City and Communities, Ventura County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Codes: 91319, 91320, 91358, 91359, 91360, 91361, 91362, 91363
Thousand Oaks, 130,209 residents, is the largest city in Ventura County and the second most populous, after Oxnard. www.mccormacks.com
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Spread over hills, mesas, ravines, and small valleys, and situated in a large valley called Conejo, Thousand Oaks, 56 square miles, is slightly bigger than Long Beach and San Francisco.
Local paper sometimes abbreviates Thousand Oaks into "T.O."
The median age of residents is 38 with children under 18 comprising 26 percent of population. Rounded demographics, tending toward middle age.
Thousand Oaks is the first city over the line from Los Angeles County and in a quiet way part of the entertainment community. The performing arts center, owned by the city, is one of the most successful in California — about 400 shows and events annually.
Thousand Oaks was built mainly for the middle and upper-middle class but has some of the finest homes in Southern California. School scores are high, crime low, the commute at times wearying but shorter than the other cities in Ventura County.
Thousand Oaks is a confusing city because several neighborhoods insist on their own names. www.mccormacks.com
Westlake Village, a giant development built to a master plan, straddles the county line. About 3,500 acres of the neighborhood are located in Los Angeles County, about 8,500 acres in Ventura County. The L.A. acres make up a large part of a legal city called "Westlake Village."
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The Ventura acres are part of the City of Thousand Oaks but many people call both sections "Westlake Village" and speak of the two parts as one.
There is some justification for this. The roads and trails flow into one another, residents share the lake, the stores and mall are within a short drive for all the residents, and the whole development is governed by a master plan.
But the L.A. side has its own schools and police agency; the Ventura side, its own schools and police. And each city has its own policies and ordinances.
When Thousand Oaks was incorporated as a city, it swallowed much of the hamlet of Newbury Park but the name remains alive on maps and in the hearts of many. And in the postal code. Instead of Thousand Oaks, mail is addressed to Newbury Park (or Westlake Village). www.mccormacks.com
Just south of Thousand Oaks lies a large valley with gentle hills, a man-made lake, canyons and oaks, fields and horse fences and frolicking horses. The area used to be called Las Turas Lakes but in 1921 Hollywood shot parts of "Robin Hood" in the vicinity. The movie, which starred Douglas Fairbanks, was a success and inspired the locals to re-name the valley into Lake Sherwood (Robin Hood hung out in Sherwood Forest) or "Maid Marion Park." She was Robin's sweetheart.
For decades after, Lake Sherwood was given over to horse ranches and it still follows the horses. Dole, the food company, is headquartered in Westlake Village, the next town over. David Murdock is the chief executive and biggest stockholder of Dole. In the 1980s, he purchased a ranch, about 2,000 acres, in the valley and put together a development called Sherwood.
Big-money. Home sizes from about 5,000 to 13,000 square feet (seven bedrooms and a library). Gated. Boating on lake, tennis, spa, championship golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus. One park, named Maid Marion. Robin Hood wouldn't recognize this Sherwood but he might feel at home with the street names: Abbotsbury, Royal London, Stafford, Queens Garden, etc.
Sherwood residents shop Thousand Oaks and presumably send their kids to local schools or to private schools.
Part of the social scene. Murdock opens his ranch for good causes. The golf course hosts the Target World Challenge, which draws the likes of Tiger Woods and raises money for charity. www.mccormacks.com
Finally, Conejo Valley. A plateau bordered by hills and mountains, this valley includes towns in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. The Ventura communities are Thousand Oaks and Oak Park and Lake Sherwood. The Los Angeles communities are Westlake Village and Agoura Hills. All are close to or bisected by Highway 101.
As you leave Thousand Oaks, going toward Camarillo, the terrain rises sharply into low mountains, green year round with shrubs and trees, that add to the beauty of the region.
The Conejo Valley is one of the more dynamic areas of the region, having attracted many professionals and some high-tech businesses.
According to lore, Thousand Oaks got its name in the 1920s when a developer drumming up interest in a tract held a contest to name the place. Oak trees abound in the Conejo Valley. A lad suggested "Thousand Oaks." He won and although the development never amounted to much, the name stuck.
Up until about 1950s, Thousand Oaks slumbered along, populated by farmers and ranchers, wildcatters drilling for oil (and finding none), and animal trainers and circus folks. Hollywood was in need of lions for this and that film and one fellow set up a lion farm that later blossomed into Jungleland, a popular attraction. Many of the Tarzan films were shot nearby. www.mccormacks.com
In the 1950s, Highway 101 was extended in bits and pieces into Ventura County — a true revolution. After World War II, GIs flocked to California for the sunshine and the jobs. Within a short while, they filled the San Fernando Valley, encouraging developers to push farther out from the old urban center.
Between 1950 and 1970, the population of the Conejo Valley soared from 3,000 residents to about 30,000. Industries and jobs followed, fueling the boom. The initial housing was built fast and in a few cases shoddy. Water was scarce and in summer people went thirsty. Sewage treatment was dealt with as the need arose, not in any long-term manner.
All this infuriated the new residents. Improvements were promised and some were made but in 1964, fed up, the residents voted to incorporate the new tracts and old hamlets into the large city of Thousand Oaks. This took control of development away from the county government and placed it into the hands of a city council elected by local residents.
The municipal government followed up on the first improvements, installed the infrastructure required by a modern suburban city and drew up a master plan to guide development. Utility lines were buried in the next subdivisions. Building inspections were toughened. More attention was paid to parks and recreation and to ridge and open-space protection. Large and garish signs are forbidden and for God's sake don't cut down an oak; peeves the natives. Check first with city hall.
When Thousand Oaks started its boom, America was moving up to larger homes. Also by the 1960s, suburban planners were coming into their own, more aware of what worked and what didn't and how the car and traffic should be handled. In Thousand Oaks, many tracts are surrounded by walls. This design shunts the heavy traffic onto arterial streets and away from residential streets. www.mccormacks.com
Several developers, notably the Janss family, built in a grand and encompassing style, submitting comprehensive plans for projects covering thousands of acres. Westlake Village, the Mother of All Projects, 12,000 acres, houses about 29,000 residents. Before anything was built, space was allotted for parks, shopping centers, schools, commercial buildings and so on.
Many older California cities were oriented to the rail depot. There's where the downtowns were built. Starting almost from scratch, Thousand Oaks oriented itself mainly to freeway access points. Here is where you will find the shops and malls and movies.
The result: a pleasant and modern city with many upscale residents: educated, interested in the arts, imbibers of chardonnays and decaf-low-fat mocha lattes, supportive of the schools. Successful, well paid, or fortunate in the draw of parents (well heeled).
Not everyone. The 1950s neighborhoods were built for the blue- and white-collar middle class, GIs who took the equity from their first homes and moved up. Once upon a time in Thousand Oaks, circa late 1950s, it was possible to buy three- and four-bedroom homes for $15,000 to $24,000 with payments — sigh! — of sometimes less than $100 a month. Now ... forget it!
Thousand Oaks usually places in the top three in the annual contest: safest U.S. city with more than 100,000 residents but fewer than 500,000. It was No. 2 in 2003, No. 5 in 2004. The city contracts with the sheriff for police protection, a common arrangement in Southern Cal. www.mccormacks.com
Two homicides in 2005, zero in 2004, one in 2003, zero in 2003, one in 2001, three in 2000. The counts for prior years are two, zero, one, three, zero, one, three, one.
In 2005, an ex-Air Force captain with a history of losing his temper shot and killed a lawyer at his Thousand Oaks home. The lawyer and the man had argued and the lawyer had secured a restraining order against the man. About the time of the shooting, a neighboring couple came to the lawyer's home to return a borrowed boat. The man shot them; she died, he survived. The assailant went to a local supermarket, hijacked a pickup, and the next day turned up at a gated neighborhood, just outside city limits, where he stole another vehicle belonging to man doing pool maintenance at a doctor's home. The assailant pistol-whipped the pool man, the doctor's wife and her two children, ages 14 and 10. The wife was able to phone for help but died at the hospital. A deputy responded; he was shot through the shoulder. Deputies in pursuit, the man drove to the Wal-Mart at Simi Valley, possibly — deputies speculated — to replenish his ammo. He ran into the store, pistol in hand, made it to sporting goods, then shot himself to death.
Thousand Oaks and Ventura County see themselves as peaceful and law abiding. This incident shocked many.
Many schools are scoring in the 90th percentiles, the top 10 percent in the state. Thousand Oaks is served by the Conejo Unified School District, enrollment about 21,000.
In 1998, voters passed an $88 million bond to renovate all schools and build performing arts centers at Thousand Oaks High and Newbury Park High and gyms for the middle schools and another school. Many of these projects have been completed. www.mccormacks.com
As the town moved into the 1970s, America prospered and a market was created for truly upscale homes, striking designs, beautiful. Thousand Oaks, especially in its North Ranch neighborhood, has many lovely homes situated on large lots, some with views of the countryside.
The state in 2010 counted 47,285 housing units: 31,410 single detached homes, 5,269 single attached, 9,534 apartments or condos, 1,072 mobile homes.
Thousand Oaks is still building homes but it is prickly sensitive about building too many. Battles over housing are common.
• Most of the 1950s housing — three bedroom, two bath — was built east and west of Moorpark Road in the area of Avenida Los Arboles and Janss Road. But older tracts can be found scattered throughout the city. Older means cheaper, more affordable.
• Smack in middle of the 1950s housing is an older upscale neighborhood, lovely homes, towering trees, some orchards, many horse setups. Drive the area around Conejo Creek Equestrian Park (split by Highway 23). www.mccormacks.com
• Thousand Oaks doesn't have a strong center or downtown, one reason perhaps why the neighborhoods have such strong identities. In its promotional literature, Westlake Village sounds like it is the major city of the region and Thousand Oaks just an appendage. The city is trying to boost Thousand Oaks Boulevard into a sort of town center. The boulevard has many stores and several mini malls, the city hall and the performing arts center. Money is being spent to install trees, benches, ornamental lights, bicycle racks and trash containers; median strip to be spruced up, potted plants added to sidewalks. Near city hall and the performing arts center, the city has created a small strolling complex of shops and restaurants.
• In recreation, Thousand Oaks does very well, the Conejo Park and Recreation District sponsoring classes and activities, and private groups filling in the gaps. Baseball, basketball, soccer, gymnastics, arts and crafts, exercise classes — all there. For the unusual: in 2006, a summer camp on robotics (how to build robots). About two dozen neighborhood and community parks are scattered around Thousand Oaks. Dog park. Large regional parks border the town and create a feeling of open space and country. Botanical garden. Five golf courses, one of them public, in or near the town. More in the region. YMCA. Ocean a short drive to west. Horse trails and riding stables. Lots of interest in horse events. City runs an equestrian center at one of its parks. Many of the developments come with their own recreation. Fishing and boating in Westlake Village. City sponsors Easter egg hunt; draws 2,000. Two public swimming pools. Two libraries, one of which recently expanded its children's wing and installed a 3,600 gallon aquarium.
Back in the Los Padres Forest, large boulders, some 45 feet high, can be found. This has spawned a new local sport, "bouldering" or climbing the rocks.
• Performing Arts Center (1,800 seats and 400 seats) stages plays and musicals, and presents concerts and ballets and other events. Local symphony orchestra. Regional theaters in California mount impressive productions and with its proximity to Hollywood, Thousand Oaks draws upon first-rate talent. In 2006, the center staged "The Music Man," "Aida," (Elton John version), and "Oliver" and other plays or musicals. Town tries to educate the kids in the arts. Among big backers, Richard Carpenter of singing fame with his late sister Karen ("We've Only Just Begun.") In 2004, Carpenter and wife Mary, residents of Thousand Oaks, donated $3 million to the center.
• Speak and we will listen. T.O. sponsors a "Distinguished Speakers" series. Among those who spoke in 2006: Christiane Amanpour, Mikhail Gorbachev and author Tom Wolfe. www.mccormacks.com
• Environmentalists in Thousand Oaks are well organized and enjoy the support of the city council and many residents. Down through the years, the city and the enviros and other groups have bought or zoned about 15,000 acres into preserves and are working to complete a greenbelt around the town. This greenbelt includes a wildlife corridor between the Simi hills and the Santa Monica Mountains and many trails. One park has a 60-foot waterfall.
The local effort is part of a regional effort — Santa Monica, Malibu, Calabasas, Agoura Hills, etc. — to place thousands of acres out of the reach of developers.
In 1992 Ventura county supervisors signed off on a development plan for Ahmanson Ranch, 2,800 acres, 3,000 homes, northeast of Thousand Oaks. Although the plan won praise for its design and its preservation of open space, it ran afoul of many who opposed its scope and its effects on traffic. Among the far-from-bashful opponents, Rob Reiner, Martin Sheen and Erin Brockovich. In the end, no project; land purchased for park and open space.
Candidates routinely advertise themselves as anti-development. To set himself off from other candidates for city council, one contestant proclaimed himself "the candidate developers fear most." This same fellow was the real-life original for the crusading lawyer in "Erin Brockovich." Hollywood, at times, is oh so close to Thousand Oaks! He won (but died in 2005).
• The local schools work with a trails group to get the kids, through excursions, acquainted with the parks and their wildlife. www.mccormacks.com
• Shopping and restaurants. One regional plaza (Sears, Macys, Meryvns). Warehouse stores, Staples, Costco, Wal-Mart, etc. Many smaller shops. Restaurants range from typical fast food to fine cuisine. Barnes and Noble and Borders bookstore. Trader Joe's.
• Commute. Thousand Oaks lives or dies by Highway 101 and fortunately it's a pretty good freeway. No toll bridges, no mountains to traverse on its way to the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood-Burbank. But there will be days when it jams — and drives you nuts — and as Ventura County develops, congestion will quite likely worsen. Highway 23 leads to Highway 118 and to the north side of the San Fernando Valley. Park-and-ride lots in town. All the major highways are being widened and improved but more homes are bringing more vehicles.
• Freeway alternative: Metroliner, commute trains, to downtown Los Angeles and points between. Station in Moorpark.
• Local jobs. The Conejo Valley has attracted some major firms and would love more. Big guys include, Amgen, GTE, Dole Foods, State Farm, Rockwell Scientific. Many firms are located on the east side of Thousand Oaks, off Rancho Conejo Boulevard. Local jobs mean short commute, fewer people on the road. Large auto mall.
• Private college in town, California State Lutheran University, enrollment about 3,000. Also called Cal Lu. Hosts Scandinavian Festival and sponsors talks and events open to public. The university, with funding from Amgen, offers summer courses to help teachers improve their skills in science instruction. www.mccormacks.com
• Community college in Moorpark, the adjoining town. New California State University in Camarillo, the next town to the west.
• One movie house in Westlake Village shows art and foreign films.
• Need help? Thousand Oaks has turned a greenbelt along Royal Oaks Drive into a hiring center for day laborers. Suggested pay: $15 an hour.
Chamber of commerce (805) 370-0035.
City web site: www.ci.thousand-oaks.ca.us
