alternative high school for ages 16 and above).

[edit] References

• Pool, Bob. "Rebuffed, Then Polished", Los Angeles Times, April 2, 2006.

[edit] External links

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 34.171756° -118.757899°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
• Oak Park Update, a Web site for community news, events, and activities.
• Oak Park, California 91377, a Web site with climate, geography, and links to government services. Pages linked from this site include demographics from the 2000 census and a calendar of community meetings and events.