Chaparral Estates

Metropolitan Development was the company whose 1974 court settlement with Ventura County let the rest of Oak Park be built, and these tracts followed within a few years. County assessor records show most houses on four plans of about 1,690, 1,910, 2,210 and 2,400 square feet, a little over half of them two-story, with some later enlarged. Lots run from about 6,500 square feet on the western streets to half an acre or more on hillside lots at the east end.

There is no homeowners association, and the streets are public. Chaparral Park and the Medea Creek trail are at the west end, and Sunrise Meadow Ridge Trail starts from Smoke Tree Avenue; the 2018 Woolsey Fire destroyed one house in the eastern section. Brookside Elementary, Medea Creek Middle and Oak Park High are nearby.

The lay of the land

Curving streets of 1970s plan homes, with Chaparral Park and the Medea Creek trail at the west end and Sunrise Meadow Ridge trailheads at the east end of Smoke Tree Avenue.

Chaparral Estates is a real-estate name. It does not appear on the tract maps, and sources disagree on where it starts and stops. This guide follows the three Metropolitan Development Corporation tracts (2444, 2445 and 2621), which county assessor records group together. Conejo Valley Guy's profile counts only about 50 to 100 homes, some agent maps place the Tract 2621 streets in Oak Park Tract, and at least one real estate website uses the name for older Tract 1873 streets such as Bayberry and Tamarind.