Unincorporated Town,
Contra Costa County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Code: 94507
Prestige
community. Located on Interstate 680 just south of Walnut Creek and moving into
the foothills of Mt. Diablo. Home
to top and rising executives. Population about 16,000. Draws part of its charm
from its proximity to Walnut Creek, which has about 90 restaurants, theaters,
concerts and first-class shopping. www.mccormacks.com
Click for regional or detailed map
For a long
time, Alamo added only a few residences but in the last 15 years small
developments, all upscale, have been erected east of the freeway. The new homes
run to two-story, three-car garage, with custom touches. Even in these days of plummeting home values, many Alamo homes are priced well above $1 million.
Banks,
stock brokerages, supermarkets, boutiques, hardware drug store, restaurants, fitness gyms, coffee
shops, including a Starbucks, an old feed store with a plastic horse on top and
some offices and apartments can be found at or near Stone Valley Road and
Danville Boulevard, near the freeway. This section serves as a sort of Alamo
downtown. Also located here, medical offices run by John Muir Hospital, based in Walnut Creek.
Alamo is
not interested in attracting many businesses. Stately, quiet, country-like
— the qualities Alamo admires.
Unincorporated,
which means it’s governed from Martinez by the Board of Supervisors. But Alamo
residents exercise a lot of local control through their improvement
association and a local political group. The community is particularly sensitive to development and fights
anything it thinks does not measure up to Alamo standards.
Every decade or so a movement surfaces to incorporate Alamo as legal city, which would bring planning and development under the control of the locals. Last time tried, in 2009, residents said no thanks to cityhood.
Some
modest homes near freeway and Danville Boulevard and many comfortable ranch
models off of Green Valley Road, wood shingled, large and lovingly maintained
but not showy. Several large homes and estates hide behind hedges and Alamo has
some streets nestled among palms and maples, large oaks and tall pines. Many
yards have been professionally landscaped. In the fall, when the trees turn
color, a bit of New England creeps in. The Roundhill Country Club homes east of
the freeway set the pace for that section. Views from hills. www.mccormacks.com
Alamo
residents levy a small tax on themselves to landscape some roads and maintain
their flowers and trees and parks.
The 2000
census counted 347 occupied rental units and 5,406 owner-occupied homes.
Another way of stating this, 94 percent of the residents are homeowners, a good
indication of stability. Several years ago, the zip code was clarified to
include some homes near Walnut Creek and Danville.
Occasionally,
Alamo is referred to as “Alamo-Blackhawk.” The hills east of the freeway are
steadily being developed, and the communities of Alamo and Blackhawk, along
with the country club hamlet of Diablo, are flowing into one another. All fall
into the category of “prestigious.” For more on region, see Danville.
The county
government does not have a parks department and typically unincorporated towns
have gone without parks. About 30 years ago, however, the county started
requiring developers to put aside money for parks.
In the
1990s, Alamo got its first park, Livorna, about five acres (gazebo, lawn, sport
court), and shares a park at Hap Magee Ranch with Danville.
County supervisors
approved a YMCA at Magee park that will include swimming pools, fitness rooms,
skateboard place (but recession may kill this project.
Voters in 2004 approved spending increase to upgrade Magee
and build a dog park (now open). www.mccormacks.com
The
Roundhill subdivision has a private 18-hole golf course, a pool and tennis courts.
School grounds and facilities are used for playgrounds and playing fields and
activities. Regional parks and Mt. Diablo State Park are located nearby, miles
of trails. The Iron Horse Trail, formerly a railroad track, is popular for
hiking and jogging. Many residents can afford their own tennis courts and pools
and horses. Several stables or riding academies can be found in or around the
town. Every September, the town throws a music festival, a fundraiser for the
schools.
Danville's
parks and recreational classes are within a short drive. Walnut Creek, which
has a regional arts center (plays, musicals, concerts, art exhibits), is
located just a few miles up the road. Many Alamo residents shop in downtown
Walnut Creek, which has a Macys, a Nordstrom, a Trader Joe's and a Whole Foods.
Low crime.
Patrolled by sheriff’s department, which has a substation in Alamo. Most of
Alamo taxes itself for extra protection by the sheriff. Some homeowners buy
private security. A few of the new subdivisions are gated.
School
scores very high, generally the top five percent in state. Much attention paid to schools.
Parents do (and are expected to do) fund raising for the schools and assist
with school activities. See Schools.
Served by
San Ramon Valley School District. Voters passed $40 million school bond in 1991
and a $72 million bond in 1998 and $260 million bond in 2003. Developers contribute to a building
fund. In the last few years, the district has opened four schools, most of them
in San Ramon, where many homes are going up. www.mccormacks.com
In 2004,
voters passed a parcel tax to retain teachers, keep class sizes small and
programs intact. This tax requires two-thirds approval and rarely gets passed.
When it does, it indicates strong local support for education. In 2009, the parcel tax was extended.
Local
traffic is moving faster thanks to the rebuilding of freeway interchanges but
San Francisco commuters still have to get through the Caldecott Tunnel and over
the Bay Bridge, bottlenecks.
For
alternatives, try the BART stations in Walnut Creek or in Pleasanton. Also,
County Connection buses to City and local destinations.
ww.mccormacks.com
• School
district is getting funds to restore busing throughout district. Service started in 2009.
• Shooting at local jewelry store in Dec. 2009. Owner and suspect seriously wounded. Suspect a local man who appears to have had financial problems and faced losing home to foreclosure. He was known to the owner and had visited store earlier to price diamond for wife. Details on what led to shooting are sketchy but suspect, who came to store with three handguns, has been booked on suspicion of attempted murder and robbery.
• For more on region, see profile on Danville.
* San Ramon Unified School District: www.srvusc.net
* Alamo
Improvement Association: www.alamo.ca.org
* Chamber of commerce: www.alamochamberofcommerce.com
March 8, 2010
