City, Orange County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Code: 90630
Bedroom
community with large office park,
community college and cemetery. Close to racetrack. Housing a mix but generally
middle-class plus. Clean. Well-kept. Population 49,541. www.mccormacks.com
Children
attend schools in several districts: Cypress Elementary, Garden Grove Unified,
Los Alamitos Unified and Anaheim High School District. Several schools run
year-round programs. Prep public school, grades 7-12, opened in 1998. Called
Oxford Academy, it stresses academics. See Schools.
Anaheim
high school district in 2002 passed a bond to repair and upgrade many schools,
including those serving Cypress students.
Click for regional or detailed map
Overall
crime rate low. One homicide each in 2005, 2004 and 2003, zero in 2002, 2001
and 2000, four in 1999, zero in 1998, 1997 and 1996, two in 1995 and 1994, and
for preceding years, one, zero, one, two, zero and one. See Crime.
The state
in 2008 counted 16,611 housing units, of which 10,184 were single detached,
2,692 single attached, 3,371 multiples and 364 mobile homes. Housing units are divided 69 percent
owners, 31 renters. Median age of residents is 37. About 31 percent of town is
under age 21 (census 2000); lot of kids but school enrollments indicate their numbers are slipping.
Incorporated
as a city in 1956, Cypress in 1960 had fewer than 1,500 homes and apartments.
In the 1960s, the town built 6,800 residential units and, in the following
decade, 5,000 units. www.mccormacks.com
In the
1980s, construction dropped to about 1,200 units and in the 1990s about 1,600
units. Cypress is still building, most in-filling, but the dominant style was
set between 1960 and 1980, when the town built almost three-fourths of its
housing stock. Between 2000 and 2006, the town added 313 units.
In single
homes, this style can be described as almost equal parts three- and
four-bedroom, with a small number of five or more bedrooms. Many homes are
two-story. Two-car garages.
A few
homes lack landscaping, trees and decorative touches and appear plain. But the
great majority of homes have been fleshed out with shrubs and trees or
brickwork or wood shingles.
Sorrento
subdivision uses favorite modern design: two-story stucco, tile roofs.
Along
Katella Avenue and Valley View avenues, the city has set aside a large swath of
land for a business park and has been successful in attracting Japanese firms.
They include, Mitsubishi Motors, Mitsubishi Electric and Matsushita Electric
(Panasonic). Yamaha, Sony, Fuji and Minolta have offices or distribution
centers or both in Cypress. Bandai (toy manufacturing) U.S. headquarters.
Striking building: atrium and plenty of glass. www.mccormacks.com
Near this section is the Los Alamitos
Race Course (trotters and quarter horses).
Residential
tracts can be found above and below Katella. All in all, an attractive, fairly
new-looking town, with the exception of a few streets with faded housing. City
tries to remove graffiti quickly.
About 17
parks. Community center. Seniors center. Cultural arts center. Many activities
and classes at the community college are open to the public. College recently
expanded its theater and opened a new library. Golf course. Usual sports: baseball, soccer, exercise
classes, miscellaneous activities for adults and kids.
Cypress
borders Los Angeles County and two large regional parks, one with a golf
course.
Tiger
Woods, raised in Cypress, learned his stuff on the local courses. www.mccormacks.com
The town
is also close to California State University at Long Beach, a benevolent
cultural influence. In ways often hard to detect, colleges and universities
improve the quality of community life.
Short
drives to several freeways, including Interstate 405, serving Orange and Los
Angeles counties. Check out the (occasional) noise from airfield at reserve
center on south side. Many jobs within a drive of 10 to 20 miles and this means
an endurable commute for those who have them.
Cypress in
2000 was named a Tree City USA, an award that says, Thanks for planting and
maintaining many trees.
Chamber of commerce (714) 827-2430.
In 2004,
Cypress Elementary District closed a school for want of enrollment and to cut
expenses. Being an older community with little residential construction,
Cypress district in one recent year graduated 744 sixth-graders but enrolled
only 575 kindergartners. District offers all-day kindergarten and welcomes
transfers from outside district. If enrollment continues to drop, another
school might be closed. www.mccormacks.com
Anaheim
High School District runs a high-achiever school, Oxford, open to students in
the district. Oxford is one of about three dozen school in the state to crack the 600 mark in the math SAT.
Several
years ago, Cypress and the Cottonwood Christian Center got into a fight over
the center's request to build a church on land it owned. Cypress wanted that
particular piece of property for a Costco. After much argument, Cypress took a
piece of land it owned and swapped it for the center's land. Costco is up and
selling.
In 2007,
responding to complaints from locals, city issued neighborhood parking permits to
discourage outsiders from parking on streets (and taking spaces residents
want.)
Navy
base has golf course (18 holes) and upgraded clubhouse. Both are open to public
but preference given to active military and families.
City web
site: www.ci.cypress.ca.us
