Tamarac, Florida

Tamarac, Florida
City
Flag Seal Logo
Motto:  "The City For Your Life!" [1]
Location of Tamarac, Broward County, Florida
Coordinates: 26°12′45″N80°15′00″W / 26.21250°N 80.25000°W / 26.21250; -80.25000
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Broward
Incorporated	August 15, 1963 [2]
Government
• Type	Commission-Manager
•  Mayor	Michelle J. Gomez
•  Vice Mayor	Morey Wright, Jr.
•  Commissioners	Elvin Villalobos, Kicia Daniel, and Marlon D. Bolton
•  City Manager	Levent Sucuoglu
•  City Clerk	Kimberly Dillon
Area [3]
•  City	12.08 sq mi (31.28 km2)
• Land	11.60 sq mi (30.03 km2)
• Water	0.48 sq mi (1.25 km2)
Elevation	9 ft (3 m)
Population  (2020)
•  City	71,897
• Density	6,200.69/sq mi (2,394.08/km2)
•  Metro	5,564,635
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes	33309, 33319, 33320, 33321, 33351, 33359
Area code(s)	954, 754
FIPS code	12-70675 [4]
GNIS feature ID	0300337 [5]
Website	www.tamarac.org

Tamarac is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 71,897.

History

Monochromatic depiction of the city's first official seal, used from 1963 to 1991.

In the early 1960s a young developer named Ken Behring came from the Midwest and bought land where he could, creating an active adult community of two-bedroom maintenance-free homes. He called his new city Tamarac, named after the nearby Tamarac Country Club in Oakland Park. ^[6]

In 1963, Behring built and Jesse Pilch sold the city's first development east of State Road 7, Tamarac Lakes Section One and Section Two. Next came two neighborhoods of homes built on a former orange grove called Tamarac Lakes North and Tamarac Lakes Boulevard. Four of Behring's last developments were Tamarac Lakes South, then the Mainlands of Tamarac Lakes just west of State Road 7, and finally the Woodlands community. ^[7]

The city's early leaders, hoping to preserve Tamarac as a bedroom community, allowed Fort Lauderdale to annex commercial pockets, forever losing land that might have bolstered the city's coffers. In the late 1970s, the city de-annexed a long line of commercial buildings from State Road 7 all the way to Northwest 31 Avenue, but it went along with Behring's vision of Tamarac as a bedroom community. The boundaries were wherever Behring decided to build homes. The city's current eastern boundaries narrow to a sliver from Northwest 31 to 37 Avenues, then widen to the south. The city's easternmost boundary extends below Commercial Boulevard to Northwest 16 Avenue. ^[8] City officials had once considered revising their east city limit lines to ensure efficient delivery of government services. ^[9]

Behring also named a subdivision he built in the Pinellas Park area, the "Mainlands of Tamarac By-the-Gulf".

Geography

The approximate coordinates for the City of Tamarac is located at 26°12′13″N80°14′47″W / 26.20361°N 80.24639°W / 26.20361; -80.24639 (26.203581, –80.246376). ^[10]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.1 square miles (31.3 km²), of which 11.6 square miles (30.1 km²) is land and 0.46 square miles (1.2 km²) is water (3.92%). ^[11]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1970	5,193		—
1980	29,376		465.7%
1990	44,822		52.6%
2000	55,588		24.0%
2010	60,427		8.7%
2020	71,897		19.0%
U.S. Decennial Census [12]

2010 and 2020 census

Tamarac racial composition
(Hispanics excluded from racial categories)
(NH = Non-Hispanic)

Race	Pop 2010 [13]	Pop 2020 [14]	% 2010	% 2020
White (NH)	29,579	21,741	48.95%	30.24%
Black or African American (NH)	13,304	22,877	22.02%	31.82%
Native American or Alaska Native (NH)	73	69	0.12%	0.10%
Asian (NH)	1,504	2,223	2.49%	3.09%
Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian (NH)	18	24	0.03%	0.03%
Some other race (NH)	274	673	0.45%	0.94%
Two or more races/Multiracial (NH)	962	2,415	1.59%	3.36%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	14,713	21,875	24.35%	30.43%
Total	60,427	71,897

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 71,897 people, 27,330 households, and 15,437 families residing in the city. ^[15]

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 60,427 people, 27,833 households, and 15,279 families residing in the city. ^[16]

2000 census

In 2000, the city the population was spread out, with 13.4% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 37.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 53 years. For every 100 females, there were 80.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.3 males.

As of 2000, 15.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.8% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.6% were non-families. 36.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 2.56.

In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $34,290, and the median income for a family was $41,927. Males had a median income of $32,317 versus $28,360 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,243. About 6.1% of families and 8.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.5% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2000, speakers of English language as a first language were at 78.08% of the population, while Spanish was at 13.69%. Also, Yiddish was at 1.90%, French at 1.15%, Haitian Creole consisted of 1.12%, Italian made up 1.08%, German comprised 0.62%, and Hebrew as a mother tongue made up 0.52% of residents. ^[17]

Over the years, the multicultural population has expanded in Tamarac, such as people from Latin American and Caribbean ancestry. As of 2000, Tamarac was the fifty-first-most Colombian-populated area in the U.S., with 2.74% of the population. ^[18] It also had the thirty-second-highest percentage of Jamaicans in the U.S., (tied with Royal Palm Beach and Goulds) at 4.1% of all residents. ^[19]

Education

Broward County Public Schools operates public schools. ^[20]

Elementary schools in the Tamarac city limits include:

• Challenger Elementary School ^[21]
• Tamarac Elementary School ^[22]

Other elementary schools serving sections of Tamarac include Discovery Elementary School (Sunrise), ^[23] Pinewood Elementary School (North Lauderdale), ^[24] Park Lakes Elementary School (Lauderdale Lakes), ^[25] Oriole Elementary School (Lauderdale Lakes), ^[26] and Lloyd Estates Elementary School (Oakland Park). ^[27]

Millennium 6–12 Collegiate Academy is the sole public secondary school in Tamarac; it was previously only a middle school, but its high school began operations in 2017. ^[28] Tamarac has a middle school attendance zone serving the majority of the city (sections of the city limits west of NW 81 Avenue). High school students are not zoned to Tamarac; preference is given to those who attended Millennium middle, and those wishing to attend the high school must be eligible for dual-enrollment with Broward College. ^[29] Other sections are served by Silver Lakes Middle School in North Lauderdale, ^[30] Lauderdale Lakes Middle School in Lauderdale Lakes. ^[31] and James S. Rickards Middle School in Oakland Park. ^[32]

Much of Tamarac is zoned to J. P. Taravella High School in Coral Springs, ^[33] and Piper High School in Sunrise, ^[34] with Taravella serving northern areas and Piper serving southern areas. ^[35] Other sections are assigned to Boyd H. Anderson High School in Lauderdale Lakes and Northeast High School in Oakland Park. ^{[36] [37]}

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami operates Saint Malachy School in Tamarac. ^[38]

References

1. "Tamarac Florida Official Website". Tamarac Florida Official Website. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
2. "Broward-by-the-Numbers (pages 3-5)" (PDF). www.broward.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 10, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
3. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
4. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
5. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
6. "Our Name: Solved!". Tamarac Historical Society. January 9, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
7. "Tamarac Florida Official Website". Tamarac Florida Official Website. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
8. "An Elusive East Side Story". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Retrieved September 2, 2001.
9. "Tamarac's City Boundaries Make No Sense At All". South Florida Sun Sentinel.
10. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
11. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Tamarac city, Florida". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
12. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
13. "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Tamarac city, Florida". United States Census Bureau .
14. "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Tamarac city, Florida". United States Census Bureau .
15. "S1101 HOUSEHOLDS AND FAMILIES - 2020: Tamarac city, Florida". United States Census Bureau .
16. "S1101 HOUSEHOLDS AND FAMILIES - 2010: Tamarac city, Florida". United States Census Bureau .
17. "Tamarac, Florida". Modern Language Association . Retrieved July 23, 2007.
18. "Ancestry Map of Colombian Communities". Epodunk.com. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
19. "Ancestry Map of Jamaican Communities". Epodunk.com. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
20. "Future Land Use Map." City of Tamarac. Retrieved on September 27, 2018.
21. "Challenger Elementary." Broward County Public Schools. Retrieved on September 27, 2018.
22. "Tamarac Elementary." Broward County Public Schools. Retrieved on September 27, 2018.
23. "Discovery Elementary." Broward County Public Schools. Retrieved on September 27, 2018.
24. "Pinewood Elementary." Broward County Public Schools. Retrieved on September 27, 2018.
25. "Park Lakes Elementary." Broward County Public Schools. Retrieved on September 27, 2018.
26. "Oriole Elementary." Broward County Public Schools. Retrieved on September 27, 2018.
27. "Lloyd Estates Elementary." Broward County Public Schools. Retrieved on September 27, 2018.
28. Reyes, Junette (September 6, 2017). "Tamarac welcomes the first public high school". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
29. "Millennium." Broward County Public Schools. Retrieved on September 25, 2018.
30. "Silver Lakes." Broward County Public Schools. Retrieved on September 25, 2018.
31. "Lauderdale Lakes." Broward County Public Schools. Retrieved on September 27, 2018.
32. "Rickards." Broward County Public Schools. Retrieved on September 27, 2018.
33. "J.P. Taravella." Broward County Public Schools. Retrieved on September 27, 2018.
34. "Piper High." Broward County Public Schools. Retrieved on September 27, 2018.
35. Huriash, Lisa J. (May 10, 2016). "Tamarac could see first high school in 2017". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
36. "Boyd H. Anderson." Broward County Public Schools. Retrieved on September 27, 2018.
37. "Northeast High." Broward County Public Schools. Retrieved on September 27, 2018.
38. "Saint Malachy". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami. December 30, 2003. Archived from the original on December 30, 2003. Retrieved May 9, 2020. 7595 NW 61st Street Tamarac, Florida 33321

External links

• Official website
• Tamarac, Florida at City-Data.com
• Tamarac Historical Society