Located in Ventura County California, the
City
of Camarillo (pronounced cam-a-ree-oh)
straddles the 101 freeway about 50 miles
Northwest of Los Angeles and 40 miles South
of Santa Barbara in a coastal valley 10
miles from the Pacific Ocean at Point Mugu.
In a semi-rural setting, the surrounding
farmland is some of the most productive
to be found anywhere, yielding up to three
crops per year.
Quality
of Life
Camarillo
and the surrounding Ventura County area
is fortunate to have what is probably the
most temperate and livable climate 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 here 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.
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 maintainance
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 thru any
downturn in revenues or emergencies. The
major source of city funding is thru 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 independance
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
it's 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 thru WWII,
in fact, 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 Anglese, was
a 2 lane road which wound it's 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 personell 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, like the Author, 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.
Growth
control ordinances, enacted in the 1970's,
slowed and controlled constuction of new
home to a managable rate. Today the population
is approaching 60,000 and the city covers
about 20 square miles. There are 20,000
dwelling unit of which 72% are owner occupied.
Median age of the population is 36 years
and median income is about $55,000. Home
prices now range from $135,000 to well over
$500,000, a big difference from the 1963
figures.
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