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Ventura County: Oak Park

The unincorporated community of Oak Park has a population of approximately 14,000. Oak Park is bordered on the west by the North Ranch neighborhood of the city of Thousand Oaks, on the south by the Los Angeles County cities of Westlake Village and Agoura Hills, and on the north and east by the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Oak Park"s climate may be described as California Mediterranean, with warm, dry summers and cool, rainy winters. The heat of summer is tempered by late-afternoon ocean breezes from the west. While overnight frost is common during the winter, snow or daytime freezing temperatures are very rare.

Oak Park is a compact community, occupying 2600 acres. Adhering to the community"s master plan, pockets of medium and high density development are separated by open space and parks, which constitute over half the land area. This includes six neighborhood parks, Medea Creek Natural Park, and Oak Canyon Community Park. Because of the sensitive environment found in Oak Canyon Community Park, ball fields and tennis courts have been distributed to the neighborhood parks. The Oak Park Open Space is home to deer, coyotes, skunks, rabbits, snakes, owls, woodpeckers, hawks, and other wildlife. Signs of mountain lions are seen. Golden eagles are known to nest in Chesebro Canyon, less than a mile east of Oak Park.

The developed portions are primarily residential, with a mix of single-family homes, individually-owned townhomes with common-owned streets and greenbelts, and apartments. There are three commercial developments. Oak Park is home to a Mormon Church, an Episcopal Church, and a Chabad House. Surrounding communities provide Catholic, Methodist, and Lutheran churches and Reform and Conservative Jewish congregations.

The Oak Park Unified School District was established in 1978 by secession from the Simi Valley Unified School District. Oak Park has three elementary schools (K-5), a middle school (6-8), a high school (9-12), and an alternative high school. The District is considered one of the finest school systems – public or private – in California. Oak Park is within the jurisdiction of the Ventura County Community College District, whose nearest campus is Moorpark College. Oak Park residents may also attend Pierce College in the Los Angeles Community College District. Four-year colleges and universities nearby include UCLA, California State University Northridge, Pepperdine University, and California Lutheran University. California State University Channel Islands is expected to be operational in Ventura County by 1999.