Camarillo, California
Encyclopedia : C : CA : CAM : Camarillo, California
Camarillo is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. The population was 57,077 at the 2000 census. It is located in the eastern Oxnard Plain, with the Santa Susana Mountains to the north, the Conejo Valley to the east, and the western reaches of the Santa Monica Mountains to the south. The Ventura Freeway (U.S. Route 101) is the city's primary thoroughfare.
Camarillo is named for Adolfo Camarillo, one of the few Californios (pre-1851 California natives of Spanish ancestry) to retain his holdings after the arrival of Anglo settlers. Like most Ventura County cities, it is noted for its resistance to urban sprawl. Some of the most desirable land in the city limits, located on both sides of the Ventura Freeway, is permanently zoned for agricultural production. Recently, however, it has seen a great deal of growth that has been decried by area residents as environmentally destructive and not well enough planned. It is also home to the Ventura County, California Sheriff's Department Academy.
Geography
Camarillo is located at (34.225607, -119.032207)[Geographic references#1GR1]. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 49.1 km² (19.0 mi²). 49.0 km² (18.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.11%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 57,077 people, 21,438 households, and 15,242 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,164.2/km² (3,015.3/mi²). There were 21,946 housing units at an average density of 447.6/km² (1,159.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 80.66% White, 1.50% African American, 0.52% Native American, 7.23% Asian, 0.20% Pacific Islander, 6.32% from other races, and 3.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.54% of the population.There were 21,438 households out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.7% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.9% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $62,457, and the median income for a family was $72,676. Males had a median income of $51,507 versus $36,240 for females. The per capita income for the city was $28,635. About 3.6% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.9% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.
Quality of life
Camarillo and the surrounding Ventura County area enjoys one of the most temperate and livable climates on the North American Continent. Its location in a coastal valley brings mild ocean breezes and temperatures in the 70's throughout most of the year. An average rainfall of 13 inches occurs mainly from November to February and the city enjoys over 300 days of sunshine a year with an average humidity of 62%. The climate is frequently likened to that of the Mediterranean.Snow has only fallen about 3 times in the last thirty years and is never more than a sprinkle and melts within the hour. Snow is often visible during the winter months above the 4000 foot level in the mountains to the north of the city. The proximity to the ocean results in some foggy mornings in spring and early summer but this usually burns off by noon.
Camarillo is primarily a bedroom community made up of large housing tracts, with elementary schools and small strip malls serving the nearby neighborhoods. The primary public high schools serving Camarillo are Adolfo Camarillo High School in Mission Oaks and Rio Mesa High School, just over the Oxnard/Camarillo line. A new high school near the intersection of Lewis Road and Las Posas Road is planned. The YMCA recently opened a new facility on Village at the Park Drive, and a new library is under construction.
Crime is generally not a problem and the incidence of all types of crime committed in the city is far below the national average.
Government
At the city's incorporation in 1962, a council-manager form of government was created. The five member city council is elected at large for four year terms. The council is responsible for establishing policy, enacting laws and makes legal and financial decisions for the city. A city manager, hired by the council and answerable to it is responsible for the day to day operation of the city business. He is charged with overall management of the five city departments and 97 full time employees. Necessary services such as water, sewer, trash collection, street maintenance and traffic engineering are provided by employing a combination of private contractors and city employees.The city is policed by the Ventura County Sheriff's Department under contract to the city and has recently been moved to a new multimillion dollar police station owned by the city. The Sheriff's department helicopter fleet is hangered at the Camarillo Airport. Ventura County Fire Department provided fire protection services with four stations within the city limits.
The city is in a strong financial position with a sizeable reserve to carry it through any downturn in revenues or emergencies. The major source of city funding is through sales tax dollars and the mix of retail and commercial businesses within the city provides a stable tax base. The recent addition of a Factory Outlet Center and a new shopping center has added significantly to the sales tax revenues.
History
The Chumash Indians were the first known settlers in what is now known as Ventura County where, as fishermen, they built their villages along the Pacific Coast near the mouths of the Calleguas Creek and Santa Clara River. Artifacts from their settlements are on display in the Ventura County Historical Museum and their painting are still visible on canyon walls and in caves in the area.The Portugues navigator Juan Cabrillo, while exploring the Pacific coast for the king of Spain, came upon the Chumash in an area near Point Mugu. He explored the surrounding region and claimed it in the name of Spain in 1542. Cabrillo was followed in 1602 by Sebastian Viscaino on a mapping expedition for the King of Spain. The Chumash continued to inhabit the coast until 1768 when Russians, having established a settlement 800 miles to the north, launched expeditions challenging the Spanish claims to the land. In the 1700's the Spanish began settling California and built the first of what would become a chain of 21 missions in San Diego. Father Sierra establish the ninth mission in Ventura in 1782 bringing more settlers to the area and exposing the Indians, who had settled around the new mission, to many European diseases to which they had no immunity. Their population dwindled until, by 1839, the Chumash, the largest Indian nation in California, had vanished.
By the early 1820's, Mexico had gained independence from Spain and shortly afterward California allied itself with Mexico. The Mexican land grant system was liberalized in 1824 resulting in many large grants in California and the proliferation of Rancheros north of the border. One such grant, to Jose Ruis, created the Rancho Calleguas in 1847 in the area that is now Camarillo. The grant was later sold to Juan Camarillo and it is his sons, Adolfo and Juan, who are credited with the founding of the town that was to bear their name. The earlier proposed name of Calleguas was rejected as being too difficult to pronounce.
At about same time the town of Springville had begun to form just to the west of the emerging town of Camarillo but when the Southern Pacific railroad laid its tracks and chose Camarillo as the location for a depot, Springville's days were numbered. It is now only a dot on the map in an area south of the freeway at the western end of today's Camarillo city limits.
Camarillo's growth was slow from founding through World War II. In the late 1940's building lots on the main downtown street, Ventura Boulevard, were being offered for $450 and home lots on the adjoining streets were $250 all with few takers. This was understandable when you consider that Ventura Boulevard, the main thoroughfare from Los Angeles, was a 2 lane road which wound its way up and down the Conejo grade to the east of town making for a long and difficult drive and there was little to see or do when you finally got there.
The main industry during this period was agriculture and the area surrounding the small town was blanketed with orange, lemon and walnut groves. The State Mental hospital to the south of town was the largest employer. A few houses had sprung up to the north and south of town center. The Oxnard Airforce Base, built during WWII to the west of town, the Navy Facility at Point Mugu and the Seabee base at Port Hueneme brought many service personnel to the area but there was little private industry or other sources of employment other than agriculture.
It was not until the late 1950's that the Ventura Freeway, which bisected the town, was completed from L.A. to points north making it an easy one hour trip from to the little town of Camarillo. Opening of the freeway set the stage for the inevitable growth that was to follow. In 1962, when population was 7500, 3M broke ground for what was then their Mincom and Magnetic Tape Divisions which would ultimately employ 900 replacing the State Hospital as the largest local employer. The orchards, particularly in the immediate area of the town, gave way to housing tracts with home prices running from $14,000 at the low end to $65,000 for luxury homes in a country club setting in the surrounding Las Posas Hills.
It was at this time that the groundwork was being laid for the incorporation of the city in order to put the rapid expansion under local control. Camarillo became a city in 1964 and soon put into place a General Plan and building codes that were to lead to an attractive city environment and a highly desirable place to live and work. It is interesting to note that in 1964, the closest traffic signal was 2 miles from the City center on the road to Point Mugu and the first shopping center and supermarket was under construction.
Many of the home buyers during the 1960's came from the ranks of the military personnel, now back in civilian life, who had been stationed at one of the local bases at some time during their military carriers. That taste of the temperate climate and the potential for near ideal living conditions was enough to lure them back. With the conversion of the naval operation at Point Mugu to the Navy Missile Test Center and the addition of civilian labs to the Hueneme facilities many found employment that made use of their military training. Other newcomers were those who worked and lived in the San Fernando Valley and were willing to endure the one hour commute for the chance to raise their families in a smog-free, semirural environment. Still others, relocated here with the companies, like 3M, who were now building facilities in and around the city to take advantage of the large, untapped workforce in the area.
Camarillo State Hospital & CSUCI
For many years, the California State Mental Hospital was located in the city, so that persons suffering from mental diseases or tuberculosis could recover in Ventura County's balmy climate. Jazzman Charlie Parker's "Relaxin' at Camarillo," written while he was detoxing from heroin addiction, as a tribute to the facility. "Hotel California" by the Eagles is also rumored to be about the hospital, though the band denies such a connection exists. The former hospital is the now the home of California State University, Channel Islands.Mission Oaks
Mission Oaks is the name given by developer Pardee Homes to a 1,312 acre (2.05 sq mile) parcel of land located in the north-eastern corner of the city. This parcel was developed as a planned community over the span of 35 years, ending in October of 2004. Pardee Homes (October 20, 2004). [Pardee To Conclude Mission Oaks In Camarillo]. Press release. The area developed by Pardee Homes makes up approximately 15% of Camarillo's total land. Due to the decades-long timescale of the project, many residents are unaware Mission Oaks' proprietary nature, and the area east of Lewis Road (California State Route 34), south of Somis and north of the 101 Freeway is generally thought of as Mission Oaks regardless of the company which built the buildings in the area.Outlet Mall
In the mid 1990s, the area south of the 101 freeway and west of Carmen Drive was turned into multiple large retail centers, including an outlet mall and movie theater. Since then, the outlet mall has attracted many shoppers from the Greater Los Angeles Area. The increased sales tax revenues from these new retail centers have led to a large influx of cash to the city; from 1993 to 1998 sales taxes revenues almost doubled from approximately $3.5 million to approximately $6.5 million. William Fulton (2000). [Sales and Property Tax Trends In Ventura County, 1987-1998]. Retrieved April 14, 2006.Notes
External links
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