Con: Only Brisbane can decide

There’s a David-vs.-Goliath scenario playing out in Brisbane right now that pits the town’s 4,300 residents seemingly against the other 7 million people who live in the nine-county Bay Area.

The battle is over a 660-acre parcel of land called the Baylands that has a toxic legacy. It was the former home to a rail yard and a landfill. Now it’s eyed for development as the landowner, Universal Paragon Corp., has proposed building 4,400 housing units on the site, which sits along the Caltrain corridor adjacent to Highway 101 and just a stone’s throw away from the San Francisco city line.

Brisbane residents have made it clear, however, they do not want to triple their town’s population.

Their stance led to threats of annexation by San Francisco lawmakers last year and a Chronicle editorial this year opining that Brisbane “must choose housing.” Sacramento lawmakers are also pressuring the City Council to dramatically change the character of this Mayberry-like town.

Earlier this month, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors received a letter urging it to convene a “focused discussion aimed at achieving a winwin compromise for the Baylands” that was signed by a host of high-tech giants including Marc Benioff of Salesforce, Timothy Burr of Lyft, Aaron Levie of Box and 35 others.

In the letter, they argue that the region is in the midst of a housing crisis and that San Mateo County has only met 52 percent of its housing creation goals in the past decade.

The Chronicle editorial board argued that the Baylands project “would also lessen the incredible pressure on the region’s housing stock.” Really? It’s true that most cities in the ninecounty Bay Area have been derelict in creating new housing, especially below-market-rate housing, as thousands and thousands of new jobs have been created.

Tiny Brisbane did not create this problem, nor is it a problem it must solve on its own.

There is no doubt the region has a housing crisis, but each city and county in the Bay Area decides its own fate.

I’m pretty sure the residents of Brisbane do not care what The Chronicle’s editorial board tells them they “must” do as the council is set to meet Aug. 31 to vote on the project.

This is a decision that only the residents of Brisbane can make.

This is Brisbane’s process. I suspect no matter how many meetings are held or how many letters sent or opinion pieces published, the residents of Brisbane will support the project they want on the Baylands — not what everyone else wants.

This is a local control issue. It’s about the democratic process.

It’s about the underdog facing bigger, stronger adversaries from all sides. But what the little David of Brisbane has in its slingshot is the power of its people. In 1961, when the town was incorporated, zoning decisions were given to its residents and council. It is they who make these decisions and no one else, just like any other city in California.

The process must be respected.