Formation & Early Years
Formation
The Petition
In February 1949, more than fifty Sleepy Hollow residents signed a petition asking Marin County to do something no one had done for their small community before: guarantee it fire protection. On February 28, the County Board of Supervisors said yes — unanimously — adopting Resolution No. 1566 and creating the Sleepy Hollow Fire Protection District. Three neighbors — Julius Selinger, Patrick Quigley, and John Gottschalk — were appointed as its first Commissioners, serving until residents could elect their own board that spring.
A Deliberate Choice
From day one, the District made a choice that still defines it today: rather than build and staff its own fire department, SHFPD would secure protection from others and hold them accountable for delivering it.
In the early 1950s, that meant relying on the Marin County Fire Department, whose crews reached Sleepy Hollow from Woodacre through the old Bothin Tunnel under White’s Hill — a long way to travel when minutes matter. The gap became obvious in 1951, when the County pulled Sleepy Hollow’s one pre-positioned fire truck back to Woodacre while its local warden was on leave. Founding Commissioner Julius Selinger pushed back publicly, arguing that fire protection couldn’t be left to individual fire chiefs’ discretion — it needed formal, guaranteed cooperation between agencies.
Growing Pains
A Dispute Over Costs
By the mid-1970s, that same instinct — insist on a seat at the table — was tested for the first time. In 1975, San Anselmo, whose fire department had protected Sleepy Hollow since 1956, asked SHFPD to help pay for a new $542,000 downtown fire headquarters, on top of what the District already paid for service. SHFPD said no, standing on its existing contract and the fact that it hadn’t contributed to the Town’s original station in 1961 either. San Anselmo’s Town Council considered taking the matter to court.
Finding Common Ground
Rather than fight it out in Superior Court, SHFPD asked its own voters what they wanted. In November 1975, District residents approved a property tax increase by nearly two to one — not to break away, but to give the District options, including the possibility of building its own station if a fair agreement couldn’t be reached.
The County stepped in to help mediate, and after a tense year that included a public threat to close the Butterfield Road station (a move SHFPD’s Board called a “scare tactic”), a new ten-year contract was signed in May 1976 — giving SHFPD advance notice of San Anselmo’s fire-budget discussions and a standing annual joint meeting.
The dispute was never really about the money — it was about having a voice in decisions the District was paying for, and the new contract gave it one.