Discovery Bay, California

History

Discovery Bay began as a planned community in 1964, and originally designated as "Riverside" and "River Lake." It was built on land known as the Byron Tract, which was previously used for growing barley and potatoes. In 1968, Jurgen Lunding led an effort to give the community its current name.

In July 2007, Discovery Bay received its own ZIP code: 94505. Formerly, it had shared 94514 with Byron. The ensuing celebration included a paddle boat raft-up that set a world record.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 6.9 sqmi, of which 5.6 sqmi of it is land and 1.4 sqmi of it (19.5%) is water.

19 miles of 100-year flood protection levees maintained by Reclamation District 800 provide flood protection for part of the reclaimed swampland beneath Discovery Bay. But most residences (the waterfront properties with San Francisco Bay delta access) are not levee-protected.

Government

Discovery Bay is one of the unincorporated areas in California that has a community services district (CSD), a special district that provides some basic services that are usually provided by the county. The primary duties of the area's community services district, known as The Town of Discovery Bay Community Services District, are handling water, sewer, landscaping and recreation. The CSD Board has five members who are elected by community residents. While the CSD Board has no land use or zoning authority, the CSD can advise the county on decisions related to police and fire services, residential and commercial development, and more.

In December 2016, the CSD Board announced that Discovery Bay resident Mike Davies would become the general manager of CSD, effective January 3, 2017. He would replace the interim manager, Catherine Kutsuris. Davies had served as a police officer in Brentwood, California, including five years as chief of police there. Retiring from Brentwood Police Department in 2006, he was hired at the California Police Officers Standards and Training organization in Sacramento.

Demographics

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Discovery Bay first appeared as a census designated place in the 1980 United States census.

2020 census

The 2020 United States census reported that Discovery Bay had a population of 15,358. The population density was 2,746.4 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of Discovery Bay was 68.0% White, 4.8% African American, 0.7% Native American, 5.9% Asian, 0.5% Pacific Islander, 5.2% from other races, and 14.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.7% of the population.

There were 5,525 households, out of which 32.8% included children under the age of 18, 63.3% were married-couple households, 6.6% were cohabiting couple households, 15.8% had a female householder with no partner present, and 14.4% had a male householder with no partner present. 16.6% of households were one person, and 7.7% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.78. There were 4,267 families (77.2% of all households).

The age distribution was 22.5% under the age of 18, 7.1% aged 18 to 24, 21.7% aged 25 to 44, 31.2% aged 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 43.9years. For every 100 females, there were 101.0 males.

There were 6,063 housing units at an average density of 1,084.2 /mi2, of which 5,525 (91.1%) were occupied. Of these, 83.7% were owner-occupied, and 16.3% were occupied by renters.

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $154,792, and the per capita income was $64,234. About 5.0% of families and 6.0% of the population were below the poverty line.

Education

Almost all of Discovery Bay CDP is in the Byron Union School District, while a small portion of the CDP is in the Knightsen Elementary School District. All of it is in the Liberty Union High School District.

There are two K–5 schools in the Byron district, and both were named California Distinguished Schools in 2012: Discovery Bay Elementary and Timber Point Elementary. Excelsior Middle School is located in Byron and is the district's sole 6–8 school. Major renovations and new buildings were completed at Excelsior Middle School in 2012. It was a California Distinguished School in early 2004. High school students (9–12) in all of Discovery Bay are zoned to attend Liberty High School in the Liberty Union High School District, located in nearby Brentwood. Liberty High School students have founded an arts group known as "PADA" and have arranged with city officials to allow select students to paint and personalize certain electrical boxes, walls, etc. in the theme of the town. Plans for a fifth high school on the south side of State Route 4 are on hold.

References

References

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4. [https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/discoverybaycdpcalifornia U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Discovery Bay CDP, California] Retrieved November 2, 2022
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6. Lemyre, Rick. "The History of Place Names in Contra Costa." ''Brentwood Press''. December 16, 2011.
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9. [http://www.californiataxdata.com/pdf/csd.pdf What is a Community Services District]. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
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