Hope Ranch is an unincorporated suburb of Santa Barbara, California

Santa Barbara, California

Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...

, located in Santa Barbara County. As of the 2000 census, the area had an approximate population of 2,200. The ZIP code

ZIP Code

ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...

s are 93105 and 93110, and the community is in area code 805

Area code 805

North American area code 805 is a California telephone area code. Area code 805 includes most or all of the California counties of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura, plus southernmost portions of Monterey County....

.

History

Hope Ranch is named after Irishman Thomas Hope, who purchased the land in 1861 on which to raise sheep. Following his death in 1876, his heirs sold the ranch for $250,000 to the Southern Pacific Railroad

Southern Pacific Railroad

The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....

, who intended to develop the land. It was not until Harold Chase purchased the land in 1923 that the area was developed into the residential area that exists today.

Geography

Since it is not a census-designated place

Census-designated place

A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...

, the boundaries are informal, except where they coincide with incorporated regions. On the east Hope Ranch is bounded by the City of Santa Barbara, on the north by Modoc Road, Hollister Avenue, and Vieja Drive, on the west by a vacant tract of land known as More Mesa, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

.

Geology

Hope Ranch occupies a hilly area immediately adjacent to the coast; the highest elevation is 691 feet (210.6 m). The northern boundary of the hilly area is Cieneguitas Creek, which flows down the topographic expression of the More Ranch Fault; this ravine also helps define the informal northern boundary of the suburb. Native vegetation is mostly California oak woodland

California oak woodland

California oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico...

 and chaparral

Chaparral

Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...

, and many of the homes have been constructed to blend in with the oaks; the area retains much of its tree canopy. Residential roads are narrow and winding, not always signed, and interweave with an elaborate network of horse paths. A road to a private beach is open to residents only (although the beach itself is accessible from public beaches on either side).

Access

The local homeowner's association manages the properties of private roads, horse paths, and the private beach. The private regions are not governed by conventional police. Instead the law enforcement of these regions are the privately enrolled "Hope Ranch Patrol," who have only limited law enforcing powers. This group is controlled by the board of Hope Ranch and is in no way connected to either the City of Santa Barbara Police Department or the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department.

The main stretch of road through Hope Ranch is Las Palmas/Marina Drive, a beautiful palm tree-lined stretch of roadway along which runs the coastal bike route. Hope Ranch is home to La Cumbre Country Club and Laguna Blanca School

Laguna Blanca School

Laguna Blanca School is a private school located in Santa Barbara, California on two different campuses.Founded in 1933, Laguna Blanca is an independent, co-educational, college-preparatory day school for students in grades K-12 is Santa Barbara.-History:...

, an independent day school, which was founded in 1933.

Hope Ranch is one of the wealthiest areas in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

; the median home price was $2.61 million in 2006.

Famous residents of Hope Ranch

• Wendy McCaw - Billionaire Owner of Santa Barbara News Press
• H.R. Haldeman family - H.R. Haldeman was White House Chief of Staff under Richard Nixon. H.R. After his term, Haldeman lived in Hope Ranch until his death in 1993.
• Snoop Dogg
  Snoop Dogg
  Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
  
   - purchased a house in November 2006.
• Fess Parker
  Fess Parker
  Fess Elisha Parker, Jr. was an American film and television actor best known for his portrayals of Davy Crockett in the Walt Disney 1955-56 TV mini-series and as TV's Daniel Boone from 1964-70...
  
   - Actor and businessman.
• Vera Ralston
  Vera Ralston
  Vera Ralston was a Czech figure skater and actress. She later became a naturalized American citizen. She worked as an actress during the 1940s and 1950s.-Early life:...
  
  - Figure skater and actress.