Concerned Californians gathered earlier this month to protest a billionaire group’s efforts to build a 53,000-acre “walkable and green” city.
California Forever, a group of Silicon Valley tech titans, hopes to create a new city in a rural area 60 miles northeast of San Francisco.
But residents have rejected the idea. They include the approximately 200 people who attended a Solano County Water Authority meeting about the group’s proposal to fund a study on improving the county’s water supply.
California Forever called the proposal a “free lunch” for the community in a press release.
Brian Brokaw, a spokesman for the group and its subsidiary Flannery Associates, ruled naysayers’a small but vocal minority.”
Solano County residents gathered for a rally to protest a billionaire-backed group’s attempts to build a utopian city on rural land (Photo: An artist’s rendering of the California Forever site)
Flannery Associates says the proposed new city will be ‘walkable and green’, create thousands of jobs and ‘bring back the California Dream’
‘“We have learned from both our past polling, our more recent research, and our community involvement that many people are either supportive or indecisive, but very open-minded,” Brokaw told The Daily Beast.
He added: ‘Because of all the secrecy and intrigue surrounding the project in recent years, people will become skeptical and suspicious.’
During the meeting, five people, including California Forever founder Jan Sramek, spoke in support of the project, while more than 20 people voiced their opposition.
Biology professor Jim DeKlowe called the proposal an “oligarchic town” and expressed concern that its development would harm local swamps.
He said it was an “undermining of the democratic process” and a waste of “40 years of planning.”
Another local resident, Jeanne McCormack, said her family had inhabited the land for more than 100 years.
“We’re not going away and we’re not going to work together,” she said. “And I will die trying to stop this from happening.”
The board ultimately decided to stop the discussions.
The group is led by former Goldman Sachs trader Jan Sramek (pictured) and backed by tech giants including LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman
At the meeting earlier this month, five people, including Sramek, voiced support for the project billed as “walkable and green,” while more than two dozen people voiced their opposition.
Flannery has been buying up land near Travis Air Force Base in Solano County, Northern California, raising concerns about potential safety risks
Flannery Associates drew the ire of Solano Country residents when the group began buying acres of land six years ago.
It has spent more than $800 million discreetly buying up portions around Travis Air Force Base in Solano County and acquired another 814 acres in October, meaning it now owns more than 53,000 acres in the region.
Flannery says the proposed new city will be “walkable and green,” create thousands of jobs and “bring back the California Dream.”
But the controversy is ongoing, as earlier this year Flannery attacked a group of farmers who refused to sell their land, accusing them of conspiring to increase its value.
The group is currently embroiled in a $510 million lawsuit, according to court documents seen by DailyMail.com.
The land purchases also concerned lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, who raised concerns about the project’s proximity to Travis Air Force Base.
These fears inspired a national security investigation by the Treasury Department, which continues even after the founders were exposed in late August.
Flannery Associates is led by former Goldman Sachs trader Jan Sramek and backed by tech giants including former Sequoia Capital chairman Mike Moritz, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen.
According to province data, the group acquired another 814 hectares in October, meaning it now owns more than 53,000 hectares in the region.
Despite rising tensions, the group says the project is gaining momentum, indicating they now have all the necessary land to begin construction of the city.
“With respect to future acquisitions, other than a few remaining properties that Flannery has under contract and will close in the coming weeks, Flannery has assembled all the land it needs and does not expect to make any additional acquisitions,” the company said in a statement declaration. rack.
The investors want to build “a new community, solar farms and a green belt of agriculture and habitat in eastern Solano County,” according to the project website.
“This would create thousands of good-paying jobs, new pathways to homeownership for the middle class in safe, walkable neighborhoods and a new source of clean energy for every Solano County resident,” it adds.
In November, Solano County residents will vote on whether to change a local growth ordinance to allow for the development of a new city.
California Forever’s ballot proposal, due early next year, will include the most detailed description of the project yet.
Until then, the group is trying to gain community support by hosting town halls and announcing a “Community Advisory Committee” of 21 residents.