Newbury Park, California
Encyclopedia
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
is located in the western portion of the city of Thousand Oaks
Thousand Oaks, California
Thousand Oaks is a city in southeastern Ventura County, California, in the United States. It was named after the many oak trees that grace the area, and the city seal is adorned with an oak....
and Casa Conejo
Casa Conejo, California
Casa Conejo is a census-designated place in Ventura County, California, United States. It was the first planned community in Newbury Park, built between 1960 and 1965. The community is bordered by Old Conejo Road and the US 101 to the North, Borchard Road to the South, Jenny Dr. to the West, and...
, an unincorporated area of southeastern Ventura County's
Ventura County, California
Ventura County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. It is located on California's Pacific coast. It is often referred to as the Gold Coast, and has a reputation of being one of the safest populated places and one of the most affluent places in the country...
Conejo Valley
Conejo Valley
The Conejo Valley is a region spanning both southeastern Ventura County and northwestern Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States...
, which is also in the northwestern Greater Los Angeles Area
Greater Los Angeles Area
The Greater Los Angeles Area, or the Southland, is a term used for the Combined Statistical Area sprawled over five counties in the southern part of California, namely Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County and Ventura County...
. Newbury Park abuts the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area or SMMNRA, is a United States National Recreation Area containing many individual parks and open space preserves, located primarily in the Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California...
, with main entrances at the northern edge of the park at Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa.
The Conejo Valley is one of the most affluent areas in the country. It was ranked as one of the top 100 places to live in the country by Money Magazine
Money Magazine
Money Magazine is a business news and financial programme that is broadcast on Sundays at 7:00pm in Hong Kong by television channel TVB Pearl.-Producers and reporters:...
. Also, it has the 11th highest per capita income and the 4th highest median household income in the nation (against all other cities with a population of 50,000 or more).
The community is served by the Thousand Oaks Library System with two libraries, the Grant R. Brimhall Library, the largest in the region, and the Newbury Park Branch Library. The ZIP Code is 91320, and the community is inside area code 805
Area code 805
North American area code 805 is a California telephone area code. Area code 805 includes most or all of the California counties of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura, plus southernmost portions of Monterey County....
.
History
The area was inhabited by the Chumash beginning about 7,000 years ago. Newbury Park contains many ancient burial sites, most near the Santa Monica MountainsSanta Monica Mountains
The Santa Monica Mountains are a Transverse Range in Southern California, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean in the United States.-Geography:...
in the Southern portion of the community. Many artifacts have been discovered in the area.
Newbury Park is named after Egbert Starr Newbury, who owned thousands of acres of land in the Conejo Valley in the 1870s. John Edwards, Howard Mills, and Egbert Starr Newbury bought Rancho El Conejo
Rancho El Conejo
Rancho El Conejo was a Spanish land grant in California given in 1803 to Jose Polanco and Ygnacio Rodriguez that encompassed the area now known as the Conejo Valley in southeastern Ventura and northwestern Los Angeles Counties. El Conejo means "The Rabbit" in Spanish, and refers to the many...
land. Newbury and his wife Fannie moved to California from Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
for health reasons in 1871. He became the first postmaster in the Conejo Valley in 1875. The post office was near their house which was located at the current location of the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. The historic Stagecoach Inn
Stagecoach Inn (California)
The Stagecoach Inn in Newbury Park, California, originally known as the Grand Union Hotel, was used as a resting area for people who traveled from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara. It is California Historical Landmark no. 659 and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.The Grand Union...
was used by travelers between Los Angeles in the south and Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
to the north as a stagecoach station.
Along with Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park was part of a master planned community
Planned community
A planned community, or planned city, is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed in a previously undeveloped area. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more ad hoc fashion. Land use conflicts are less frequent in planned communities since...
by the Janss Investment Company
Janss Investment Company
The Janss Investment Company was a family run, Los Angeles, California, real estate development company that operated from 1895 to 1995.-First generation:...
. Most of Newbury Park, along with the parts of Westlake Village
Westlake Village, California
Westlake Village is a planned community that straddles the Los Angeles and Ventura county line. The eastern portion is the incorporated city Westlake Village, located on the western edge of Los Angeles County, California. The city, located in the region known as the Conejo Valley, encompasses half...
located in Ventura County, became part of the City of Thousand Oaks sometime between the 1960s and 1970s. The annexed area was formerly controlled by Ventura County, but after a community vote, all but Casa Conejo became part of Thousand Oaks.
Newbury Park has had an increasing population due to the presence of biotechnology firms and technology corporations of the area, such as Amgen
Amgen
Amgen Inc. is an international biotechnology company headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. Located in the Conejo Valley, Amgen is the world's largest independent biotech firm. The company employs approximately 17,000 staff members. Its products include Epogen, Aranesp, Enbrel, Kineret,...
(world headquarters), Baxter
Baxter International
Baxter International Inc. , is an American health care company with headquarters in Deerfield, Illinois. The company primarily focuses on products to treat hemophilia, kidney disease, immune disorders and other chronic and acute medical conditions...
, as well as numerous other tech businesses.
Housing
The community contains two major new residential areas, Rancho Conejo Village (built on the site of the former Rancho Conejo Airport, where portions of the film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad WorldIt's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a 1963 American comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer about the madcap pursuit of $350,000 in stolen cash by a diverse and colorful group of strangers...
were filmed) and Dos Vientos Ranch. Rancho Conejo Village is still being developed by S&S Homes, while the master planned community of Dos Vientos Ranch has approached build out. The first planned community in Newbury Park is census designated place Casa Conejo, located in a roughly square-shaped unincorporated area, is the only remaining part of Newbury Park not governed by the City of Thousand Oaks.
Real estate prices in Newbury Park increased over 250% during the 1995-2005 ten year period. Typical single family house prices in the area and surrounding communities range from around $500,000 to $2.2 million in parts of the valley. Starting in 2006, real estate prices have started to drop due to the credit crunch affecting mortgage financing, and also reflecting the exuberant and irrational price run-up in the prior decade. As an example, a newer 2380 sq ft (221.1 m²) house in the gated Rancho Conejo community that sold for $880,000 in the summer of 2005 at the peak of the housing boom, would have fetched no more than $790,000 in the summer of 2007, about $700,000 in mid March 2008, $685,000 in January 2010, and about $665,000 in October 2010. Although sales activity and prices improved slightly in the Spring and early Summer of 2010 due to government incentives and tax credits, the downward trend has resumed, albeit at a slower pace, suggesting that prices may be reaching a stable level from which sustainable appreciation is feasible.
Economy
The community is part of the City of Thousand Oaks, whose economy is based on a small range of businesses, with biotechnology, electronics, automotive, aerospace, telecommunications, healthcare, and financing occupying most of Thousand Oaks' employment sector. The global headquarters of the industrial designIndustrial design
Industrial design is the use of a combination of applied art and applied science to improve the aesthetics, ergonomics, and usability of a product, but it may also be used to improve the product's marketability and production...
and styling department of BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
, DesignworksUSA
DesignworksUSA
DesignworksUSA is a global design consultancy based in Newbury Park, California, United States, with design studios in Munich, Germany and Singapore. Established independently in 1972 by Charles Pelly, it was acquired by BMW in 1995 and is now a wholly owned subsidiary of BMW Group...
is located in the community, as are offices for Amgen
Amgen
Amgen Inc. is an international biotechnology company headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. Located in the Conejo Valley, Amgen is the world's largest independent biotech firm. The company employs approximately 17,000 staff members. Its products include Epogen, Aranesp, Enbrel, Kineret,...
, Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
, Baxter International
Baxter International
Baxter International Inc. , is an American health care company with headquarters in Deerfield, Illinois. The company primarily focuses on products to treat hemophilia, kidney disease, immune disorders and other chronic and acute medical conditions...
, General Dynamics Corporation, Jafra Cosmetics
Vorwerk (company)
Vorwerk is an international diversified corporate group headquartered in Wuppertal, Germany. The main business is the direct distribution of various products like household appliances , fitted kitchens or cosmetics...
, J.D. Power and Associates
J.D. Power and Associates
J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services firm founded in 1968 by James David Power III. The firm conducts surveys of customer satisfaction, product quality, and buyer behavior for industries ranging from cars to marketing and advertising firms. The firm is best known for...
, and Skyworks Solutions
Skyworks Solutions
Skyworks Solutions, Inc. is a semiconductor company headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts.The company manufactures semiconductors for use in radio frequency and mobile communications systems...
offer many high-tech jobs and have corporate headquarters in the city, while Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
, Verizon, Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless
Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is one of the largest mobile network operators in the United States. The network has 107.7 million subscribers as of 2011, making it the largest wireless service provider in America....
, Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
, Audi
Audi
Audi AG is a German automobile manufacturer, from supermini to crossover SUVs in various body styles and price ranges that are marketed under the Audi brand , positioned as the premium brand within the Volkswagen Group....
, General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
, and WellPoint
WellPoint
WellPoint, Inc. is the largest health plan company in the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. It was formed when WellPoint Health Networks, Inc. merged into Anthem, Inc., with the surviving Anthem adopting the name, WellPoint, Inc...
manage regional offices. The city was also the former home to the corporate offices of Wellpoint
WellPoint
WellPoint, Inc. is the largest health plan company in the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. It was formed when WellPoint Health Networks, Inc. merged into Anthem, Inc., with the surviving Anthem adopting the name, WellPoint, Inc...
and GTE
GTE
GTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the days of the Bell System....
, which later became Verizon, which relocated in the last decade. As the city is usually considered a suburb, many residents also commute to neighboring Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Although some of these businesses are not located in the Newbury Park section of the city, many of its residents are employed through these companies.
Demographics/affluence
The most recent figures indicate that only the community of Newbury Park, not including Thousand Oaks, has a median household income of $83,615. For Newbury Park included with the rest of Thousand Oaks, as of 2005, according to the US Census Bureau, the median household incomeMedian household income
The median household income is commonly used to generate data about geographic areas and divides households into two equal segments with the first half of households earning less than the median household income and the other half earning more...
was $90,503, while median family income was $104,885. According to Money Magazine
Money Magazine
Money Magazine is a business news and financial programme that is broadcast on Sundays at 7:00pm in Hong Kong by television channel TVB Pearl.-Producers and reporters:...
, median family income as of 2006 was up to $97,372.
Climate
The region has a mild, year-round Mediterranean ClimateMediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
or Dry-Summer Subtropical zone climate, with warm, sunny, dry summers and cool, rainy winters. Vegetation is typical of Mediterranean environments, with chaparral and grasses on the hillsides and numerous western valley oaks. Its elevation ranges from about 500 to 900 feet(excluding hills). The area has slightly cooler temperatures than the surrounding areas, as it receives cooler air from the ocean through various hill and mountain passes.
On March 10 and 11 of 2006, snow fell on the peak of Boney Mountain, the first snow to fall in the area in about 10 years.
Education
Newbury Park High SchoolNewbury Park High School
Newbury Park High School, founded in 1967, is a co-educational public high school located in Newbury Park, California. Newbury Park High School has approximately 2,320 students, 101 faculty, and 62 staff as of the 2006-2007 year...
has over 2600 students and a newly refurbished multi-sport stadium. Intermediate schools include Sequoia Middle School and the recently constructed Sycamore Canyon School in Dos Vientos Ranch. All are part of the Conejo Valley Unified School District
Conejo Valley Unified School District
Conejo Valley Unified School District or CVUSD is a school district in Ventura County. It serves Thousand Oaks, California and its subsections Newbury Park and Westlake Village.-Members of the CVUSD Board of Education:*President-Peggy Buckles...
Timber School, now known as Conejo Valley High School, is the first of the existing schools, having been built in 1924 to replace the first one-roomed schoolhouse that was built in 1889. Recent additions to the school were made in the late 1940s and 1950s. Newbury Park Adventist Academy is the second of the existing schools in Newbury Park, founded in 1947.
- Conejo Valley Unified School DistrictConejo Valley Unified School DistrictConejo Valley Unified School District or CVUSD is a school district in Ventura County. It serves Thousand Oaks, California and its subsections Newbury Park and Westlake Village.-Members of the CVUSD Board of Education:*President-Peggy Buckles...
- Newbury Park High SchoolNewbury Park High SchoolNewbury Park High School, founded in 1967, is a co-educational public high school located in Newbury Park, California. Newbury Park High School has approximately 2,320 students, 101 faculty, and 62 staff as of the 2006-2007 year...
- Redwood Middle School
- Sequoia Middle School
- Sycamore Canyon Middle School
- Newbury Park Adventist Academy
- Conejo Adventist Elementary School
- Manzanita Elementary School
- Walnut Elementary School
- Earths Elementary School
- Banyan Elementary School
- Cypress Elementary School
- Maple Elementary School
Notable residents
The community is home to many famous and notable people. See full list on the bottom of the City of Thousand Oaks or Westlake Village page.Swing bandleader and clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
player Artie Shaw
Artie Shaw
Arthur Jacob Arshawsky , better known as Artie Shaw, was an American jazz clarinetist, composer, and bandleader. He was also the author of both fiction and non-fiction writings....
lived in Newbury Park from 1978 until his death in 2004.
Comic book legend Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
lived in Newbury Park for at least his last two decades.
The first quadruplets in Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
live in Newbury Park
Newbury Park
Newbury Park can refer to:*Newbury Park, California*Newbury Park, London...
.
Carah Faye Charnow
Carah Faye Charnow
Carah Faye Charnow is an American singer and songwriter. She is currently the female vocalist of the band Shiny Toy Guns , with whom she scored a Grammy nomination, and is also currently the frontwoman/vocalist of the band Versant...
of the band Shiny Toy Guns
Shiny Toy Guns
Shiny Toy Guns is an American indie rock band that formed in 2002 in Los Angeles, California. They released their first studio album We Are Pilots in 2006, after recording it two previous times. It featured three singles that peaked inside the top 30 in the Alternative Songs Chart. We Are Pilots...
.
External links
- Newbury Park @ The Official Conejo Valley Website, a Web site with local history, events, and community information.
- Conejo Valley Guide - Activities and Events in the Conejo Valley
- Conejo Valley Unified School District