Closeness is comfort in Victoria

(Editor’s note: This is one in a series of monthly stories taking a close-up look at neighborhoods in Petaluma.)

As many families have learned, sharing a short driveway with other families and living in very close quarters with them can be way too close for comfort, and lead to strained relations.

But according to many residents of the Victoria neighborhood — known for its many quad-style housing groupings, among other things — this situation has nurtured intimate friendships and close collaboration.

“This particular design is unique, and was an experiment,” said Tom Corbett, who has resided with wife Linda on B Street since 1991. “If you have a bad neighbor, it can be troublesome, but we have lots of good neighbors. We even have barbecues together.”

“We haven’t had a chance to get to know a lot of the people in our neighborhood — but our quad is tightly knit,” said Jan Gelatti, who has lived on the 200 block of Cambridge Lane since 2002.

The friendships, rather than tension, fostered by the quad arrangement reflects the cohesive, mutually supportive and friendly qualities of the Victoria neighborhood, say several of its residents.

“One of the things that attracted us to the neighborhood was the camaraderie of the people,” said Robert Billings, who has lived on Oxford Court with his family for the past 14 years. “We live on a cul-de-sac, and that has made it easy to get to know our neighbors. The kids all play together and the adults get together to go golfing and do other things.”

“We get together for all sorts of activities. It seems that any time you get four or more neighbors talking, it’s an excuse for a gathering,” said Pam Granger, who has lived with husband James on Oxford Court for the past 16 years.

“Last year, four kids on our block graduated from Petaluma High School. Three of them live right next to one another, and so we just went from home to home for graduation parties,” said Susan Jaderstrom, who has lived with husband Mark on Oxford Court since 2001.

“We’ve had block parties in which everyone brings a dish and we get to know each other — it’s very neighborly,” said Mike Harris, a Petaluma City Council member who has lived on Cambridge Street for the past two years.

“On our block, there are 21 homes, and all the families know one another. We have quite a variety of families,” said Kathleen Piro, who has lived on Oxford Court with husband Bob for less than a year.

“The neighborhood has evolved over time from a new development into an established community where people really do look out for one another and are quick to come to the help of neighbors in need of any short-term support in feeding pets, watering plants, bringing in the mail and carpooling with kids,” said Frances Rivetti, who has lived with her husband, Timo, and three sons on Cambridge Lane for the past seven years.

Many Victoria residents also display this helpful attitude toward the community, in general.

“We are lucky to have a lot of civic-minded individuals in our neighborhood,” Granger said. “It has spawned many people who are willing to be active in the community and who are active in public and private schools.

“And, of course, we buy and buy . . . Girl Scout cookies, school fundraisers . . . whatever it is, we support it.”

Granger, one of the neighborhood’s initial residents, described its formation.

“We were all new to the neighborhood, which was about equally divided between people who had lived in Petaluma and outside people,” she said. “At first, we seemed to all have kids who went to school together and played with one another. That bonded us, and the friendships have remained.

“Over the last five to seven years, there has been an age turnover as the children have grown up and moved on to college. And there has been a true effort by long-term residents to integrate new families into the community.”

Statistics show that the median age of neighborhood residents has increased from 42.1 years in 1990 to 46.2 years in 2007, and that the portion of residents over 44 years old has grown from 45.3 percent to 51.9 during this time. Perhaps the most striking demographic changes are the increase in households earning over $75,000 per year from 19 percent to 62.8 percent and the rise from 5.3 percent to 25.2 percent in residents with a graduate degree.

Many of the new families, like the original residents, were drawn to the area by its beautiful scenery and country feel.

“The general beauty of the area, and the hills around it, almost give the neighborhood a rural aspect. Cattle are behind our home, and I can tell by the mooing if a cow is giving birth,” said Helen Thompson, who has lived on the 1200 block of B Street for the past 13 years.

The 216-acre Helen Putnam Park, adjacent to the neighborhood, offers panoramic views of southern Sonoma County and northern Marin County, as well as hiking, bicycling and horseback-riding trails. The park also has a large fishing pond, gazebo, picnic area and children’s playground.

“Because of its scenic location on the western edge of town, Victoria is regularly traversed by hikers and cyclists, and so many Petaluma residents are familiar with our neighborhood,” Rivetti said. “We enjoy dramatic, vista views from nearby hiking trails in Helen Putnam Park and up by the water tower and through the West Haven development.

“(But) my absolute favorite aspect of living in this neighborhood is being able to view the constellations at night. Removed from the city lights, the night sky above Victoria is simply stunning.”

This natural beauty of the area blends with the attractiveness of the neighborhood, including well-maintained homes and yards.

“I like the way the neighborhood is maintained — it always looks neat,” Thompson said. “We have a homeowners association here, and it makes up rules as to what we can and can’t do regarding upkeep.”

“Generally, homeowners associations can be very restrictive, so I was a little reluctant to move here,” Corbett said. “But it’s well managed, and isn’t as costly as many of them.”

While the homeowners association and general camaraderie of residents have fostered a well-organized, nearly idyllic community in many respects, not everything is perfect.

Neighbors complained of strong winds and poor cell phone access, and have been disturbed by teenagers talking late at night in the park and cars doing 360s on the lawns in two small playground areas.

But generally, they praise the quietness of the neighborhood, and seem to feel that its few problems are far out-weighed by its many appealing natural features and interesting creatures, including hungry cows.

“At our house, cows are on the other side of a fence, and we feed them carrots. One day, the fence blew down, and all the cows came into our yard,” said B Street resident Judy Cooper, laughing.

(Contact Dan Johnson at dan.johnson@arguscourier.com. John Jackson, Yovanna Bieberich and Corey Young contributed to this story.)