The Orinda Theatre sign has been and remains one of the iconic landmarks in Contra Costa County – and its presence reminds all who pass by just what city this is.
If you are reading this, you probably already know that Orinda has long been known for its quiet neighborhoods, stellar schools and family-first sense of community. For the most part, that remains largely true.
However, like most towns and cities, Orinda also has been forced to grapple with significant change and challenges as it approaches its 40th birthday as an incorporated city and peers pensively toward its next four decades.
What makes Orinda stand out among Bay Area suburbs and many towns across the country, is its magnetic quality. Orinda has an uncanny appeal to compel natives to return (or to never leave) to raise their families in the same “semi-rural” town in which they grew up – a testimony to the assertion that its core attributes seem to remain relatively intact.
“Now we’re seeing our friends’ kids moving back from San Francisco or New York to buy a house and raise a family. That speaks volumes to Orinda’s beauty, charm and friendliness,” said Nancy Vincent Marvin, who moved back to Orinda from Southern California about 25 years ago to live closer to her Orinda resident parents.
She is a 1981 graduate of Miramonte High School and since her return, has volunteered with the Orinda Association’s Seniors Around Town.
“What remains the same is its true small town feel,” she said. “Friends still wave from their cars. Lake Cascade remains a great place to walk and run into neighbors. Casa Orinda is an institution as well as the Orinda Theatre. Our local swim and tennis clubs remain wonderful places to meet new people and reconnect with old friends.”
There are a lot of bucolic, friendly, family-oriented suburbs out there. But, of course (again, as most of you know), Orinda’s consistently high-performing public schools are perhaps the city’s most potent differentiator.
“Education is a priority and many people move here for that reason,” said Marvin.
What’s more, having a BART station just about 30 minutes from the Embarcadero station in downtown San Francisco – even with fewer workers commuting – doesn’t hurt. Nor does its very comfortable climate.
In addition to strong academics, Orinda’s public schools continue to contribute to the city’s family-first fabric.
Parents’ involvement in fundraising, charities, sports programs, speech, theater, music, 4-H and a myriad of other community-related activities have not waned with age.
“Sleepy Hollow, (Del Rey, Glorietta and Wagner Ranch), Orinda Intermediate and Miramonte pretty much all look the same as they did when I was growing up,” said Marvin. “It’s a trip down memory lane to see your kids go to the same schools you went to. Lifelong friendships are made here not only for the parents, but for their kids as well, and that’s pretty special. I have so many life-long friends from elementary through high school that are neighbors now and remain good friends.”
To be sure, Marvin and other native Orindans who still call the city home, are not looking through rose-colored glasses.
They are well aware of the glaring troubles that confront their beloved city, such as crime, safety, wildfire threat and its erasure of homeowners insurance, housing inventory and affordability, declining education funding and retention of academic standards and an imbalance of diversity.
One of the most alluring attributes to Orinda are its hills, but at the same time, its tree-lined undulating terrain is a natural impediment to building new inventory. Orinda is restrained from growth, which is good for homeowners, helping to retain high real estate values; but not so good for new homeowners, including the next generation of Orindans who want to continue the tradition of returning to the town they call home. They are simply being priced out.
Then, there’s the increase in crime and the decrease of safety.
The Halloween party massacre in 2019 cannot be ignored. Even though a house was leased as an Airbnb and a shooting rampage killing five people involved mostly non-Orindans, it was a turning point from the halcyon years.
The days of leaving doors unlocked in Orinda are over. Burglaries have been on the rise in recent years, although city crime statistics show an abatement. Orinda is not immune to catalytic converter theft in driveways, which is a national phenomenon particularly rampant in parts of California.
Reports of residents being followed home from grocery stores, only to be held up in their driveways are not limited to Orinda, but they do happen. Orinda, like many communities in the East Bay with easy access to Highway 24, are convenient burglary targets for thieves escaping to cities to the east and west where safe harbors seem abundant.
“We never even locked our car doors or front doors growing up,” Marvin said. “To see neighbors held up at gunpoint, local pharmacies and consignment stores robbed and run into with stolen vehicles is something I never envisioned.”
On top of all of that, there is the ever-increasing threat of urban wildfire.
Much of Orinda is infamously located in the heart of Zone Zero, a state designation of being a high-risk wildfire zone. The hills, the wind, the on-again, off-again drought, the poor ingress-egress during evacuation and the major powerlines traversing the lovely hills – turn Orinda into a ready-made tinder box.
The recent Los Angeles County infernos made the threat of wildfire more than a homeowners’ insurance renewal annoyance. It was a devastating tragedy that serves as a constant reminder of what threat Orindans face every day.
The issues and challenges facing Orinda at age 40 are not unique to this old western ranch town, and they are not to be dismissed.
At the same time, the attributes that make Orinda special to its current residents, especially those of multi-generations, can still and do hold true. Keeping them in the balance over the next 40 years, however, is far from guaranteed.
