Where We Live: Brentwood

Note: This was part of a special section in which we profiled the cities in our county. I wrote the following lead story on Brentwood, and found myself increasingly obsessed with learning everything I could about the city to help frame the story the right way.

Contra Costa Times
Section: Special Section
Published: 03/02/2002

By Corey Lyons
Times Staff Writer

Often, Jim De Fremery will climb into his 1992 Nissan Stanza and drive through the pastoral foothills to investigate the latest subdivision to cover land once tilled by wheat farmers.

The 88-year-old retired farmer and land developer moved to Brentwood in the 1930s and built the city's first subdivision, 24 houses on half-acre lots, around World War II.

"Many times, I've driven through these new subdivisions and just get lost. I'd have to look at Mount Diablo to see where I was," he said.

The conception of a man getting lost in a city that he helped build illustrates the immense growth that has transformed Brentwood from a rural community into a sprawling suburb.

De Fremery, a widower who lives alone, sat in a recliner in front of a crackling fire inside his two-story farmhouse on Lone Tree Way. He said that he found the city's growth "incomprehensible."

"I sort of regret building the subdivision," he said. "In a sense, so many have been built since then that it's no longer an agricultural place. I used to see so many nice trees. ... Nothing seems to slow it down."

No longer the rural burg of far eastern Contra Costa County, Brentwood is the third-fastest-growing city in California.

In search of larger and more affordable homes in a country setting, thousands of people have descended on this historic city whose roots date to the state's earliest days.

Out here, residents appreciate a country lifestyle with a spectacular view of the eastern base of Mount Diablo and a short trip to the Delta and its thousand miles of river channels.

Fresh fruit is sold from roadside stands and, in the spring, the fragrant smell of blossoming orchards lingers in the air.

In the summer, families gather in triple-digit heat to participate in several community events, including CornFest, a three-day festival of farm culture that attracted more than 40,000 people last year.

A quiet past
A few decades ago, Brentwood was a rural whisper of tomatoes and tumbleweeds, a far-flung farming community beyond the din of urban life.

The city, which incorporated in 1948, remained a quiet agricultural hub until the early 1980s, when developers and bulldozers plowed over the vast open land.

In 1980, there were 4,434 people living in Brentwood. But the population nearly doubled by 1990, and the city grew by 208 percent during the past decade, according to the 2000 Census.

Intrigued by the idea of raising a family in a new house with a country backdrop, the number of homeowners in Brentwood increased from 63 percent in 1980 to 81 percent by 2000.

The bustling city is now home to more than 23,000 souls, an interesting melange of farmers who grew up there and a new generation of affluent suburbanites.

The city's Latino population goes back generations. Many farmworkers from Mexico came to Brentwood over the decades, and in 1980 Latinos were 39 percent of Brentwood's population. That has dropped to 28 percent, still significant, and a growing number of Latinos are firmly ensconced in Brentwood's middle class. But low-paid farmworkers are still part of Brentwood's fabric.

Today, those who clamor for a piece of Brentwood's small-town flavor are contributing to its new look as an evolving suburb.

With a proliferation of gated communities and its roads crowded with sport-utility vehicles, the city is dealing with the aftermath of a cultural collision.

Persistent gridlock greets thousands of early-morning commuters heading west on Highway 4 or south on Vasco Road toward Livermore or Silicon Valley.

Farmers often have trouble crossing busy streets in their slow-moving tractors.

Downtown, fertilizer shops and antique stores are being replaced by day spas, chiropractors and upscale Italian cafes.

"It all sounded good until it got here," town historian Kathy Leighton said of the city's rapid growth. "I know people who won't go downtown at 3 p.m. because of the traffic. On the other hand, you couldn't get lox, bagels and Irish cream coffee downtown 15 years ago."

Search for affordability
The population explosion in Brentwood is part of a statewide trend in which more and more people are moving to cities on the fringes of the metropolitan Bay Area.

While the nine-county Bay Area region grew by 786,051, or 12.7 percent, over the past decade, the Central Valley has grown even faster as residents stretched their commutes in search of cheaper digs.

In Brentwood, developers are constantly laying asphalt over sun-charred fields that used to produce wheat, cherries or almonds.

Residents are still caught short when they see a new street cut through the green foothills, leading to a sprawling subdivision, its promotional pennants snapping in the soft breeze.

Pig farmer Bailey Neff operates under the shadow of his sizable neighbors. His four-acre ranch on Minnesota Avenue is nearly devoured by nearby subdivisions, including Spinnaker Ridge Homes and Lyon Groves.

But the San Francisco native, who moved to Brentwood in 1990, said growth gives the city an unrivaled financial boost that separates it from many communities.

"Once you have the money, you have the amenities," said Neff, trudging across his mud-spattered property to check on his pigs. "Things have changed and, from my point of view, for the better."

In some ways, it appears, Brentwood is not a destination but a confluence of possibilities, carved out of the countryside.

Real estate agents woo newcomers with promises of spanking-new three- and four-bedroom houses from the low $200,000s to more than $300,000.

They tout "luxurious" master suites with marble vanities and spacious walk-in closets. They roll out a wide array of options, including concrete tile roofing, automatic sprinkler systems, vaulted ceilings and cabinets in maple, cherry or oak.

Lyon Rhapsody is the name of a new subdivision of salmon-colored, single-family dwellings off Brentwood Boulevard, with an office on a new street called Whispering Oaks Court.

On a recent foggy afternoon, Bob and Irene Schaefer, middle-aged parents from Antioch, visited Lyon Rhapsody to explore a possible future in Brentwood.

Bob, an electrician for a railroad company in Oakland, scanned floor plans in an office lobby and discussed with his wife buying a new house in Brentwood.

It sounded like a good investment, he said, but it also provoked important questions about his family's quality of life.

What elementary school, if any, would best serve his daughter? How would he and his wife handle a potentially nasty commute on a two-lane road out of town?

"It's all about choices and sacrifices," Bob Schaefer said. "But we're just looking around so we can make an educated decision."
A few minutes later, Irene Schaefer seemed to hesitate.

"As new as they are," she said, holding a roll of blueprints, "I sort of doubt we'll do it."

Amber waves of grain
Because the city often feels so new, many newcomers are not aware that Brentwood occupies an important chapter of early California history.

Dr. John Marsh, an early state settler, arrived in the fertile region of eastern Contra Costa County in a covered wagon in the late 1830s.

Soon, he started sending letters across the country in which he invited newcomers to an undiscovered paradise of rich soil and warm weather.

Marsh bought Rancho Los Meganos at the eastern base of Mount Diablo, and played a critical role in spurring migration to the Golden State.

His spectacular sandstone mansion, built in the 1850s, is now a state treasure that still stands on a stretch of Marsh Creek Road, just outside the city limits.

Over the years, Brentwood became widely known as a top-notch wheat producer whose products were shipped all over the world.

"They recognized the value of agriculture here very early," said Leighton, who grew up on a ranch in the area. "By the early 1860s, there were huge wheat farms here. Then, the railroads came."

By 1890, East Contra Costa had become the largest wheat producer between New Orleans and San Francisco.

"Wheat was shipped overseas to Europe," said Leighton, author of "Footprints in the Sand," a book about East County history. "It was so hot here that wheat did not contain much moisture. It traveled well because there was no mildew."

Today, downtown Brentwood is an increasingly upscale community of nail and wellness salons, cafes, even a wine-tasting business.

Locals regularly meet at Caffe Bacio, where owner Mayor Mike McPoland, wearing a blue apron, will serve a political statement or a steaming latte.

McPoland's restaurant, dubbed "City Hall Annex" by the city's staff, is where Brentwood's movers and shakers hobnob about new development or close deals over hickory-smoked turkey sandwiches and chicken-and-dumplings.

New people, new ideas
On a recent morning, BMWs, Lexus sport-utility vehicles and Mercedes jammed downtown streets, an indication of the city's evolving socioeconomic position.

"We want to become a go-to place downtown," said Steve Cropper, a co-owner of Brentwood Wine Store, which opened on First Street in November.

He and his wife, Jane, moved to Brentwood in 1990 because it had an honest rural charm that reminded them of their home in Berkshire County, England.

"We wanted something closest that we could find to our roots," said Cropper, leaning his elbows on the caramel-colored tasting bar inside his shop. "At the time, Brentwood was the closest. And in some ways, it still is."

As the city spreads its wings, no one can predict whether Brentwood will be able to preserve its farm ambiance.

De Fremery, the retired land developer who founded the Brentwood Rotary Club in 1949, said few people recognize him anymore when he makes a trip downtown.

And when he opens a kitchen window at his circa 1890s farmhouse, he can hear the growing city bearing down on his doorstep.

Only a few hundred yards from his country house, near De Fremery Drive, the Brentwood Park subdivision, with approval for 245 homes, is taking shape, one ringing hammer blow at a time.