Around Oakley: Change has come slowly to new city

DO YOU FEEL like we live in a "city" yet? That question was asked of me a few days ago by a lifelong Oakley resident.

Oakley this year is celebrating its 10th anniversary as a city. The incorporation effort took years, and residents celebrated the day they finally gained independence from Contra Costa County. However, just because Oakley residents voted for incorporation doesn't mean they believe they have achieved the independence they were searching for.

Or perhaps my good friend was asking not how it feels, but more to the point, are we better off now than before the vote? While everyone who worked for cityhood would want to say the answer is an emphatic yes, the unfortunate truth is that if a vote were held today, the outcome might be closer to 50-50.

I blame instant gratification for those who have been swayed that maybe cityhood wasn't such a good idea after all. After 10 years, people are looking for more significant changes than we've seen. Frankly, a drive down Oakley streets today compared with 10 years ago won't show much change.

Oh sure, there is a nice new City Hall, a new restaurant, two new small shopping centers and more homes, but all in all it is much the same.

For those who were expecting big change by now, there is much disappointment. Many of the businesses that were here in 1999 are now gone and have not been fully replaced. The hope of bringing more commerce to Oakley seems to have been quashed either by the poor economy or a preference by companies to locate near other thriving business communities, like Brentwood and Antioch.

The housing market is actually a positive. Although some would rather not see an increase at all, Oakley is one of the few communities in the county to have experienced steady growth over the past decade. Even in the past year, Oakley has increased its population by 1,300 people.
That isn't to say Oakley hasn't had its share of foreclosures, just that the market didn't have that far to drop because housing values were never as high as some other county communities. But does Oakley need more homes?

How do you really measure a city? Is it simply that now we have a City Council and a city staff to make their own decisions, or is it a feeling that we have the independence to choose our own destiny?

Those residents who didn't want Wal-Mart in Oakley certainly had a chance to yell long and loud at a city entity. Did that make us feel like we were a city?

How about the low-income apartments? No one wanted those, but when it came down to it, Oakley is required to have a percentage of low-income housing by law. No independence there.
There is one thing for residents to remember. Brentwood and Antioch have had decades of independence compared with Oakley. They had the ability to plan, make their own mistakes, and develop their cities as they saw fit.

Give Oakley some time. It may take 30 years before residents really feel as if cityhood was the right choice.