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Fair Oaks is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sacramento County,
California, United States. The population was 28,008 at the 2000 census. Fair
Oaks has its own zip code, 95628. It is considered an "unincorporated area" of
eastern Sacramento County. The main boulevards are Sunrise Boulevard
(north-south) and Fair Oaks Boulevard (east-west). Fair Oaks is bounded on the
south side by the American River, on the north side by the city of Citrus
Heights, on the west side by Carmichael, and the east side by Orangevale.
Geography
Location of Fair Oaks, California
Fair Oaks is located at 38°39′5″N, 121°15′33″W (38.651254, -121.259279)GR1,
between Sacramento and Folsom, California.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 26.7
km˛ (10.3 mi˛). 25.6 km˛ (9.9 mi˛) of it is land and 1.1 km˛ (0.4 mi˛) of it
(4.17%) is water.
Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 28,008 people, 11,203 households, and
7,842 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,093.4/km˛
(2,832.7/mi˛). There were 11,461 housing units at an average density of
447.4/km˛ (1,159.2/mi˛). The racial makeup of the CDP was 88.04% White, 1.84%
African American, 0.59% Native American, 4.22% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander,
1.78% from other races, and 3.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of
any race were 6.31% of the population.
There were 11,203 households out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18
living with them, 56.4% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 30.0% were non-families. 23.5% of all
households were made up of individuals and 6.5% had someone living alone who was
65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average
family size was 2.91.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 22.8% under the age of 18, 6.8%
from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 29.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65
years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there
were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.3 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $63,252, and the median income
for a family was $74,864. Males had a median income of $52,365 versus $39,138
for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $31,874. About 4.6% of
families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.2%
of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over.
History
19th century
In 1895, Brevet Brigadier General Charles H. Howard and James W. Wilson of the
Howard-Wilson Publishing Company of Chicago acquired rights to present Fair Oaks
community, then primarily covered by citrus farms, from California Senator
Frederick K. Cox and businessman Crawford W. Clarke. The Howard-Wilson Company
surveyed and mapped the land and began to promote Fair Oaks as one of their
“Sunset Colonies.” The Howard-Wilson Company advertised Fair Oaks as an
innovative and growing citrus colony after destructive freezes in Southern
California and Florida and a national depression hitting in 1893. Many of the
purchasers were professionals and other friends of the investors and the Fair
Oaks community was initially composed primarily of businessmen and other
professionals, including bankers and engineers.
A club of businessmen in Chicago and Sacramento who had an investment (land or
fruit) in the newborn colony and Orangevale formed the Chicago-Fair Oaks Club in
1899. Then a group of local businessmen, including Valentine S. McClatchy (the
co-owner of the Sacramento Bee), incorporated the Fair Oaks Development Company
in 1900. The boosters proclaimed Fair Oaks to be the “crown of the [Sacramento]
valley,” in the “heart of California.”
Together these groups were able to succeed in constructing an efficient water
supply. They convinced the County of Sacramento’s Chamber of Commerce, which
McClatchy’s business partners from Orangevale created and chaired, to build a
bridge across the American River at Fair Oaks in 1901. At the same time, the
community leaders were also able to persuade the Southern Pacific Rail Road
Company to build a railroad line to the bridge.
20th century and growth
Fair Oaks grew rapidly with the completion of the Fair Oaks Bridge and the
railroad line. The Fair Oaks Fruit Company incorporated in 1902 and built a
warehouse in Fair Oaks to export not only citrus, but also almonds and olives.
Also, in 1902, Dr. R. N. Bramhall became the first medical doctor to reside and
set up office in Fair Oaks. The agricultural productivity attracted the
development of other community services. Fair Oaks had become a typical small
town by 1906 with a post office, hotel, blacksmith shop, lumber yard, pharmacy,
bank, cemetery, newspaper, and a number of small dry-goods and grocery stores
located along Main Street.
Two churches (Methodist and Presbyterian) were built and two schools (The Four
Gables School and the Fair Oaks School—the current Community Clubhouse) appeared
by 1910. The Fair Oaks Library Association formed in 1908 and constructed a
permanent building in 1912. The Fair Oaks Civic Club purchased and developed the
Plaza in 1918 for recreational and leisure activities. This plaza is still in
use today.
No longer citrus
A big freeze hit in 1932 at the height of the Great Depression and many or most
citrus groves were lost. After this and a similar freeze in 1934, Fair Oaks was
no longer a major producer of citrus fruit in California. Fortunately, growth of
the defense firm Aerojet helped the Fair Oaks economy offset the demise of its
primary industry. Some temporary dislocations occurred when employment at
Aerojet dropped over 90% in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The growth rate
still continued, however, because of the increased access to Sacramento by
Highway 50 and the construction of the Sunrise Boulevard Bridge in 1964. This
allowed for both residents of Fair Oaks to find greater employment in the
connecting area and for Sacramentans to relocate to Fair Oaks more easily. The
former citrus colony transformed into a bedroom community of greater Sacramento.
Some Things to Consider When Looking for an Apartment...
When searching for a new apartment make sure to take your time to think
through what are the most important things to you in an apartment and plan your
search based on those priorities. Here are some things to consider when planning
your move:
1. Consider the areas where you would like to live
* What is the crime rate?
* If you have children - what rating does the local school system have?
* Is there area convenient shopping, health and recreation services in the area?
2. Make a list of your housing priorities
* Do you have pets?
* Do you need parking?
* Do you need to be on the ground floor?
* What amenities are important to you - swimming pool, fitness room, in unit
laundry?
3. Evaluate the building
* What is the condition of the unit and building?
* Are the grounds maintained?
* Are windows, steps, and railings in good condition?
* View the property at night. Is it safe and well lit?
4. The security of the property
* Are there security service? When is the guard on duty?
* Does the building have controlled access?
* Does each unit have secure door and window locks?
5. Talk to the neighbors
* Ask other residents whether they are satisfied with the building.
6. Amenities
* Who is allowed to use the amenities?
* When are they open?
* Are the fees charged to use those facilities included in rent?
7. Ask about Utilities
* Does the owner or tenant pay the utility bills?
* Are any utilities included with monthly rent?
* Do units have separate thermostats to control heat and air conditioning?
8. Review the lease
* How much notice must you give before moving out?
* Can the rent be increased? If so, by how much and how often?
* Are pets allowed?
* What is the security deposit and cleaning costs upon move out?
* What is the responsibility of tenants for damage to property?
* Is there a penalty for breaking a lease?
9. Information too bring to a lease signing
* Credit Report
* Pay stubs/tax returns
* Reference
* Application
More Apartment Information
An apartment (or flat in Britain and most other Commonwealth countries) is a
self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building. Apartments
may be owned (by an owner-occupier) or rented (by tenants).
Some apartment-dwellers own their apartments, either as co-ops, in which the
residents own shares of a corporation that owns the building or development; or
in condominiums, whose residents own their apartments and share ownership of the
public spaces. Most apartments are in buildings designed for the purpose, but
large older houses are sometimes divided into apartments. The word apartment
connotes a residential unit or section in a building. Apartment building owners,
lessors, or managers often use the more general word units to refer to
apartments. Units can be used to refer to rental business suites as well as
residential apartments. When there is no tenant occupying an apartment, the
lessor is said to have a vacancy. For apartment lessors, each vacancy represents
a loss of income from rent-paying tenants for the time the apartment is vacant
(i.e., unoccupied). Lessors' objectives are often to minimize the vacancy rate
for their units. The owner of the apartment typically transfers possession to
the occupant by giving him/her the key to the apartment entrance door and any
other keys need to live there, such as a common key to the building or any other
common areas, and an individual unit mailbox key. When the occupant move out,
these keys should typically be returned to the owner.
Apartments can be classified into several types. Studio, efficiency, bed-sit, or
bachelor apartments tend to be the smallest apartments with the cheapest rents
in a given area. These kinds of apartment usually consist mainly of a large room
which is the living, dining, and bedroom combined. There are usually kitchen
facilities as part of this central room, but the bathroom is its own smaller
separate room. Moving up from the efficiencies are one-bedroom apartments where
one bedroom is a separate room from the rest of the apartment. Then there are
two-bedroom, three-bedroom, etc. apartments. Small apartments often have only
one entrance/exit. Large apartments often have two entrances/exits, perhaps a
door in the front and another in the back. Depending on the building design, the
entrance/exit doors may be directly to the outside or to a common area inside,
such as a hallway. Depending on location, apartments may be available for rent
furnished with furniture or unfurnished into which a tenant usually moves in
with his/her own furniture. Permanent carpeting is often included in an
apartment.
Laundry facilities are usually kept in a separate area accessible to all the
tenants in the building. Depending on when the building was built and the design
of the building, utilities such as water, heating, and electric may be common
for all the apartments in the building or separate for each apartment and billed
separately to each tenant (however, many areas in the US have ruled it illegal
to split a water bill among all the tenants, especially if a pool is on the
premises). Outlets for connection to telephones are typically included in
apartments. Telephone service is optional and is practically always billed
separately from the rent payments. Cable television and similar amenities are
extra also. Parking space, air conditioner, and extra storage space may or may
not be included with an apartment. Rental leases often limit the maximum number
of people who can reside in each apartment. On or around the ground floor of the
apartment building, a series of mailboxes are typically kept in a location
accessible to the public and, thus, to the letter-carrier too. Every unit
typically gets its own mailbox with individual keys to it. Some very large
apartment buildings with a full-time staff may take mail from the mailman and
provide mail-sorting service. Near the mailboxes or some other location
accessible by outsiders, there may be a buzzer (equivalent to a doorbell) for
each individual unit. In smaller apartment buildings such as two- or
three-flats, or even four-flats, garbage is often disposed of in trash
containers similar to those used at houses. In larger buildings, garbage is
often collected in a common trash bin or dumpster. For cleanliness or minimizing
noise, many lessors will place restrictions on tenants regarding keeping pets in
an apartment.
In some parts of the world, the word apartment is used generally to refer to a
new purpose-built self-contained residential unit in a building, whereas the
word flat means a converted self-contained unit in an older building. An
industrial, warehouse, or commercial space converted to an apartment is commonly
called a loft.
When part of a house is converted for the ostensible use of a landlord's family
member, the unit may be known as an in-law apartment or granny flat, though
these (sometimes illegally) created units are often occupied by ordinary renters
rather than family members. In Canada these suites are commonly located in the
basements of houses and are therefore normally called basement suites.
Staying in privately owned apartments rather than in a hotel is quickly becoming
popular with travelers.