Where is North Fair Oaks?
Plan Area: North Fair Oaks
North Fair Oaks is an unincorporated portion of San Mateo County, bounded by the cities of Redwood City to the north, west and southwest; Atherton to the east; and Menlo Park to the northeast. Highway 82/El Camino Real runs along the southwest boundary of North Fair Oaks, Highway 101 runs just to the east of the area’s eastern border of Bay Road, and Highway 84/Woodside Road runs just to the northeast of the community. North Fair Oaks has never been incorporated as a city with its own government, nor has it been annexed to any of the neighboring cities, rather the area is part of the County of San Mateo.
Caltrain runs directly through North Fair Oaks, and the Southern Pacific Railroad Dumbarton Spur line also transects the community, running roughly northwest to southeast. However, there are no train stations or ready access to rail transit within the community. The closest Caltrain station, providing north-south service to San Francisco and San Jose, is located in Redwood City, approximately 1.5 miles from North Fair Oaks.
North Fair Oaks is 798 acres in size with a diverse mix of land uses and consists of multiple areas of distinctly different character. In the central area there are neighborhoods with predominantly Latino families living in multi-unit dwellings as well as single-family homes on small lots. The Middlefield Road commercial district includes a mix of commercial businesses, body shops, personal services, and nonprofit organizations.
North Fair Oaks is home to approximately 15,000 residents and 4,000 housing units. Seventy percent of North Fair Oaks residents speak Spanish and a quarter of the population does not speak English. San Mateo County and the City of Redwood City have partnered to locate a branch of the city’s library in North Fair Oaks, the Fair Oaks Health Center, and also provide staff for the North Fair Oaks Community Center. Redwood City and San Mateo County also support St. Francis Center’s low- to extremely-low income housing programs and its Siena Center youth center.
North Fair Oaks History
North Fair Oaks is one of the oldest communities in San Mateo County, with settlement dating to the 1850s. Much of the area was developed during two boom eras, one following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and another occurring just before and after World War II. North Fair Oaks was originally part of a larger area known as Fair Oaks that included much of present-day Atherton, but when Menlo Park and Atherton incorporated in the 1920s, the area between the two communities that is now North Fair Oaks remained unincorporated.
North Fair Oaks initially developed as a largely suburban, low-density single-family residential community, not unlike adjacent parts of Atherton and Menlo Park, with transportation based primarily around the automobile. The area has a rich history of Mexican immigration. In 1942, the federal Bracero Program issued temporary U.S. work permits to Mexican citizens to ease labor shortages in the United States. Many Mexican citizens immigrated and settled in North Fair Oaks in the 1940s-1960s. Today, North Fair Oaks is a diverse community, including a mix of both lower and higher density housing, a variety of commercial establishments, small- and large-scale industrial establishments, and many nonprofit organizations that provide services to the community.
