Rancho Cucamonga, California

and established the Rancho Cucamonga as a site for grazing their cattle. In 1839, the 13,000-acre rancho was granted by the Mexican governor of California to Tiburcio Tapia, a wealthy Los Angeles merchant. Tapia transferred his cattle to Cucamonga and built a fort-like adobe house on Red Hill. He also established the first winery in California. The Rancho was inherited by Tapia’s daughter, Maria Merced Tapia de Prudhomme, and her husband Leon Victor Prudhomme, and was subsequently purchased by John Rains and his wife in 1858. The Rains family’s home, Casa de Rancho Cucamonga, was completed in 1860 and now appears on the National Register of Historic Places. During the ensuing years the town around the Rancho prospered and grew. In 1887, irrigation tunnels were dug into Cucamonga Canyon by Chinese laborers and the Santa Fe Railroad was extended through the area. The town’s economic mainstay was agriculture, including olives, peaches, citrus, and, most notably, vineyards. Nearly one hundred years later, in 1977, the unincorporated communities of Alta Loma, Cucamonga, and Etiwanda voted to incorporate, forming the City of Rancho Cucamonga. Today, Rancho Cucamonga is a thriving community with beautiful neighborhoods, great shopping, and a diverse business sector employing thousands in high wage sectors. It is also a major center for the logistics industry in Southern California. Recently, Business View Magazine spoke with two representatives of Rancho Cucamonga’s government. City Manager John Gillison detailed some of the City’s recent energy efficiency and infrastructure projects, while Matt Burris, Deputy City Manager for Community and Economic Development, talked about housing and economic development issues. The following is an edited version of that conversation. BVM: John, can you begin with the City’s two flagship sustainability programs? Gillison: “In 2012, we partnered with our local council of governments that was doing an initiative where all cities were invited to submit RANCHO CUCAMONGA , CAL I FORNI A