Brentwood Press - Index

Brentwood Press - WelcomeMagazine_08.09 - Index

byRon
Town of Byron
The unincorporated farming town of Byron, nearly 1,000 residents
strong, is one of East County’s smallest communities. Byron is governed
by the county’s Board of Supervisors, but the Byron Municipal
Advisory Council (BMAC) – comprised of local residents – advises the
board on issues of land and growth germane to the community.
In addition, the BMAC confers with the East County Regional
Planning Commission and the Zoning Administrator on such issues
as land use, planning and zoning, and represents Byron before the
Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) on proposed boundary
changes that could affect the community.
Another agency, Reclamation District 800, is responsible for the
maintenance and operation of levees in and around the Sacramento/
San Joaquin Delta. The district is governed by a five-member board
of directors elected by local landowners.
Byron’s irrigation water is managed by the Byron-Bethany Irrigation
District. Police services are provided through the Contra Costa
County Office of the Sheriff; fire and emergency services are provided
by the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District 1, Station 57.
This year, the Byron Airport began work on a $7 million expansion
program, the first upgrade for the county-owned airport in nearly 10
years. The Byron Sanitary District’s wastewater treatment facility is
also in the midst of a renovation and modernization update.
Byron is home to the famous Byron Hot Springs. Known for its
healing waters, mud baths and luxurious accommodations, the hotel,
built in the late 1800s, was a popular location for celebrities and
politicians in the 1930s. The springs’ current owners are planning to
restore the spa to its once-pristine condition.
Known for its healing hot springs,
mud baths and luxurious hotel
accommodations from the late
1800s to the 1930s, Byron Hot
Springs had a secret identity in
the early 1940s. In 1942, the
United States government bought
the hotel and turned the palace
of pleasure into an interrogation
center for Japanese and German
prisoners of war. It was known as
Camp Tracy. In 2007, Japanese
film crewmembers came to the
Byron facility to film ground and
aerial shots for a documentary of
the camp.
BYRON
DIRECTORY
ToWn of byRon
Byron Municipal Advisory Council
634-0917
Rick Kendrick
John Hoyt
Kathy Leighton
Shawn Guinn
Nick Papadakos
Ken Graunstadt
Office of the Sheriff Contra Costa County
646-2441
East Contra Costa Fire Protection District
Emergency response: 911
District Office: 634-3400
134 Oak St., Brentwood
Byron Sanitary District
634-4100
Byron-Bethany Irrigation District
634-3534
Reclamation District 800
634-2351
1540 Discovery Bay Blvd.,
Discovery Bay
www.rd800.org
Welcome! The Magazine of East County 2008-2009