Quick Stats:
According to niche.com the city of Camarillo has an "B+" overall grade, which is comprised of ratings for public schools, crime & safety, housing, nightlife, good for families and diversity.
Population: 69,127
Average Home Value: $652,826
Average Household Income: $92,913
Notable Employers: Salem Media Group, Semtech, Hi-Temp Insulation, Merlin Tech
Nearby Cities: Agoura Hills, Westlake Village, Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks, Oxnard
Entertainment: Camarillo events
News: Camarillo news
About Camarillo
Camarillo is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. The population was 57,077 at the 2000 census. A January 1, 2006 California Department of Finance estimate lists the population at 64,034. 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 preserve the city's heritage after the arrival of Anglo settlers. As with most cities in Ventura County, it is noted for its resistance to urban sprawl.
Some of the most desirable land in the city limits, located on the north and south sides of the Ventura Freeway, is permanently zoned for agricultural use. Recently, however, the city 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, as well as the department's other assets; such as the VCSD Air Unit, SWAT Unit, Bomb Squad, and Reserve Officer Academy.
Demographics
As of the census 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.
Geography
Camarillo is located in Pleasant Valley at the eastern end of the Oxnard Plain, with the Santa Susana Mountains to the north, the Camarillo Hills to the northwest, the Conejo Valley to the east, and the western reaches of the Santa Monica Mountains to the south.
Quality of Life
Camarillo and the surrounding area has a temperate and livable climate. 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 primarily from November to February. The city has over 300 days of sunshine a year and an average humidity of 62%. Snow has only fallen about 3 times in the last thirty years and is seldom more than a dusting. Snow is sometimes visible during the winter months above the 4000-foot level in the mountains to the north. The proximity of the ocean sometimes causes morning fog in the spring and early summer. 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 was constructed, opening on March 31, 2007. The incidence of all types of crime committed in the city is far below the national average. Many sports leagues, including adult leagues, such as baseball, basketball, football, and the largest AYSO soccer league west of the Mississippi are located in Camarillo. An outdoor in-line hockey rink was recently put into Freedom Park, near the Camarillo Airport.
Government
Local At the city's incorporation in 1964, a council-manager form of government was created. The five member city council is elected at large for four year terms. The mayor of Camarillo is currently Jan MacDonald. The council is responsible for establishing policy, enacting laws and making 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. He is charged with overall management of the five city departments and 97 full time employees. Services such as water, sewer, trash collection, street maintenance and traffic engineering are provided by a combination of contractors and city employees. Police services are provided by the Ventura County Sheriff's Department under contract to the city, headquartered in a police station owned by the city. The Sheriff's department helicopter fleet is hangared at Camarillo Airport. Ventura County Fire Department provides fire protection, with four stations within the city limits. The major source of city funding is sales tax revenue. The mix of retail and commercial businesses in 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.
State and Federal In the state legislature Camarillo is located in the 19th Senate District, represented by Republican Tom McClintock, and in the 37th Assembly District, represented by Republican Audra Strickland. Federally, Camarillo is located in California's 24th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of R +5 and is represented by Republican Elton Gallegly.
Pre-Columbian The Chumash Indians were the first known settlers in what is now known as Ventura County. 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 paintings are still visible on canyon walls and in caves in the area.
European exploration The Portuguese 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 land claims. In the 1700s the Spanish began settling California and built the first of what would become a chain of 21 missions in San Diego. Father Junípero Serra establish the ninth mission in Ventura in 1782 bringing more settlers to the area and exposing the Indians who had settled around the mission to many European diseases to which they had no immunity. Their numbers diminished until the Chumash, once the largest Indian nation in California, had largely vanished by 1839.
Mexican independence By the early 1820s, 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 Ranchos north of the border. One 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 was 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 too difficult to pronounce.
Springville 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 was built and chose Camarillo as the location for a depot, Springville's existence was threatened. It is now only a dot on the map in an area south of the freeway at the western end of the current Camarillo city limits.
St. John's Seminary Don Juan Camarillo donated 100 acres to be used as a seminary to be named in honor of Saint John the Evangelist. The Roman Catholic seminary was founded in 1927 as St. John's Seminary.
Early growth Camarillo's growth was slow from founding through World War II. In the late 1940s building lots on Ventura Boulevard, the main downtown street, were being offered for $450 and home lots on the adjoining streets were $250, with few buyers. Travel to and from Los Angeles was difficult, owing to the narrow, tortuous road climbing the Conejo Grade to the east of the city.
One of the remaining farm fields in southern Camarillo. 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 south of the 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 non-agricultural employment.
Ventura freeway In the middle 1950s the Ventura Freeway, which bisected the town, was completed from L.A. to points north making it an easy one hour trip to Camarillo. The freeway was originally planned to follow the path of Potrero Road, south of Camarillo, which would have competely by-passed the soon to be city. However, after much debate, "city officials" persuaded Cal Trans to lay the freeway parallel to Ventura Blvd, creating the infamously steep decent from the Santa Monica Mountain Range, known as the Conejo Grade. The completion of the freeway facilitated the growth that followed. In 1962 the population was 7500 and 3M began construction for the Mincom and Magnetic Tape Divisions, which would ultimately employ 900 people, becoming the largest local employer. Housing tracts were built where orchards once stood. House prices were $14,000 to $65,000.
Incorporation in 1964 At this time plans were made for the incorporation of the city in to control the rapid expansion. 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. 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 were under construction. Much of the city was expected to be developed to the south of Ventura Blvd, however it was to the north that the new city grew, and the land south of Ventura Blvd remains reserved for agricultural use to this day. Many of the home buyers during the 1960s were military veterans, who had been stationed at one of the local bases during their service. The temperate climate and the living conditions lured them back. With the establishment of both the Pacific Missile Range and the Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory at Port Hueneme many found employment that utilized their military training. Other newcomers were those who worked and lived in the San Fernando Valley and were willing to endure the commute for the opportunity to raise their families in a smog-free, semirural environment. Still others relocated here with their employers, like 3M, and Harbor Freight Tools who built facilities in and around the city to take advantage of the large workforce.
Camarillo State Mental Hospital and California State University, Channel Islands
Camarillo State Mental Hospital was located near the city in the 1930's, so that persons suffering from mental illnesses 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, is a tribute to the facility. The song "Camarillo" by punk outfit Fear is also written about the facility. The band Ambrosia released a song called "Ready for Camarillo" on their 1978 Life Beyond L.A. album. "Ready for Camarillo" also appeared as the single B side of their hit "How Much I Feel." Perhaps the most famous song associated with the facility was "Hotel California," by The Eagles, which was rumored to be about a stay in a mental hospital. The former hospital is the now the site of California State University, Channel Islands. The University has retained the distinctive Mission Revival Style architecture bell tower in the South quad. The band Brazzaville released a video called "Camarillo" in 2007, with mental hospital like imagery and lyrics concerning lead singer David Brown's relatives stay in the institution.
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 portion of the city. This parcel was developed as a planned community over the span of 35 years, and completed in October of 2004. 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 (State Route 34), south of Somis and north of the 101 Freeway is generally thought of as Mission Oaks regardless of which company built the buildings in the area.
Camarillo Premium Outlets
In the mid 1990s multiple large retail centers, including an outlet mall and movie theater were built south of US 101 and west of Carmen Drive. These new retail centers have provided a large influx of cash to the city; from 1993 to 1998 sales tax revenues nearly doubled from approximately $3.5 million to approximately $6.5 million.
Camrosa or Santa Rosa area A rural region northeast of Camarillo, California may be referred to as Santa Rosa or Camrosa. Camrosa is believed to be a contraction of Camarillo and Santa Rosa. The area includes just over a five mile distance along Santa Rosa Road from the city limit east to Moorpark Road. The area is unincorporated as of 2007. Wired telephone service to the area appears to come from the Camarillo telephone exchange. Geographic features supporting these names include: Santa Rosa Valley, USGS feature ID 249122. Camrosa County Water District, 7385 Santa Rosa Road. Santa Rosa Elementary, 13282 Santa Rosa Rd., Pleasant Valley Elementary School Dist., USGS feature ID 249119. Arroyo Santa Rosa, a stream with USGS feature ID 238765. This Santa Rosa is not the same as the Sonoma County city.
The Camarillo Promenade
The Camarillo Promenade features 242,000 square feet of fine retail stores and restaurants, on approximately 29 acres, just off US Highway 101 at Las Posas Road. The Promenade is located just minutes from the Camarillo Premium Outlets, annually the most visited destination in Ventura County, and just west of the Edward’s Cinemas.
For more information, please contact the City Economic Development Division at 800-643-5373.
Visit the City of Camarillo's web site for additional information.
External Links
City of Camarillo Website
California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI)
Camarillo Premium Outlets
Camarillo Airport
St. John's Seminary
Camarillo Schools
Source: Wikipedia.com - All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
