Billionaire backers of new California city reveal map, details of proposed development
SAN FRANCISCO– The promoters of a secret, Silicon Valley-backed ballot initiative to build a new city on farmland between Sacramento and San Francisco released more details about their plan Wednesday as they file paperwork to qualify for the November election .
California Forever, the company that has secretly snapped up more than $800 million worth of land in Solano County in recent years, envisions a new community on about 48 square miles between Travis Air Force Base and the small town of Rio Vista. a presentation by the group.
The development would start with almost 20,000 homes for 50,000 residents. It could grow to 400,000 people — almost the current population of Solano County — but only if the project creates at least 15,000 jobs that pay above the average wage, the group’s backers say. The plans call for a medium-density downtown, with townhomes and apartment buildings, and jobs, schools, bars, restaurants and supermarkets all within walking distance.
But none of that can happen without the approval of the county’s voters, who in 1984 supported protections against turning farmland into urban space. That’s why Jan Sramek, CEO and founder of California Forever, and the project’s backers are turning to the vote. He will speak Wednesday about the project and the proposed ballot initiative, and the group must collect about 13,000 signatures from county voters to place it on the November ballot.
California and the San Francisco Bay Area are desperate for more housing, especially affordable housing for teachers, firefighters, police and other municipal workers who keep a city running.
Located between the Bay Area and the state capital, Solano County is an attractive location for military contractors, agricultural technology and construction technology companies looking to innovate, said Gabriel Metcalf, chief planning officer for California Forever.
Metcalf said if “we can provide businesses with a path to growth, we think we will have some major employers create jobs here that would otherwise leave the state to places like Texas.”
California Forever, founded in 2017, has purchased more than 120 square miles of farmland in Solano County. The plan calls for $400 million to help Solano County residents purchase homes in the proposed community.
But critics say existing cities like Vallejo and Fairfield could use investment from Silicon Valley and remain skeptical of Sramek and the project’s backers, including philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen.
“This is a utopia,” said Democratic U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, who was furious with lenders for their secrecy over properties near a U.S. air base.
He said the proposed development, which he was also briefed on, makes no sense “amid areas surrounded by wind farms, gas fields, endangered species, no water, no sanitation and no road network, let alone a highway system.”