Oxnard, California

City of Oxnard
The only skyscrapers in Oxnard as of June 2005
Nickname(s): The City that Cares
Location in Ventura County and the state of California
City of Oxnard is located in the USA
City of Oxnard
Location in the United States
Coordinates:
Country United States United States
State California California
County Ventura
Government
 - Type Council-Manager
 - City Council Mayor Dr. Thomas E. Holden
Andres Herrera
Dean Maulhardt
Dr. Irene G. Pinkard
Bryan A. MacDonald
 - City Treasurer Danielle Navas
 - City Attorney Alan Holmberg
 - City Clerk Daniel Martinez
 - City Manager Edmund F. Sotelo
Area
 - Total 36.6 sq mi (94.8 km2)
 - Land 25.3 sq mi (65.6 km2)
 - Water 11.3 sq mi (29.2 km2)
Elevation 52 ft (16 m)
Population (2010)
 - Total 200,004
 - Density 7,628.3/sq mi (2,942.0/km2)
Time zone PST (UTC-8)
 - Summer (DST) PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP codes 93030-93033-93035-93036
Area code(s) 805
FIPS code 06-54652
GNIS feature ID 1652766
Website cityofoxnard.org

Oxnard (pronounced /ˈɒksnɑrd/) is the 121st largest city in the United States, 21st largest city in California and largest city in Ventura County, California by way of population. It is located at the western edge of the fertile Oxnard Plain, and is an important agricultural center, with its distinction as the strawberry and lima bean capital of California. Founded in 1903, it is home to nearly 200,000 citizens (192,997)[1] and is the largest city in the Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura metropolitan area.

Oxnard is also a major transportation hub in Southern California, with Amtrak, Union Pacific, Metrolink, Greyhound, and Intercalifornia stopping in Oxnard. Oxnard also has a regional airport called Oxnard Airport (OXR).

Contents

History

Downtown Oxnard, early-1900s.

Before the arrival of Europeans, the area that is now Oxnard was inhabited by Chumash Native Americans. The first European to encounter the area was Spanish explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, who claimed it for Spain in 1542. During the mission period, it was serviced by the Mission San Buenaventura, established in 1782.

Ranching began to take hold among Californio settlers, who lost their regional influence when California became a U.S. state in 1850. At about the same time, the area was settled by American farmers, who cultivated barley and lima beans.

Henry Oxnard, founder of today's Moorhead, MN based American Crystal Sugar Co who operated a successful sugar beet factory with his three brothers (Benjamin, James, and Robert) in Chino, California, was enticed to build a $2 million factory on the plain inland from Port Hueneme. Shortly after the 1897 beet campaign, a new town emerged, now commemorated on the National Register of Historic Places as the Henry T. Oxnard Historic District. Ironically, the Oxnard brothers never lived in their namesake city, and they sold both the Chino and the giant red-brick Oxnard factory with its landmark twin smokestacks in 1899 for nearly $4 million. The Oxnard factory operated from August 19, 1899 until October 26, 1959. Factory operations were interrupted in the Oxnard Strike of 1903. Given the growth of the town of Oxnard, in the spring of 1898, a railroad station was built to service the plant, which attracted a population of Chinese, Japanese, and Mexican laborers and enough commerce to merit the designation of a town. Oxnard intended to name the settlement after the Greek word for "sugar"..."zachari", but frustrated by bureaucracy, named it after himself.

Oxnard, 1908. The public library is at the right.

Oxnard was incorporated as a California city on June 30, 1903, and the public library was opened in 1907, one of only three libraries west of the Mississippi river financed by Andrew Carnegie. Prior to and during World War II, the naval bases of Point Mugu and Port Hueneme were established in the area to take advantage of the only major navigable port on California's coast between the Port of Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay, and the bases in turn encouraged the development of the defense-based aerospace and communications industries.

In the mid-20th century Oxnard grew and developed the areas outside the downtown with homes, industry, retail, and a new harbor named Channel Islands Harbor. Martin V. ("Bud") Smith (1916–2001) became the most influential developer in the history of Oxnard during this time. Smith's first enterprise in 1941 was the Colonial House Restaurant (demolished 1988) and then the Wagon Wheel Junction in 1947. He was also involved in the development of the high-rise towers at the Topa Financial Plaza, the Channel Islands Harbor, Casa Sirena Resort, the Esplanade Shopping Mall, Fisherman's Wharf, the Carriage Square Shopping Center, the Maritime Museum, and many other major hotel, restaurant and retail projects.

In June 2004, the Oxnard Police Department and the Ventura County Sheriff imposed a gang injunction over a 6.6-square-mile (17 km2) area of the central district of the city, in order to restrict gang activity.[2] The injunction was upheld in the Ventura County Superior Court and made a permanent law in 2005. A similar injunction was imposed in September, 2006 over a 4.26-square-mile (11.0 km2) area of the south side of the city.

Geography

Oxnard is located at (34.191292, -119.182497)[3]. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 94.8 km² (36.6 mi²). 65.6 km² (25.3 mi²) of it is land and 29.2 km² (11.3 mi²) of it (30.83%) is water.

Oxnard is located on the Oxnard Plain, an area with fertile soil. With its beaches, dunes, wetlands, creeks and the Santa Clara River, the area contains a number of important biological communities. Native plant communities include: coastal sage scrub, California Annual Grassland, and Coastal Dune Scrub species; however, most native plants have been eliminated from within the city limits to make way for agriculture and urban and industrial development. Also native to the region is the endangered Ventura Marsh Milkvetch, and the last self-sustaining population is in Oxnard in the center of a recently approved high-end housing development.[4]

Ventura
U.S. 101
 PCH1
Santa Barbara
U.S. 101		 Ventura Saticoy
Santa Paula
SR 126 via SR 232 and SR 118
Pacific Ocean Camarillo
U.S. 101
   Oxnard    
Port Hueneme Los Angeles
U.S. 101

Climate

The city is situated in a Mediterranean (dry subtropical) climate zone, experiencing mild and relatively wet winters, and warm, dry summers. Onshore breezes keep the communities of Oxnard cooler in summer and warmer in winter than those further inland. The average mean temperature is 61°F (16°C). The average minimum temperature is 52°F (11°C) and the average maximum temperature is 69°F (21°C). Generally the weather is cool and dry, with 354 days of sunshine annually. The average annual precipitation is 15.62 in (397 mm).[5]

Climate data for Oxnard (Camarillo), California
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °F (°C) 66
(18.9)		 66
(18.9)		 66
(18.9)		 67
(19.4)		 68
(20)		 70
(21.1)		 73
(22.8)		 74
(23.3)		 74
(23.3)		 73
(22.8)		 70
(21.1)		 66
(18.9)		 69.3
(20.72)
Average low °F (°C) 46
(7.8)		 47
(8.3)		 48
(8.9)		 50
(10)		 53
(11.7)		 56
(13.3)		 59
(15)		 60
(15.6)		 59
(15)		 55
(12.8)		 49
(9.4)		 45
(7.2)		 52.2
(11.22)
Precipitation inches (mm) 3.43
(87.1)		 3.9
(99)		 3.03
(77)		 0.71
(18)		 0.2
(5)		 0.04
(1)		 0.04
(1)		 0.08
(2)		 0.35
(8.9)		 0.35
(8.9)		 1.38
(35.1)		 2.13
(54.1)		 15.6
(396)
Source: U.S. Climate Data[6]

Geology

Like the rest of California, Oxnard is subject to earthquakes due to its location near the San Andreas Fault.

One active fault line that transverses Oxnard is the Oak Ridge Fault, which straddles the Santa Clara River Valley westward from the Santa Susana Mountains, crosses the Oxnard Plain through Oxnard, and extends into the Santa Barbara Channel.

The fault has proven to be a significant contributor to seismic activity in the Oxnard region and beyond. The Northridge Earthquake, a devastating magnitude 6.7 temblor that occurred on January 17, 1994, is believed to have occurred in the Santa Clarita extension of the Oak Ridge Fault. Landslides and ridge-top shattering resulting from the Northridge Earthquake were observed above Moorpark, a city just east of Oxnard. [http://www.mpacorn.com/News/2004

A quake with a preliminary magnitude of 3.2 struck at 9:53 p.m. centered at four miles east-southeast of the city of Oxnard on October 16, 2009.

Another earthquake of magnitude 2.9 struck around 11:55 p.m. on April 28, 2010.

Another earthquake of magnitude 3.9 struck around 8:20 p.m. on May 14, 2010

Demographics

A May 1, 2006 California Department of Finance estimate shows the city's population right at 200,000, with the Oxnard Metro at roughly 800,000 people. As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 170,358 people, 43,576 households, and 34,947 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,598.8/km² (6,729.7/mi²). There were 45,166 housing units at an average density of 689.0/km² (1,784.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 42.08% White, 3.78% African American, 1.26% Native American, 7.39% Asian, 0.41% Pacific Islander, 40.36% from other races, and 4.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 66.22% of the population.

There were 43,576 households out of which 46.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.4% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.8% were non-families. 14.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.85 and the average family size was 4.16

In the city the population was spread out with 31.8% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 17.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 104.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $48,603, and the median income for a family was $49,150. Males had a median income of $30,643 versus $25,381 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,288. About 11.4% of families and 15.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.4% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

The economy of Oxnard is driven by international trade, agriculture, manufacturing, defense, and tourism. Oxnard is one of the key manufacturing centers in the Greater Los Angeles Area. The Port of Hueneme is the busiest and only deep-harbor commercial port between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and is vital to trade with the Pacific Rim economies. Companies utilizing the Port include Del Monte Foods, Chiquita, BMW, Land Rover, and Jaguar. Other key industries driving Oxnard's existence include finance, transportation, the high tech industry, and energy, particularly petroleum. Two large active oil fields underlie the city and adjacent areas: the Oxnard Oil Field, east of the city along 5th Street, and the West Montalvo Oil Field along the coast to the west of town. Tenby Inc.'s Oxnard Refinery, on 5th Street east of Del Norte Avenue, processes oil from both fields.

According to the City's 2008 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[8] the top employers in the city are:

# Employer # of Employees
1 St. John’s Regional Medical Center 1,994
2 Oxnard Union High School District 1,500
3 Waterway Plastics 1,300
4 City of Oxnard 1,167
5 Haas Automation 996
6 Aluminum Precision 700

Some of the major companies headquartered in Oxnard are Haas Automation, Seminis, Raypak, Drum Workshop, Borla Performance, Boss Audio, Robbins Auto Tops, and Vivitar which was bought by Sakar International in late 2008. Procter & Gamble and Sysco maintain their West Coast operations in Oxnard.

The Dallas Cowboys held their pre-season training camp at River Ridge Field in Oxnard in 2001, 2004–06, and 2008 (the Cowboys trained at California Lutheran University in nearby Thousand Oaks from 1964–89). The Los Angeles Raiders trained at River Ridge in the 1980s and 90s.[9]

Agriculture

According to the Camarillo General Plan:[10] "The areas studied showed a high percentage of Group I soils, primarily located on the relatively flat Oxnard Plain. The Oxnard Plain, because of these high-quality agricultural soils, coupled with a favorable climate, is considered one of the most fertile areas in the world."

Oxnard has been known for several different crops over the years, including: cucumbers,, sugar beets, lima beans, Stock (the cut flower), and strawberries. In the years of Oxnard's growth during the 70's and 80's, many farms and ranches were annexed for development, and many new development plans threatened much of the plain's farmland. In 1995, a grassroots effort known as SOAR (Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources) was initiated by farmers, ranchers and citizens of Ventura County in an effort to save the vast agricultural asset of the Oxnard Plain.

Oxnard Strawberries

The Oxnard Plain is well-known for its strawberries. According to the USDA, Oxnard is California’s largest strawberry producer, supplying about one-third of the State's annual strawberry volume.[11] From the end of September through the end of October, strawberries are planted and harvesting occurs from mid-December through mid-July in Oxnard. The peak harvesting season in California runs from April through June, when up to 10 million pint baskets of strawberries are shipped daily.[12] The state of California supplies over 85 percent of U.S. strawberries, with the U.S. supplying for a quarter of total world production of strawberries.

California Strawberry Festival

Each year Oxnard hosts the California Strawberry Festival during the summer at Oxnard College, featuring vendors as well as food items based on the fruit such as strawberry nachos, strawberry pizza, strawberry funnel cake, strawberry sundaes, and strawberry champagne.[13]

Government

Local Government

According to the city’s most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city’s various funds had $336.8 million in Revenues, $308.9 million in expenditures, $2,267.1 million in total assets, $496.8 million in total liabilities, and $206.9 million in cash and investments.[8]

The structure of the management and coordination of city services is:[8]

City Department Director
City Manager Edmund F. Sotelo
Assistant City Manager Karen Burnham
Police Chief John Crombach
Fire Chief Joe Milligan
Director of Housing Sal Gonzalez
Director of Finance Jim Cameron
Director of Recreation and Community Services Vacant
Director of Development Services Matt Winegar
Director of Public Works Rob Roshanian
Director of Human Resources Michelle Tellez
Director of Library Barbara Murray

Education

The City of Oxnard is served by 54 public school campuses which provide education to more than 53,000 students in grades K-12. If all Oxnard public school districts were unified into one district, similar to cities such as New York and Los Angeles, it would be the 71st largest school district in the United States.[14]

Elementary and junior high schools

The City of Oxnard and surrounding communities are served by four different school districts which oversee education for students grades K-8. They are:

On February 12, 2008 there was a shooting involving students occurred at E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard. Larry King was shot in one of the classrooms where he was later taken to St Johns Hospital and died.[16]

High schools

All public high schools in Oxnard are operated by the Oxnard Union High School District, which provides high school education to 20,000 students at 10 campuses in three cities (Oxnard, Camarillo and Port Hueneme) as well as the unincorporated areas of El Rio, Somis and Channel Islands. OUHSD oversees Adolfo Camarillo High School, Channel Islands High School, Hueneme High School, Oxnard High School, Pacifica High School and Rio Mesa High School, as well as the continuation high schools Frontier, Oxnard Adult, Pacific View and Puente. Santa Clara High School is a private Catholic high school.

Colleges and universities

Oxnard is served on the collegiate level by Oxnard College and nearby California State University, Channel Islands. Additionally, California Lutheran University, California State University, Northridge, ITT, University of Phoenix and University of California, Santa Barbara all have satellite campuses in Oxnard.

Neighborhoods

Map showing Oxnard Neighborhoods
Customized street sign in Oxnard. Such designs are used for nearly every street sign in the city.

Beaches

The City of Oxnard is home to over 20 miles (32 km) of scenic, relatively uncrowded coastline. The beaches in Oxnard are large and the sand is exceptionally soft. The sand dunes in Oxnard, which were once much more extensive, have been used to recreate Middle-Eastern desert dunes in many movies, the first being The Sheik with Rudolph Valentino. There are very few rocks or driftwood piles at most beaches, but Oxnard is known to have dangerous rip-currents at certain beaches. Oxnard is home to world-class surf, although its best surf is inaccessible to the general public because it breaks at the beach inside the Navy base at Point Mugu. Only those with access to the base can surf its fast-moving (and at times up to 15 foot) break.

Beaches in Oxnard include: Mugu Rock State Beach, Ormond Beach, Hueneme Beach, Silver Strand Beach, Hollywood Beach, Hollywood-By-the-Sea, Mandalay Beach, Oxnard State Beach, Oxnard Shores, 5th Street Beach, McGrath State Beach and Rivermouth Beach.

Port

Coast at the Port of Hueneme

The Port of Hueneme is located south of Oxnard and is jointly operated by the United States Navy and the Oxnard Harbor District. The port is the only deep water port between the Port of Long Beach and the Port of San Francisco as well as the only military deep water port between San Diego Bay and Puget Sound.

The Port of Hueneme is a shipping and receiving point for a wide variety of resources with destinations in the larger population centers of the Los Angeles Basin. Resources include automobiles, pineapples, and bananas. Agricultural products such as onions, strawberries, and flowers are shipped.

The United States Navy maintains a facility at Port Hueneme, in support of the naval air station at Point Mugu to the south, with which it comprises Naval Base Ventura County. Port Hueneme is the West Coast home of the Construction Battalion, the "Seabees", as well as a link in the coastal radar system.

Harbor

Oxnard is home to one harbor: Channel Islands Harbor, with Ventura Harbor located seven miles north in adjacent Ventura. Channel Islands Harbor is located on the south shore of Oxnard and is nicknamed the "Gateway to the Channel Islands" because of the high number of operations that sail to the islands out of the harbor. Both harbors are vital fishing industry harbors.

Culture and the arts

Oxnard offers several cultural institutions. These include the Carnegie Art Museum, founded in 1907 as the Oxnard Public Library by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie; the Chandler Vintage Museum of Transportation and Wildlife, founded by the late Los Angeles Times publisher Otis Chandler, which housed the largest collection of rare and vintage automobiles in the nation until the contents were auctioned off following Chandler's death in 2006; the Murphy Auto Museum, founded by neurosurgeon Dan Murphy; The Heritage Square, a collection of restored Victorian and Craftsman houses which were once owned by Oxnard ’s pioneer families (Heritage Square is also home to the Petit Playhouse and Oxnard ’s award-winning Elite Theatre Company; the Ventura County Maritime Museum; The Gull Wings Children's Museum; The Henry T. Oxnard Historic District; the Herzog Winery and wine cellar, the nation's largest collection of fine kosher wines; the Seabee Museum and the The Oxnard Performing Arts and Convention Center, home to the New West Symphony. It is also home to the award winning Oxnard Independent Film Festival.

Music

Many bands in the punk "Nardcore" music scene are from Oxnard, including Dr. Know, Stalag 13, Scared Straight, Ill Repute, False Confession, Ten Foot Pole, Hostile, No Motiv, and Habeas Corpus. The city and neighboring Ventura both maintain a thriving punk music scene to this day, driven by a fusion of both the skater and surfer cultures. Oxnard is also home to a thriving hip hop music scene, particularly among Hispanic youths.

Notable people from Oxnard

Political/Cultural

César Chávez at a United Farmworkers rally, 1974

Business People

Athletes & Sportspeople

In alphabetical order by last name:

Actors

Authors

Musicians and entertainers

Scholars and Scientists

See also

References

Hoad, Patricia; et al. (Spring & Summer 2002). Oxnard at 100, The Ventura County Historical Society Quarterly. Ventura County Museum of History & Art. pp. 6–49. ISSN 0042-3491. 

Maulhardt, Jeffrey W. (2005). Oxnard 1941-2004. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 7,19,28,58,63,66,68,70,78,79,81. ISBN 978-0-7385-2953-0. 

Gutleben, Dan, The Oxnard Beet Sugar Factory, Oxnard, California, 1959 - Revised 1960, page 1, Book available at the Oxnard Public Library

Mitchell, John, Influential developer Martin 'Bud' Smith dies, Ventura County Star, November 20, 2001

Shepherd, Dirk, Save the Wagon Wheel, VC Reporter Newspaper article, Jan 11, 2007 link to article

Notes

  1. ↑ State Population Report 2007
  2. ↑ http://www.oxnardpd.org/news/newsdetail.asp?NewsID=135
  3. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  4. ↑ "National Collection of Imperiled Plants". Centerforplantconservation.org. http://www.centerforplantconservation.org/ASP/CPC_ViewProfile.asp?CPCNum=475. Retrieved 2010-08-14. 
  5. ↑ "Oxnard Climate". NOAA. http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/climatenormals/clim81/CAnorm.txt. Retrieved 2010-08-14. 
  6. ↑ "Monthly averages for Oxnard (Camarillo), California". http://www.usclimatedata.com/climate.php?location=USCA0819. Retrieved Feb 28 2009. 
  7. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 City of Oxnard CAFR. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
  9. ↑ [1]
  10. ↑ "City of Camarillo General Plan". http://www.ci.camarillo.ca.us/govt/PlanGenPlanPDF/backgrnd.pdf. 
  11. ↑ [2]
  12. ↑ [3]
  13. ↑ [4]
  14. ↑ List of the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment
  15. ↑ "Oxnard School District". http://www.oxnardsd.org/. 
  16. ↑ "Boy’s Killing, Labeled a Hate Crime, Stuns a Town". New York Times. 2008-02-23. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/23/us/23oxnard.html. 
  17. ↑ Oxnard Chinese Community Time Line
  18. ↑ "Oxnard, The Other Hollywood - Oxnard Vacation". Beachcalifornia.com. http://www.beachcalifornia.com/oxnard-california-vacation.html. Retrieved 2010-08-14. 

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  7. Dennis Donohue
    (Salinas)
  8. James C. Ledford Jr.
    (Palmdale)
  9. Bill Bogaard
    (Pasadena)
  10. Michael Sweeney
    (Hayward)
  11. Frank Scotto
    (Torrance)
  12. Lori Holt Pfeiler
    (Escondido)
  13. Carolyn Cavecche
    (Orange)
  1. Pat Hume
    (Elk Grove)
  2. Tony Spitaleri
    (Sunnyvale)
  3. Sharon Quirk
    (Fullerton)^
  4. Jacqui Irwin
    (Thousand Oaks)^
  5. Ernest Gutierrez
    (El Monte)
  6. William D. Shinn
    (Concord)^
  7. Jesus Gamboa
    (Visalia)
  8. Paul Miller
    (Simi Valley)
  9. Osby Davis
    (Vallejo)
  10. Eloy Morales (Mayor Pro Tempore)
    (Inglewood)
  11. Gina Garbolino
    (Roseville)
  12. Rudy Cabriales
    (Victorville)
  13. Patricia M. Mahan
    (Santa Clara)
  1. Eric R. Bever
    (Costa Mesa)^
  2. Rick Trejo
    (Downey)^
  3. Roger Hernandez
    (West Covina)^
  4. Christy Weir
    (Ventura)
  5. Harry T. Price
    (Fairfield)
  6. Gordon Stefenhagen
    (Norwalk)
  7. David Golonski
    (Burbank)
  8. Gayle McLaughlin
    (Richmond)
  9. Gonzalo "Sal" Torres
    (Daly City)
  10. Tom Bates
    (Berkeley)
  11. Jim Davis
    (Antioch)
Flag of California
^Mayor selected from city council