Rohnert Park, California

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City of Rohnert Park
Official logo of City of Rohnert Park
Logo
Location in Sonoma County and the state of California
Location in Sonoma County and the state of California
Coordinates: 38°20′50″N 122°41′43″W / 38.34722, -122.69528
Country United States
State California
County Sonoma
Incorporated 1962
Government
 - Type Council-manager
 - Mayor Vicki Vidak-Martinez
 - Vice Mayor Jake Mackenzie
Area [1]
 - Total 6.43 sq mi (16.7 km²)
 - Land 6.43 sq mi (16.7 km²)
 - Water 0 sq mi (0 km²)  0%
Elevation [2] 105 ft (32 m)
Population (2000)[1]
 - Total 42,236
 - Density 6,564.5/sq mi (2,534.6/km²)
Time zone PST (UTC-8)
 - Summer (DST) PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP codes 94926-94928
Area code(s) 707
FIPS code 06-62546
GNIS feature ID 1656263
Website: http://www.ci.rohnert-park.ca.us/
Rohnert Park Expressway, Rohnert Park, California
Rohnert Park Expressway, Rohnert Park, California

Rohnert Park is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located approximately 50 miles north of San Francisco. The estimated 2006 population was 41,083.[3] It is an early planned city modeled directly after Levittown, New York and Levittown, Pennsylvania. Rohnert Park is the sister city of Hashimoto in Japan.

Contents

[edit] Geography

Rohnert Park is located at 38°20′50″N, 122°41′43″W (38.347174, -122.695378)[4]. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.43 square miles (16.7 km²), all of it land. In actuality, there is a small man-made reservoir called Robert's Lake at the north end of the city and a number of diverted creeks running generally east to west.

[edit] Hydrology

Riparian communities within the city are limited by past channelization of creekbeds. Every creek within the Rohnert Park City limits has been channelized into straight east-west channels which traverse the City. Important drainages include the Laguna de Santa Rosa, which forms the southern border of the City with the City of Cotati, Copeland Creek, Hinebaugh Creek, Crane Creek and Five Creek. Spivock Creek, Coleman Creek, Wilfred Channel, and Labath Channel are man-made channels designed to drain surface waters from the City of Rohnert Park.

Vegetation alongside the City's streams primarily consists of grass and sedge species. The Laguna de Santa Rosa contains bands of thick native riparian vegetation, including various willow (Salix spp.) and alder (Alnus spp.) trees. (Earth Metrics, 1990)

[edit] Geology

The Rodgers Creek Fault is an active fault influencing seismicity in the Rohnert Park area,(USGS, 2005) along with risks of the slightly more distant, but better known San Andreas Fault.

[edit] Biology

Sudden oak death fungus risks are present in the Rohnert Park area. Certain research studies are ongoing at the nearby Fairfield Osborn Reserve. (Sonoma State University, 2000)

[edit] Demographics

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 42,236 people, 15,503 households, and 9,797 families residing in the city. The population density was 6,564.5 people per square mile (2,534.6/km²). There were 15,808 housing units at an average density of 2,457/sq mi (949/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 80.28% White, 1.97% African American, 0.78% Native American, 5.58% Asian, 0.42% Pacific Islander, 5.72% from other races, and 5.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.57% of the population.

There were 15,503 households out of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 24.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.20.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 14.8% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $51,942, and the median income for a family was $61,420. Males had a median income of $41,757 versus $31,149 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,035. About 3.2% of families and 8.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.6% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those over age 64.

[edit] Politics

In the state legislature Rohnert Park is located in the 3rd Senate District, represented by Democrat Carole Migden, and in the 6th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Jared Huffman. Federally, Rohnert Park is located in California's 6th congressional district.

[edit] History

Originally home of the Coast Miwok native people[5], the Mexican government granted Rancho Cotate to Captain Juan Castenada in July of 1844 for his military services in the region. The grant encompassed present-day Penngrove, Cotati and Rohnert Park. "Cotate Rancho is a part of the Vallejo Township which is the plain between Sonoma Mountain and Petaluma Creek San Pablo Bay, and an east and west line dividing the tract from Santa Rosa Township." [6] [7]

Rancho Cotate was sold in 1849 to Dr. Thomas S. Page, of Cotati, and eventually broken up and sold off piecemeal to incoming settlers.[6] The town of Rohnert Park was named after the Rohnert family who owned the Rohnert Seed Farm. In 1929, a successful businessman, Waldo Emerson Rohnert, (born 1869 - died 1933), a native of Detroit, Michigan, purchased a large ranch here and minimized flooding in the fields with a crude drainage system but died shortly after. His son, Fred Rohnert, a graduate of Stanford Law School took over the ranch and developed a seed growing business, the Rohnert Seed Farm, which turned into a major horticultural success for the county.[6]

In the year 1956, only four adult residents lived within the district boundaries, but in 1957 with the 101 Freeway newly completed at the Cotati bypass, Rohnert Park began to be built and laid out as a planned city. In a summer election of 1962, Rohnert Park was incorporated, comprised of 1,325 acres (536 ha), housing an estimated 2,775 persons, the first town in Sonoma County to incorporate since 1905. The historic neighboring town of Cotati, California voted to incorporate the following year. [6]

[edit] Education

The Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District serves the city. The city of Rohnert Park is home to Sonoma State University.

[edit] High schools

Rancho Cotate High School is the main comprehensive high school for both the towns of Rohnert Park and Cotati. Technology High School is a small high school located within the Sonoma State University campus.

Alternative Education consists of:

•Community Day School

•El Camino High School

•Phoenix High School

and Independent study.

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  2. ^ USGS GNIS: Rohnert Park
  3. ^ Rohnert Park city, California. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
  4. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  5. ^ Access Genealogy
  6. ^ a b c d DeClercq, 1977.
  7. ^ Harris, 1980.

[edit] References

[edit] Line note references

Sebastopol Santa Rosa Taylor Mountain
v • d • e
 
Bloomfield North Sonoma Mountain
West   Rohnert Park    East
South
Two Rock Cotati Penngrove
v • d • e
Municipalities and communities of
Sonoma County, California
County seat: Santa Rosa
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Sonoma County map
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San Francisco Bay Area
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