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san jose neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
North Cambrian, San Jose Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
Cambrian's northern blocks, from Dry Creek Rd south to Camden Ave and from just west of S. Bascom Ave east to Leigh Ave, plus a small pocket west of Bascom on Dry Creek Rd. Some of these San Jose streets use Campbell's 95008 ZIP code.
North Cambrian by the numbers
north cambrian by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for North Cambrian: Dry Creek Rd to Camden Ave, S. Bascom Ave to Leigh Ave (approximate). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in north cambrian · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in North Cambrian
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in North Cambrian from the MLS, updated automatically, with a map of the neighborhood outline.
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Listings come from MLSListings and other MLSs through IDX and show their listing brokerage; confirm details with the listing agent. The map outline is the neighborhood boundary used by our listing search (North Cambrian: Dry Creek Rd to Camden Ave, S. Bascom Ave to Leigh Ave (approximate)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How North Cambrian came to be
Like the rest of Cambrian, this was orchard and farm country before World War II and filled with tract houses in the post-war boom. San Jose arrived in installments. City annexation records show about 50 separate annexations touching these blocks, most named for nearby roads ('Union No. 1' and 'Foxworthy No. 2' in 1955, then a run of 'Camden', 'Leigh' and 'Cambrian' pieces). Most were done by the mid-1960s, with stragglers into the 1980s and one as late as 2007.
The big civic project of the 1950s was a high school. Camden High School, designed by the Palo Alto firm Clark and Stromquist (Birge M. Clark and Walter S. Stromquist), was built in Cambrian in 1954. An architecture database notes the campus was later largely demolished, with a few portions reused as a community center and park. Today the civic anchor here is Camden Park, a 10-acre City park at 3369 Union Ave with the Camden Community Center and a public pool.
Two map quirks define the area. The City files the blocks east of S. Bascom Ave under its Willow Glen planning area, even though the schools, the MLS and most people call them Cambrian. And the mail doesn't follow the city line: City address records give about 1,100 of the 3,400 addresses in this outline Campbell's 95008 ZIP code, even though every one of them is in San Jose. Those are the S. Bascom Ave frontage, part of Elden Dr, and the strip west of Bascom on Joseph Ave, Vizcaya Cir, Montavo Pl and the east end of Shamrock Dr.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
S. Bascom Ave runs diagonally down the west side. Just north of Curtner Ave, Union Ave peels off it and runs due south to Camden Ave, and Curtner Ave and Foxworthy Ave cross east-west toward Leigh Ave. In between are post-war tract streets: Lantz Ave, Willester Ave, Elden Dr, Pauline Dr, Kirby Way, Nicholas Dr, Schrader Dr and Cambrianna Dr in the middle; Gunar Dr, Shulman Ave and Harris Ave toward Leigh Ave; and a cluster of Spanish-style names by the west end of Camden Ave: Paseo Del Oro, Paseo Del Sol, Via Carmen, Via Del Mar, Casa Mia Dr and Casa Nueva Ct.
West of S. Bascom Ave is a narrow San Jose strip that is easy to mistake for Campbell. Joseph Ave and the courts off it (Tomasina, Angela, Darien and Fazeli courts, Ida Dr, Montavo Pl) are mostly multifamily addresses in City records. Vizcaya Cir and Vizcaya Way, with Curtner Glen, Pescara, Dresser and Merlone courts, are single-family. All of them are San Jose with 95008 addresses and Cambrian schools. Across the back fences, Shamrock Dr, Salerno Dr and Olympia Ave are mostly in the City of Campbell, so the city name on the tax bill matters more than the ZIP code.
Single-address lots mostly run about 6,100 to 8,300 sq ft on the county parcel map, a little larger than the tracts east of Leigh Ave. Most residential land is zoned R-1-8 single-family, with pockets of R-1-5 and R-2 and denser zoning along S. Bascom Ave. The General Plan's S. Bascom Ave (South) urban village covers the Bascom frontage. City growth-area data plans for about 270 new homes and 500 jobs there, so expect mid-rise mixed use there over time rather than on the side streets.
West of S. Bascom Ave, between Union Ave and Bascom north of the point where the two roads meet, the guide also takes in a small San Jose pocket that is easy to mistake for Campbell. Dry Creek Rd runs west from Bascom to Union Ave past larger single-family lots (county parcel map, mostly about 9,000 to 17,000 sq ft and some over 20,000), with La Con Ct, Surrey Pl and Pine Bridge Pl nearby, and a few homes face Union Ave. Larger multifamily parcels front S. Bascom Ave. City annexation records show these blocks joining San Jose in pieces from 1958 to 1981 ('Leigh No. 4', 'No. 15', 'No. 16', 'No. 22' and others). Zoning is a mix of planned-development, R-1-5, R-2 and commercial zoning on the city's map.
streets in north cambrian
- S. Bascom Ave
- Union Ave
- Curtner Ave
- Foxworthy Ave
- Camden Ave
- Dry Creek Rd
- Lantz Ave
- Willester Ave
- Elden Dr
- Pauline Dr
- Gunar Dr
- Shulman Ave
- Harris Ave
- Cambrianna Dr
- Paseo Del Oro
- Casa Mia Dr
- Via Carmen
- Joseph Ave
- Vizcaya Cir
- Vizcaya Way
- Montavo Pl
- Taper Ave
- New Jersey Ave
- Leigh Ave
- La Con Ct
- Surrey Pl
- Pine Bridge Pl
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near North Cambrian
- park
Camden Park and Camden Community Center
About 10 acres at 3369 Union Ave (City park records), with a public pool, three pickleball courts, a soccer field, basketball, a playground and the City's Camden Community Center.
- shopping
Camden Ave, Curtner Ave and S. Bascom Ave shops
Grocery stores and other shops sit along Camden Ave, Curtner Ave and S. Bascom Ave inside the area; Cambrian Park Plaza is across Camden Ave at Union Ave.
- shopping
The Pruneyard (Campbell)
The Campbell shopping center at Bascom and Campbell avenues is about a mile north of the center of the area (straight-line).
- park
Doerr Park
Over Leigh Ave in the next neighborhood: about 11.6 acres with four tennis courts, six pickleball courts, soccer and softball fields and playgrounds (City park records), under a mile straight-line from the center.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Every block here is in the Cambrian School District and the Campbell Union High School District (Census and City district maps and county tax-rate areas agree), including the San Jose streets with Campbell 95008 addresses. No public school sits inside the outline. Fammatre Elementary (2800 New Jersey Ave) and Price Middle School (2650 New Jersey Ave) are just across New Jersey Ave on the east edge, Bagby Elementary (1840 Harris Ave) is just east of Leigh Ave, and Farnham Elementary (15711 Woodard Rd) is south across Camden Ave. The pocket west of S. Bascom Ave on Dry Creek Rd is also Cambrian School District and Campbell Union High School District (county tax-rate areas and Census district maps). Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with the district.
Cambrian School District guide · Campbell Union High guide · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- VTA Route 61 runs on Union Ave and S. Bascom Ave to downtown San Jose and Berryessa BART; Route 37 runs on Camden Ave to Winchester and Capitol light-rail stations. Check VTA's current schedules.
- Winchester light-rail station (Green Line) and Campbell station are in Campbell, each a little over a mile straight-line from the center.
- Highway 17 meets Camden Ave in Campbell about 1 mile west (straight-line); Highway 85 at Union Ave is about 1.4 miles south.
- Curtner Ave and Union Ave have striped bike lanes on City bikeway maps. The Los Gatos Creek Trail runs along the creek about a mile west, on the Campbell side.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in North Cambrian: what we check
Buying here
- A 95008 ZIP here does not mean Campbell. Confirm the city on the tax bill or county records. San Jose parcels follow City permits, rules and services, and the house across the back fence may be in Campbell.
- The City's wildland-urban interface map includes a small patch on S. Bascom Ave, roughly the 2380-2590 addresses between Union Ave and Dry Creek Rd. Read the fire-hazard and natural hazard disclosures for any address there.
- On S. Bascom Ave, the S. Bascom Ave (South) urban village allows more intensity over time. Check the City's General Plan map for parcels near a listing.
- For multifamily units on S. Bascom Ave, Joseph Ave and the courts, read the HOA documents, reserve study and any rental rules.
- FEMA maps this area as Zone D (possible but undetermined flood hazard). Read the natural hazard disclosure and ask your lender how it treats Zone D.
- In the pocket west of S. Bascom Ave, the city and the ZIP code can disagree. These parcels are City of San Jose, but county street data list Campbell as the postal community on Dry Creek Rd, La Con Ct, Surrey Pl, Pine Bridge Pl and most of the Union Ave and Bascom frontage, and county parcel records show a mix of San Jose 95124, San Jose 95125 and 95008 situs ZIPs; a few parcels on Chalet Woods Pl, Rue Montagne and Union Ave inside these lines are in the City of Campbell. Confirm the city on the tax bill, and note that the city's Wildland-Urban Interface map covers part of Dry Creek Rd, La Con Ct and Surrey Pl.
Selling here
- If your address is 95008, say early and plainly that the house is in San Jose, and give buyers the tax bill. It heads off confusion with Campbell.
- Give the school district from the Cambrian School District's own lookup instead of assuming from the ZIP code.
- Gather permits for additions and garage conversions from the City of San Jose before listing.
- For condos and townhomes, have HOA documents, budgets and any special assessments ready at launch.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
North Cambrian questions, answered
Is a 95008 address in North Cambrian part of Campbell?
Not necessarily. City address records show about 1,100 San Jose addresses here using Campbell's 95008 ZIP code, mostly on S. Bascom Ave and the streets just west of it. The city on the tax bill is what counts.
Is North Cambrian part of Willow Glen?
On the City's planning-area map, mostly yes; for schools, the MLS and everyday use, it's Cambrian. Every block is in the Cambrian School District.
Where are the nearest park and pool?
Camden Park at 3369 Union Ave has the Camden Community Center, a public pool, three pickleball courts and a soccer field. Doerr Park, with tennis and pickleball courts, is just east across Leigh Ave.
Which schools serve North Cambrian?
Cambrian School District for elementary and middle school and Campbell Union High School District for high school. Check the exact address with the district.
What could change along S. Bascom Ave?
The Bascom frontage is in the General Plan's S. Bascom Ave (South) urban village, which City data plans for about 270 new homes and 500 jobs over time.
Is Dry Creek Rd west of Bascom Ave in San Jose or Campbell?
San Jose. The blocks on Dry Creek Rd, La Con Ct, Surrey Pl and Pine Bridge Pl between Union Ave and S. Bascom Ave are City of San Jose, even though county street data give many of them Campbell's 95008 postal name. A few parcels on Chalet Woods Pl and Rue Montagne just north are Campbell. Check the tax bill.
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