Billionaires fighting to build new ‘utopian city’ with ‘jobs for everyone’ in California are forced to back down as they make embarrassing admission
A Silicon Valley-backed initiative to build a “green city” for up to 400,000 people on farmland in the San Francisco Bay Area has been shelved in an embarrassing setback.
The city would be built from scratch on a piece of land 60 miles north of San Francisco that is now rolling prairie. But tech billionaires say the plan, which called for the city to be up and running within a decade, was unrealistic.
The California Forever campaign was set to hit the ballot in November, but a Solano County report released last week raised questions about the project, concluding that despite billionaire backing, the project “may not be financially viable.”
“While the need for more affordable housing and good-paying jobs is legitimate, the timing has proven to be unrealistic,” explained Mitch Mashburn, chairman of the county’s board of trustees, who stressed that the project “was a mistake” without an environmental impact statement.
A Silicon Valley-backed initiative to build a green city for up to 400,000 people in the San Francisco Bay Area on land zoned for agriculture has been put on hold for two years
An environmental assessment will now be carried out before construction work begins. The plans call for streets dominated by pedestrians and cyclists, with outdoor cafés filling the town square
“This politicized the entire project, made it difficult for us and our staff to work with them, and forced everyone in our community to take sides.”
On the November ballot, voters would be asked to allow urban development on the 27-square-mile tract of land between Travis Air Force Base and the city of Rio Vista in the Sacramento River Delta that is currently zoned for agriculture.
The land-use change is necessary to build the housing, jobs and walkable city center that Jan Sramek, a former Goldman Sachs trader who heads California Forever, proposes.
But the group has now suddenly decided that it will follow the normal provincial procedure for zoning plan changes for the piece of land proposed for development.
The group is funding a full environmental impact assessment and reimbursing the province for the time its staff and consultants spent on the project.
Solano County supervisors were scheduled to discuss the report Tuesday, but organizers have now abruptly withdrawn the measure and say they will try again in two years and send the package to local voters for approval.
The investor group acquired approximately 53,000 acres in the region, valued at $1 billion, near Travis Air Force Base
A map is shown of a new proposed community in Solano County, California
The report found that the new city would likely cost the region billions of dollars and create significant financial shortfalls, while drastically reducing agricultural production and threatening local water supplies.
California Forever’s website described the city as an “opportunity for a new community, good-paying local jobs, solar farms and open space.”
California Forever said project organizers would work with the county over the next two years on an environmental impact statement and a development agreement.
Postponing the vote “also creates an opportunity to revisit the plan and incorporate input from more stakeholders,” a joint statement from the county and California Forever said Monday.
“We are who we are in Solano County because we do things differently here,” Mitch Mashburn, chairman of the county’s board of supervisors, said in the statement.
“We are taking the time to make informed decisions that are best for the current generation and future generations. We want to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to be heard and get all the information they need before they vote on a General Plan amendment of this magnitude.
California Forever founder and CEO Jan Sramek had previously angered locals by secretly buying more than $800 million worth of farmland and even suing farmers who refused to sell. He has pushed for the project to get back on track
The plans promise to create ‘walkable, middle-class neighborhoods that we can afford’
The project has been met with widespread opposition, including from conservation groups and some local and federal officials, who say the plan is a speculative money grab rooted in secrecy.
Sramek has previously angered locals by secretly buying up farmland worth more than $800 million, even suing farmers who refused to sell. He has insisted, however, that the project will be put back on track.
At one point the group also used a front company to purchase land from Rio Vista westward toward Travis Air Force Base.
The sale of the land, near a military installation, led to rumors that foreign spies were buying the land to obtain military secrets.
“We want to show that it is possible to move faster in California,” Sramek said, acknowledging that the group had to follow the proper process. “But we now recognize that it is possible to reorder these steps without affecting our ambitious timeline.”
“For every year we delay, thousands of parents in Solano miss more mornings, recitals and bedtime stories because they have to commute two hours to work. They can’t get those magical moments back.”
The Solano Land Trust, which protects open spaces, said in June that such large-scale developments “will adversely impact Solano County’s water resources, air quality, transportation, farmland and natural environment.”
The company described the area as “one of the worst for agriculture in Solano County. Land that has not been able to grow much for years.”
Advertisements for the proposed community promise $400 million in down payment assistance for residents and 15,000 new jobs with “good wages in manufacturing and technology”
Sramek said he hopes the new city will have 50,000 residents within 10 years.
The proposal included an initial $400 million grant to help residents buy homes in the community, as well as an initial guarantee of 15,000 local jobs with a minimum salary of $88,000 per year.
Sramek’s blueprints for the new, walkable community, powered by green energy, show tens of thousands of homes surrounded by ample open space and trails.
The drawings also show that the city is noticeably car-free, with pedestrians and cyclists predominating.
Sramek has said he hopes to have 50,000 residents in the new city within the next decade
Images shared by the group show rolling landscapes with families enjoying a picnic among a grove of trees, while young people cycle
Other proposed amenities include commercial buildings and parks. An image shows people kayaking through a nature reserve.
The plans also include proposals to plant 1 million olive trees and orchards.
At 50,000 acres, the project is gigantic in scale. For comparison, the city of San Francisco itself is only 30,000 acres, while Manhattan is 14,500 acres.
The billionaires say they want to transform unused farmland into “middle-class neighborhoods with affordable housing.”
High-end sports facilities were also included in the plans, with the group already committing $500,000 to the planning phase.
Facilities for baseball, football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, tennis, gymnastics and swimming would be added, and players from across the region would be able to play.
Jan Sramek, a 36-year-old billionaire, appears to have been quietly working on his plan for California Forever since 2017
Sramek, the leader of California Forever, is a 36-year-old financial prodigy who made his name and fortune at the age of 20 as an emerging markets trader at Goldman Sachs’ London office.
As a secondary school pupil in York, Sramek broke the British record for A-level exams by scoring 10 As in several subjects. He then went on to graduate from the London School of Economics.
In 2009, at just 22, Sramek became the youngest financier ever to be included in the Financial News’ annual list of 100 “Rising Stars.”
A few days after his 24th birthday, Sramek mysteriously left Goldman Sachs and disappeared from the spotlight.
Sramek has since moved to the Bay Area and has been quietly working on his plan for California Forever since 2017.