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Thousand Oaks

Thousand Oaks is home to Amgen Inc., the largest biotechnology company in the world and the county's largest private employer. The economy is strong and includes dot-coms and other technology firms. At the same time, people repeatedly look for ways to preserve the community's rural past.

The city is surrounded by a ring of open space, and local groups and the city continue to buy more land to save it from development. There are hiking trails in residential neighborhoods.

In some areas, people still keep horses in their back yards. And longtime residents remember Jungleland, where movie studios kept their large animal performers. Family-owned businesses and their simple storefronts have a strong presence along Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

But the specialty chains in The Promenade at Westlake and The Oaks shopping centers on either end of the main street are the greater draw. So the city and private landowners have plans to spruce up the area in the middle. Some of the smaller businesses fear they won't survive the retail Darwinism as the area improves and rents rise.

Vital statistics

Location: 25 miles east of Ventura

Origin of name: The name, presumably for the area's oaks, first appears on a tract map in 1923.

Official flower: Conejo buckwheat

Official tree: Native oak, valley oak and coast live oak

ZIP codes: 91319, 91320, 91358, 91359, 91360, 91361, 91362
Conejo Valley: 91360
Westlake Village: 91359, 91362

Incorporation date: Oct. 7, 1964

Type of government: General law; city manager, council/mayor

Average annual high temperature: 76 degrees

Average annual low temperature: 49 degrees

Average annual rainfall: 14.98 inches

Elevation (near City Hall): 759 feet