In the 1990s, Oak Ridges experienced moderate growth, which spurred environmental action by numerous organizations.

Oak Ridges can sometimes be considered separate from Richmond Hill, given the differences in current and future development patterns and plans and a large natural area forming a physical separation between Oak Ridges and urban Richmond Hill.

Wholly situated on the Oak Ridges Moraine, much of its terrain is hilly, with pine forests and small creeks still prospering in the east and southwest.

This development was part of a contentious political battle that ultimately became an issue in the 2003 Ontario provincial election.

Before earning protected land status in the 1990s and 2000s the area to the east of Lake Wilcox was a popular ATV and dirt-bike location for local residents.

Oak Ridges was established along Yonge Street in 1799 by Joseph Geneviève and a group of French Royalists, who were granted land to settle by the British government.

Geneviève soon departed to search for another site to settle, and by 1840 the settlement and the area from the King-Vaughan town line to the 15th sideroad became known as Oak Ridges.

Oak Ridges had been in steep decline in the 1960s, largely due to high unemployment, lack of commercial development and motorcycle gang activity, specifically around Lake Wilcox.

[citation needed] However, in recent decades, suburbanization stimulated growth in the community, after being annexed by Richmond Hill.

Oak Ridges was the site of the first methadone clinic in Ontario; it opened in 1995, but has since moved to Newmarket,[1] due to lack of patronage and local support.

The site has seen fierce opposition and has been surrounded at entry points by road barriers spray painted with phrases such as, "No Subdivision".

The barriers interfere with preparations regarding the shortage of sewer allocation from the York Region and the developers have been waiting to build.

In the 2003 Ontario provincial election the Liberal party promised to halt development on the Oak Ridges Moraine, specifically in Richmond Hill.

Opposition has been minimal after Richmond Hill Town Council voted to open up almost all protected land to development.

Currently, there is extensive development occurring along King Road, where older existing housing from the 1950s is being torn down, making way for higher density townhomes.

[12] Yonge Street is the main transportation artery through the community, running north to Aurora and south to Richmond Hill.

The CN Bala Subdivision (Toronto - Orillia - Sudbury) rail line lies to the east but has no station in Oak Ridges currently.

York Region Transit is the public transportation system, who also operate the Viva Blue bus service; a limited-stop route which travels on Yonge Street from Finch subway station to Newmarket, passing through Oak Ridges stopping along Yonge St at: Bloomington Road, Regatta Avenue, and King Road.

The Oak Ridges Community Centre sits on the eastern shore of Lake Wilcox, boasting a gym, basketball courts, olympic sized pools and more.