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Waverly Park can be summed up by one event, according to Vickie Chegwidden, resident since 2009 with her husband, Scott.

"The Fourth of July celebration epitomizes the neighborhood," she said. "Everyone rolls their barbecues out into the court."

This social aspect is part of what drew the couple to the neighborhood with their two children, Alice and Joseph.

"They're just down-to-earth, loveable people," Chegwidden said. "It's very much what we need for a family."

The neighborhood, bounded by Grant Road, Highway 85 and Sleeper and Bryant avenues, used to be an orchard owned by Joel Levin in the mid-1800s. Development began in the 1960s.

Today, the last parcel of land -- formerly a pumpkin patch -- is the site of the new Enclave houses. The development was not without controversy, much of it surrounding traffic, which was already known to be a hassle.

"Until you actually live in the neighborhood you don't realize how bad the traffic is," Chegwidden said. Still, both she and her husband have reasonable commutes -- that was one reason they chose the neighborhood, which has quick access to highways 85, 101, 237 and 280.

One impact of the development happened right in the Chegwiddens' hot tub -- a displaced beehive moved in. Instead of just calling the exterminator, they put an ad on Craigslist and quickly found a volunteer to come pick up the live bees, which were a rare "wild Italian" strain. The family watched from the house because part of the extraction process involved smoke.

"It smelled like stinky stuff!" piped up Alice.

Todd Fernandez has lived in the neighborhood with his wife, Catherine Moore, since 2003, the year their older child was born.

"We were ready for a little more space," he said.

When possible, Fernandez and his family beat the traffic by biking with their daughter to school or to the nearby Safeway.

"Waverly Park appealed to us with its rich open space resources," he said. "Stevens Creek Trail reaching the neighborhood a few years ago has been a fantastic addition and provides another great connection to the rest of the city that doesn't require a car."

Much of the neighborhood socialization, for Fernandez, takes place out and about.
"It's fun to walk around the neighborhood and meet up with (my daughter's) friends from school, kids I've coached," he said. "It's a nice mixture of longtime and newer residents."
Sometimes, though, people can be a little shut-in, he noted.

"People get home and the garage door comes down," Fernandez said. "It's not like everyone's out on the front porch like Middle America."

One of Fernandez's favorite aspects of the neighborhood comes from a bit farther afield.
"The open space area behind Huff really puts the mountain view in Mountain View," he said.

-- Emma Trotter

FACTS
CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS: El Camino YMCA, 2400 Grant Road; Mountain View Parent Nursery School, 1299 Bryant Ave.; Primary Plus, 333 Eunice Ave.; St. Timothy's Nursery School, 2094 Grant Road; YMCA Way to Grow Full-Day Preschool, 1501 Oak Ave., Los Altos (nearby)
FIRE STATION: No. 2, 160 Cuesta Drive
LOCATION: bounded by Grant Road, Highway 85 and Sleeper and Bryant avenues
PARKS: Cooper Park, Chesley Avenue at Yorkton Drive, Cuesta Park
POST OFFICE: Blossom Valley, 1768 Miramonte Ave.
PRIVATE SCHOOLS: St. Joseph, 1120 Miramonte Ave.; St. Francis High School, 1885 Miramonte Ave.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Mtn. View-Whisman School District -- Huff Elementary School, Graham Middle School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District -- Mountain View High School
SHOPPING: Blossom Valley Shopping Center, Miramonte Avenue at Cuesta Drive; Grant Park Plaza; Nob Hill Shopping Center, Grant Road; Downtown Mountain View
MEDIAN 2012 HOME PRICE: $1,463,500 ($955,000-$2,342,595)
HOMES SOLD: 50

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