Brisbane, Past and Future

By Clara A. Johnson

The formation of Brisbane's character and values holds instructive direction for the creation of our future.

The late Dorothy Radoff, Brisbane City Historian said "It seemed to me that the people who came here were very poor but they had this spirit of independence. They'd get these old boards or old tar paper, whatever, and put up these old shacks, you might say. But still it was your shack. It was your old tar paper. It was your old boards."

Jay Fichera who served on the Brisbane Volunteer Fire Dept Commission and who was a strong supporter of Brisbane's incorporation as a city recalled, " ...I would say that the primary reason for incorporation or at least the reason why we agreed to incorporate with so much speed at that time, was because we didn't want the supervisors of San Mateo County, or anybody else, to come in here and tell us what to do and how to do it, and to shove it down our throats. I don't think that the people of Brisbane will ever stand for that, from anybody."

The final quote is from the third chapter of the 1994 Brisbane General Plan the document that guides the actions of our city. It lists our goals as follows, "the City of Brisbane and its mountain will remain a place independent and distinct, with a small town quality and a volunteer spirit, where diversity is welcomed and everyone can participate in town meetings, and elected officials carefully consider the desires and needs of the citizens and govern through circumscribed rules and regulations, only as required for the public health and safety and the protection of the environment."

I'm very proud of those words from our General Plan. I was the Mayor when the plan was adopted by the City Council and when the Plan was affirmed by a 2 to 1 margin in an election challenging it. I worked with my colleagues for more than three years to achieve a thoroughly researched and reviewed Plan It included extensive some say exhaustive input from the people of Brisbane. Beyond the data and the preferences, I think we managed to get a bit of Brisbane's soul, its essence, into what is a state mandated document and we could do that because people cared and they were willing to contribute their hopes and dreams to the work.

We live in a town that has defined itself through conflict and nurtured itself with consensus. The consensus was achieved through the tenacity of our worthy predecessors who channeled their emotion and energy to a positive result. The outcome of all this turbulence and interaction has been a sense of identity and community. If we are going to hold on to our cherished sense of community, then we are going to have to be diligent in our efforts.

I have tried to be diligent. I served 5 years 10 months on the City Council. I served 2 years on the Planning Commission and 2 years on the Parks Beaches and Recreation Commission. The Loma Prieta Earthquake inspired me to found and develop a group of volunteers called the Community Emergency Volunteers that exist to help the professional emergency responders in a disaster and to promote disaster preparedness. I currently serve on the Open Space and Ecology Committee.

I am asking for your support as a candidate for the Brisbane City Council because I am concerned about our future. I am concerned that so many people feel that they don't know what is going on. We are experiencing many changes and there is either inadequate or non-existent information about the changes. People are too pressured by work and family obligations to attend City Council meetings and that is why they must be televised using the access cable channel with supplemental audio broadcast on FM for those without cable. The city newsletter, The Brisbane Star should be enlarged to provide more city news. The City Council should devote a meeting once a quarter to providing updated information on all city projects and medium and large size private projects to keep the citizens informed. If you elect me, I will hold office hours to hear your views on Wednesday evenings when the city hall is open.

The other compelling reason for my City Council run is our need for thoughtful and careful oversight of our land use. I am concerned that there will be proposal for a project on the Baylands. Any project there will be complex and detailed and we will need to do a very careful review at the City Council level as well as obtaining the people's views. There has not been the kind of thoughtful dialogue regarding land use issues that is needed when considering something that would have such a profound effect on us. If it is not handled well, develpment on the Baylands could undermine our community character. There is also a need to see land use in terms of our community goals. The council must carefully reflect on what decisions are made and what the ramifications of those decisions are. I am not satisfied with what is being done now and I believe that I can improve this situation as a Councilmember.

I have dreams for Brisbane and they include fulfilling the promise of the goals of the General Plan. I want to pursue more aggressively the environmental programs articulated in the plan. I applaud the current Council's work on Open Space but I want to educate and encourage citizens to do more, albeit in small ways, to improve our environment. The programs that I would promoted would designate citizens or businesses green for following environmentally sound practices. I want to move quickly to record the history and retain the cultural artifacts of Brisbane. I want a program to bring more cultural events to our city. I support assisting the schools. I support the teen center but I'm concerned that there is a need for better oversight of the center. Since we are spending more than $2,100,000 for a swimming pool that will cost more than $90,000 a year to maintain, I think that we should keep it open all year. This is a tremendous investment and it will be better protected by keeping it open and under watchful eyes also the schools could have a swimming program. I want to see the Bayshore Drainage Project include a linear park with a path for hiking and biking. It could become a link between the planned regional ridge and bayside trails. I want to curb airport noise but I don't want the bay to be filled to an extent that marine life, water and air quality are compromised. I want to work on providing affordable housing. We need to keep jobs and businesses here and I support retaining our businesses. We need more childcare providers. We need city sponsored forums dealing with health and family issues. I will support policies to encourage them. I will encourage greater disaster preparedness community wide. We must have our concrete tilt-up City Hall seismically reinforced. The City owes it to the citizens and its employees.

It is of vital importance that we keep our sense of community and unity with the people of our newest neighborhood, The Ridge. A sense of community and internal unity give us strength to endure when outside forces "come in here and try to tell us what to do and how to do it and try to shove it down our throats." I'm counting on you to help me keep Brisbane together. Elect me and I'll get to work.