Unincorporated Town, Ventura County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Codes: 91301, 91377
Tucked-away community just east of Thousand Oaks. School scores very high. Compact and unusual town. www.mccormacks.com
Oak Park is unincorporated, meaning it is governed by the county board of supervisors. County governments see themselves as regional agencies and, to a far less extent, municipal overseers. Counties rarely set aside land for parks, in part because they don't want to maintain them.
Click for regional or detailed map
So here's Oak Park, an unincorporated community that comes across as a compact city with a clear sense of municipal purpose. It has six parks, a new library and a new community center with gardens. It has curbs, gutters and sidewalks (often lacking in county lands). It has a main drag, Kanan Road, that leads straight to the freeway. It has control of its schools.
For the why, the community is part of a large taxing district that, independent of the county, raises money for parks and recreation programs.
Oak Park has its own school district, enrollment about 3,700, six schools. In 2003, Newsweek Magazine pronounced Oak Park High, which scores in the top 3 percent of the state, one of best 100 high schools in U.S.
In 2004, voters approved a parcel tax to retain electives and teachers — a tough tax to win because it requires two-thirds approval. This tax suggests the town puts a high value on education. www.mccormacks.com
In 2006, residents approved one renovation tax, $17.5 million for equipment, technology and furniture, and rejected another to repair and add facilities. The failing tax required a two-thirds vote and got about 60 percent. If it were repackaged, it might only need 55 percent approval.
The school district and the county government are sharing the cost of the new library, located near the high school. Oak Park has a municipal advisory council, which sounds out local opinion and passes it on to the county politicians and bureaucrats. It has a community foundation that raises money for worthwhile projects.
Oak Park is bordered on its north and east by a large regional park, on its west by Thousand Oaks and on its south by Los Angeles County and the City of Agoura Hills. It can build within but it can't ooze off into the country.
Lastly, Oak Park is fairly new, much of it built over the last 30 years. We don't know who decided this but the streets and sidewalks were built to municipal standards. Oak Park looks like a clean, modern suburb, well maintained, thanks to efforts of residents and homeowner associations.
Housing a mix — apartments, townhouses, single homes (most of them aimed at middle class but in the higher elevations, some upscale stuff). www.mccormacks.com
A community of hills and arroyos. Steep in many places, one reason for several large parks. They are located in deep arroyos, unsuitable for housing but ideal for trails and open space. Some parks have playing fields. Starbucks, supermarkets, mix of stores.
Police protection by sheriff's deputies. No crime stats but communities like Oak Park are usually peaceful.
Short drive down Kanen Road to Highway 101, the freeway serving the region. The Kanen-101 interchange is being rebuilt.
• When enrollments started to decline several years ago, the school district, to avoid layoffs and closings, recruited students from outside the district. For each student enrolled, the district gets $5,500 plus from the state. The district, touting its high scores and extra curricular activities, increased its revenues by $3 milliion and found itself in the enviable position of turning away students.
Because the locals, through the parcel tax, pay extra for the schools, the district asks transferring parents to “volunteer” $200 to an education fund. www.mccormacks.com
• Oak Park owes a lot to the gumption of its early residents, who found themselves isolated and lacking key services. The closest school district, Las Virgenes, refused to annex the town, forcing the teens to commute all the way to Simi Valley high schools. Finally, the parents formed their own school district.
• In the early days of radio, Jim and Marian Jordan made themselves famous as Fibber McGee and Molly. They took some of their money and purchased the ranch that later became Oak Park. The first homes went up in the 1960s.
Community web site: www.oakparkupdate.com
