[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 114 (Wednesday, September 5, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1586]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CELEBRATING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CITY OF BRISBANE, CALIFORNIA

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                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 5, 2001

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues to join me in 
celebrating the 40th anniversary of the incorporation of the City of 
Brisbane, California. This picturesque city, located just south of the 
City of San Francisco, boasts wonderful views of the San Francisco Bay. 
It may have been incorporated for only 40 years, but its storied and 
diverse history goes back centuries.
  The story of Brisbane begins with the Tribes of North Americans known 
collectively as the Ohlone, who inhabited the Bay Area and the slopes 
of San Bruno Mountain. These tribes lived off the land, which provided 
an abundance of rabbit and deer, and the Bay provided shellfish.
  By 1776, Spanish settlers had arrived, and Franciscan Missionaries 
followed soon after. The mountains were used for grazing sheep and 
cattle of the Mission Dolores de San Francisco de Assisi. When the 
Mission period of California's history came to an end, these same lands 
were secularized and dispersed as part of the Mexican land grants of 
the 1830's and 1840's.
  Mr. Speaker, the first land grant for the area that would later 
become Brisbane, was made to Jacob Leese in 1837. Mr. Leese named his 
new territory, ``Rancho Canada de Gaudalupe la Visitacion y Rodeo 
Viejo,'' but he then lost most of his land to settle a gambling debt. 
Charles Crocker purchased over 3,000 acres of the grant from Mr. Leese 
in 1884 for a small payment. Crocker was more successful in managing 
his land than Mr. Leese, and the properties eventually passed to the 
Crocker Land Company, which generated profits from the land through 
ranching and quarrying.
  For the next quarter of a century, few people lived on the land that 
was to become the Brisbane. It was not until the early 19th century 
that attention was focused on the Peninsula as a location for 
residential development. Following the great San Francisco earthquake 
of 1906, people began looking toward the Peninsula as a refuge for 
earthquake victims. In 1908, the first subdivision map in the Brisbane 
area was recorded, establishing saleable lots, in what was then called 
``The City of Visitacion,'' which is now the location of downtown 
Brisbane. There was little development, however, until the 1920's and 
30's when the area began to flourish and took on the name ``Brisbane.''
  Mr. Speaker, those who came to Brisbane during the Great Depression 
and World War were filled with the American spirit, and they came to 
make a better life for themselves and their families. In Brisbane, land 
was cheap and people were able to put up a basic shelter until they 
could afford better housing. The community helped by assisting men with 
the building and women with the meals, and numerous volunteer and civic 
organizations assisted people in times of need. A community in every 
sense of the word, the residents of Brisbane shared the good times with 
their neighbors and banded together to get through the difficult 
periods. By the late 1930's the town had a post office, a library, 
public schools, a hotel, several small markets, a volunteer fire 
department and a weekly newspaper.
  By the 1950's, Brisbane was well on its way to becoming a modern 
town. A lack of local capital, inadequate civic services, and the 
concern that powerful neighboring communities might dictate Brisbane's 
future led some citizens to consider incorporation. Others, however, 
were fearful that becoming a city would result in the loss of the small 
town character everyone valued. When the County of San Mateo began to 
discuss bulldozing Brisbane through an urban renewal program, matters 
came to a head and an election was held on the issue of incorporation. 
On September 12, 1961, voters overwhelmingly voted for incorporation.
  The newly incorporated City included a mere 2.5 square miles. It was 
clear that additional land would be necessary to increase the city's 
tax base and to protect Brisbane from inappropriate and environmentally 
damaging development. The City solved these problems by annexing 700 
acres of land which housed Southern Pacific and PG&E properties in 
1962.
  Despite incorporation and the ensuing expansion, Brisbane faced 
numerous developmental concerns. The Crocker Land Company still owned 
essentially all of unincorporated San Bruno Mountain as well as the 
Crocker Industrial Park in the Guadalupe valley directly to the north 
of the city limits. With San Francisco to the north and the cities of 
the Peninsula to the south, the area in and around Brisbane was ripe 
for development, and the community felt the pressure.
  Over the next thirty years, the small but feisty City of Brisbane has 
led the fight to preserve both San Bruno Mountain, and the unique 
character of the Brisbane community. Citizens fought a plan to cut off 
the top of San Bruno Mountain and dump it in the Bay. Later, the city 
was able to prevent massive development of San Bruno Mountain with a 
projected population of over 60,000 people. The city was also able to 
defeat another proposal to build high-density housing in the area. 
Brisbane citizens led the battle to preserve San Bruno Mountain as a 
state and county park and worked to protect rare and endangered species 
on the mountain.
  In 1983, the Northeast Ridge of San Bruno Mountain and Crocker 
Industrial Park were annexed to Brisbane as a package, with the 
Industrial Park providing revenues necessary to service any development 
on the Northeast Ridge. In 1989, the City approved a development plan 
for the Ridge, thereby completing Brisbane's expansion.
  Mr. Speaker, in its brief history since incorporation, the City of 
Brisbane and its citizens have worked to balance expansion with 
protection of the natural beauty of the surrounding area. Brisbane's 
residents possess an independent spirit which has fueled this balanced 
expansion since the beginning of the 20th century. I am delighted and 
honored to represent the Brisbane and its extraordinary people in 
Congress, and I urge my colleagues to join me in congratulating the 
City of Brisbane on the 40th Anniversary of its incorporation.

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