Oak Park Community Council

Oak Park Community Council

A Little About the Oak Park Community

The Oak Park community of San Diego was born in 1949 during the post WW II building boom when the first families started moving into the new subdivisions that were to make up the community and started to form the bonds that make neighborhoods.

The area that now encompasses Oak Park had, from 1917 until 1994, been the home to the Chollas Heights Radio Transmitter facility which had three 600' tall transmitter towers and was the place from which the world was told about the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Today, with the towers gone, this complex is the home to navy enlisted personnel and their families.

Next door to Chollas Heights is Chollas Lake which in the first half of the century was part of the City of San Diego's water distribution system. Today this lake is part of the cities park and recreation system with walking trails and fishing for children under 16.
Oak Park is also where College Grove Shopping Center is located. When this center opened in 1959 it was the first regional shopping center in San Diego. It currently is undergoing a major redevelopment into a "power center".

Today Oak Park is home to an ethnically diverse population of about 10,000 people living in peaceful and attractive neighborhoods of moderately priced houses. It is also, not surprisingly, the home of the Oak Park Community Council.

About our association

About the Oak Park Community Council

The Oak Park Community Council was formed in response to efforts by the City of San Diego to, in 1974, close the local fire station and then in 1975 to close the neighborhood branch library. Both of these efforts on the part of the community to save these facilities were successful and the activism that was fostered lead to the formation of the community council in July 1975. Over the years the Oak Park Council has been involved in numerous activities. Among these were the aid in forming a city recognized land planning group, working with, and sometimes against, the navy on the Chollas Heights housing project, and the long running, but ultimately successful, battle to stop the creation of the North Chollas Landfill. This last item is of particular pride as this area is now part of Chollas Lake Park and will in the future be home to walking trails, athletic fields, picnic areas, and natural habitats.
The Oak Park Community Council meets monthly from September to June in the Oak Park Elementary School Auditorium at 7:00 P.M. The meetings are attended by both state an city representatives who dispense much information as well as fielding many questions and comments. The programs vary widely from People for Trees, to redevelopment of College Grove Shopping Center, to candidate forums during elections to name just a few.
The council also publishes a monthly newsletter during the business year. This newsletter dispenses a wealth of information about the goings on in the community so even if someone can't attend the meetings they can stay informed.