Tech billionaires backing a sweeping proposal to build an idealistic community from the ground up in the Bay Area released an aerial view of the project's plans for tens of thousands of homes surrounded by open space, trails and using renewable energy sources.
In the photo and an accompanying ad posted Wednesday, California Forever showed the community's proximity to the broader Bay Area, while touting that the Solano County project would turn unused farmland into “walkable, middle-class neighborhoods with homes that we can pay.”
The new material comes as California Forever is gathering signatures for a ballot initiative in Solano County that would amend zoning codes to allow the project to be built on agricultural land. With 13,000 valid signatures, the ballot measure titled East Solano Housing, Jobs and Clean Energy Initiative would go before voters in November.
Supporters of the project include Jan Sramek, a former Goldman Sachs trader who is CEO of California Forever; LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman; venture capitalist Marc Andreessen; and Patrick and John Collison, who founded the payment processing company Stripe.
The new announcement and renderings of the proposed utopia attempt to answer some of the questions locals have had about the project, which for years was shrouded in secrecy as tech billionaires quietly bought up farmland.
The project's proximity to Travis Air Force Base has been a point of contention. California Forever said the new community would be 4.5 miles from the base with a buffer zone where there would be nothing but agriculture and solar farms. The community would create a 712-acre open space with athletic fields and trails between it and neighboring Rio Vista, a city of about 10,000 on the Sacramento River.
Renderings of the community show picturesque open spaces where families can celebrate birthday parties and go on bike rides, along with tree-lined neighborhoods and a bustling downtown.
In the just-released announcement, backers say the project would use unused land “rated among the worst for agriculture in all of Solano County, land where for years and years, nothing has been able to grow.” The project promises to provide $500 million in down payment assistance, scholarships and parks for Solano County residents and 15,000 new, higher-paying jobs in manufacturing and technology.
The community would be designed to have 50,000 residents at first and then grow to 400,000.
The campaign faces opposition from the Solano County chapter of the Sierra Club, which said the homes should not be built on agricultural land. Neighbors in the area have also expressed concern about the effect on traffic.
If voters approve the ballot measure, other government approvals would be required. Environmental groups have signaled that lawsuits may be filed, which could stall the matter in court.
“An informed voter is the best kind of voter, and we found that the more Solano County residents learn about our project, the more they like it,” said Matt Rodriguez, campaign director for the Housing, Jobs and Clean Energy Initiative. East of Solano. . “We are excited to collaborate with members of the Solano County community and this is another opportunity for us to continue sharing information about how we plan to bring middle-class homes and good-paying jobs to Solano County.”
