Brentwood is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population is 66,854 as of 2022, an increase of 287% from 23,302 at the 2000 census.
Brentwood was settled by Euro-Americans in the late 19th century. The community is still known throughout the Bay Area for its agricultural products - primarily its cherries, corn and peaches. Due to urban sprawl, many of the old farms and orchards have been replaced by suburban properties and developments since 1990. Brentwood is increasingly residential, with the rate of population growth in the triple digits during the 1990s, and 69% from 2000 through 2010. As of currently, estimates put the population at around 65,350; a 26.5% increase from 2010.
History
Brentwood was originally laid out on land donated from property owned by John Marsh, an East Contra Costa County pioneer who acquired Rancho Los Méganos, the land grant that Brentwood is built upon, in 1837 from Jose Noriega. Marsh was one of the wealthiest men in California and was instrumental in its becoming independent from Mexico and part of the United States. His letters extolling the potential for agriculture in California were published in newspapers throughout the East. They resulted in the first wagon trains to California. Marsh encouraged this, and allowed new arrivals to stay on his ranch until they could get settled. Rancho Los Méganos became the terminus of the California Trail.Lyman, George D. John Marsh, Pioneer: The Life Story of a Trail-blazer on Six Frontiers, pp. ix, 237–49, The Chautauqua Press, Chautauqua, New York, 1931. Brentwood was named after Marsh's ancestral home, the town of Brentwood in the County of Essex, England.
Brentwood's first post office was established in 1878. The city incorporated in 1948.
Balfour, Guthrie & Co., a British investment company, purchased the John Marsh ranch in 1910. The company invested heavily in other California agricultural properties as well. In 1910, it built the Brentwood Hotel at Oak Street and Brentwood Boulevard, across from the railroad station. This replaced an earlier hotel on the same site that had burned down in 1903. The hotel was razed in 1967, and replaced by a service station.
The Brentwood water tower perhaps symbolizes the city's transition from a rural farm community to a modern bedroom community. This landmark on Walnut Boulevard, across the street from the Brentwood Park and Ride lot, is the tallest structure in the city. It is no longer used for its original purpose, but now serves as a cell phone tower. City water is stored in large tanks atop hills outside the city.
The city is bordered on three sides by the Contra Costa County Agricultural Core which consists of 11,000 acres of preserved and still actively productive farm land.
During the mid-2000s, many retail stores were built along the Brentwood/Antioch border on Lone Tree Way, on both sides of SR 4, about from downtown Brentwood. This includes Lone Tree Plaza (includes The Home Depot), which was opened in 2004. The Streets of Brentwood, an outdoor lifestyle retail center, along Sand Creek Rd opened in 2008.
The city broke ground for a new civic center in November 2009. The Mission-style architectural inspiration for City Hall, the main building, was the 1910 Brentwood Hotel. The $60 million project, completed in May 2012, includes the 58,000-square-foot City Hall and state-of-the-art City Council Chambers, a 32,000-square-foot community center, 280-space parking garage and redevelopment of the -acre City Park. The community center also includes arts and crafts rooms as well as studios for dance classes and community exercise programs. The center received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver certification for amenities such as green roofs, biosales, permeable paving and infiltration planters. City departments began moving into the new facility in October 2011, and the former city hall was demolished during November 2011.
Indigenous history Brentwood was home to the Julpuns who settled mainly in the upper corner of the East Bay. The Julpun were Native Americans who were a part of the Bay Miwok tribes who spoke the same language in an area, which is a branch of the Eastern Miwok Language. The Bay Miwok tribes would generally include 50–200 people in each village, where they would build their villages along the creeks since they were filled with fish. The Julpun believed that everything in the world had a life or spirit and were very in tune with the nature around them. They set things as sacred where they would pray at as part of their religious beliefs, they ended up coining Mt. Diablo, or as they call it Supremenenu, as the birthplace of the world. Due to this, they would hold the top points of Mt. Diablo to be used for sacred gatherings or religious purposes.
Back then the Julpun were never reached out to by ethnographers or linguists when the Julpun still retained their language, the Bay Miwok. They weren't mainly concentrated but spread out from the San Joaquin River to the bottom part of Marsh Creek which is now the southern part of Brentwood. Between 1806 and 1808 few of the Julpun migrated over to Mission San Jose with about 100 or so went by 1813. Later on Milliken listed down that about 141 Julpun members were baptized by 1819 from Mission San Jose. As time went on, Mission San Jose converted from religious beliefs and values to secular institutions where the Julpun members ended up leaving in 1836 back to their original territory. John Marsh ended up acquiring Rancho Los Meganos from Jose Noriega in 1837 which would cover modern Brentwood and back then cover the Julpuns territory. However, due to Mission San Jose revoking the spiritual possession it once had, the Julpuns may have gone back to their territory and ended up working under John Marsh on the land where their home once was.
In present time the Julpun tribe have more or less settled around the Bay Area. Some are living in specific groups, while others are living in society where they are preserving their native culture even though they may be away from their tribes. They (the Julpun) are working with the National Park Service, where they united under one federally recognized tribe called the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria.
Geography
As is common with many East Bay towns in Contra Costa County, Mount Diablo is clearly seen from Brentwood. Brentwood is located on the alluvial plain of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. In the picture shown at right, Brentwood lies center right and the city of Antioch lies center left. North Peak appears in the foreground between the two cities and largely hides the city of Oakley.
The East Bay Regional Park District is a special San Francisco Bay Area district operating in the East Bay counties of Alameda and Contra Costa. East Bay Regional Park District trails and parks are found in Brentwood.
Brentwood has a total area of , of which is land and or 0.13% is water. The landscape on the west is marked by rolling hills, non-native grasses, oak trees, fruit orchards, and vineyards, with a number of public golf courses.
Climate Brentwood borders on the Mediterranean climate (Csa) and Semi-arid climates (Bsh). Like most of East Contra Costa County, Brentwood lies in the rain shadow of Mt. Diablo and receives less rainfall than many of its neighbors. The wet season is generally October through April, though there may be a day or two of light rainfall in June or September. Summer heat is often moderated by the Delta breeze, especially in the late afternoon, causing temperatures to cool rapidly.
Government The City of Brentwood operates under the City Manager form of government. Under policy direction of the City Council, the City Manager serves as the Chief Administrative Officer of the city; assumes full responsibility for planning, administering, directing, overseeing, and evaluating the activities and operations of all City departments. The following city departments report directly to the manager: City Attorney City Manager Community Development Engineering Finance and Information Systems Human Resources (HR) Parks and Recreation Brentwood Police Department (BFD) Public WorksCity of Brentwood official website Official City of Brentwood Website
Brentwood City Council Seats The Mayor of Brentwood is Susannah Meyer, the former Vice-Mayor; the current Vice-Mayor is Pa'tanisha Pierson (D2). The rest of the Brentwood City Council seats are fill by Faye Maloney (D1), Jovita Mendoza (D3), and Tony Oerlemans (D4).
Brentwood Police Department (BPD) Brentwood established its own City Police Department in 1948, when it was primarily a small agricultural community. The first police vehicles was the Ford cars, purchased from Brentwood Motors (now Bill Brandt Ford). Today, it serves an area of , divided into four geographic areas. "City of Brentwood: Police." Accessed March 9, 2017 The police department's current fleet included the Ford Police Interceptor Utility vehicles, motorcycles, and an Emergency Rescue Vehicle.
The Brentwood Police Department was located at 9100 Brentwood Blvd beginning in 2005. Tim Herbert is the current police chief, appointed in Sept 2022.
Fire Protection Fire protection is provided by the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (CCCFPD), who annexed East Contra Costa Fire Protection District (ECCFPD) in 2022. This district reports to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors. Resources are shared with the communities of Oakley, Bethel Island, Knightsen, Byron and Discovery Bay. It also covers certain unincorporated areas of the county. The fire district was headquartered in the Brentwood City Hall building. Prior to the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District, Brentwood was served by the East Diablo Fire Protection District from 1984 to 2002. Prior to this, the Brentwood Fire Protection District from 1928 to 1984 protected the area.
The fire district had to close two fire stations in 2015 because of funding issues. This has left only three stations to cover an area of 249 square miles. One station remains open in Brentwood, Oakley, and Discovery Bay.
Delta Patrol Station The Delta Patrol Station, a unit of the Contra Costa County Sheriff's office has signed an agreement with the City of Brentwood to move its existing office from Oakley to a larger space in Brentwood. The Delta Patrol Station has occupied a 1920s era building for over four decades, and has been looking for a larger facility in East County to serve the growing population for faster response in unincorporated Contra Costa County areas (e.g., Byron, Discovery Bay and Knightsen). Response time for Bethel Island is expected to remain the same.Prieve, Judith. "Sheriff's Office Delta Station to be relocated to Brentwood." Brentwood News. December 14, 2018. Accessed December 15, 2018.
Education
Public schools Almost all of the city is in the Brentwood Union School District (BUSD), while a small portion is in Knightsen Elementary School District. All of it is in Liberty Union High School District (LUHSD). - Text list
BUSD and LUHSD combined have nine elementary (plus one digital academy), three middle (Bristow Middle School, Edna Hill Middle School, and Adams Middle School), and four high schools (Independence High School, Liberty High School, La Paloma High School, and Heritage High School).
The Brentwood Union School District runs on a modified traditional school calendar. The Brentwood Union School District has many schools designated as a California Distinguished School. Approximately five percent of California schools are awarded this honor.
Community college