By the 1950's, Brisbane was well on its way to becoming a modern city. The County of San Mateo approved the development of Crocker Industrial Park which changed the entrance to town and virtually ignored the residents. Then the County began discussing bulldozing Brisbane homes under Urban Renewal which brought matters to a head and an incorporation election was held. On September 12, 1961, the voters of Brisbane were asked: "Shall the proposed City of Brisbane become incorporated as a general law city?" One thousand and six votes were cast. The response was overwhelmingly positive.

The newly incorporated city encompassed 2.5 square miles. Additional land would be necessary to increase the city’s tax base. Annexation of adjacent Southern Pacific and PG&E properties in 1962 added 700 acres of land to the north and east. Cracker Land Company still owned essentially all of unincorporated San Bruno Mountain as well as Crocker Industrial Park in the Guadalupe Valley directly to the north of the city limits. With San Francisco to the north and Peninsula cities to the south, the area was ripe for development pressure.

Over the next 30 years, the small but feisty City of Brisbane led the fight to preserve San Bruno Mountain and the unique character of the city. It was Brisbane that foiled a plan to cut off the top of San Bruno Mountain and dump it as fill into the Bay, that saved the Mountain from becoming the site of a huge development with a projected population of over 60 thousand people. Brisbane citizens led the battle to preserve San Bruno Mountain as a State and County Park.

A bit of Brisbane history, in Brisbane Directory 2004-2005, Published by the Brisbane Chamber of Commerce.