VALLEJO, Calif. —
The minds behind a proposed new community in Solano County – known as California Forever — held the first in a series of community town halls Wednesday in Vallejo. Attendees, largely, were unenthusiastic.
"We'll make our case for why Solano County is going to be a better place for people and for their families with this project than without it," said Jan Sramek, founder and CEO of the California Forever project.
A group of Silicon Valley investors have purchased more than 50,000 acres of land in Solano County with the goal of converting much of the agriculturally zoned land into a new city. The land is located between Fairfield and Rio Vista.
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Sramek said the hope is to bring back what he called the "California Dream," with a walkable community, housing and good-paying jobs for its residents.
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Current residents who attended Wednesday’s townhall, however, voiced concerns about myriad issues with the proposal, ranging from what some described as secrecy about the land purchases, to how the town will obtain water, from a lack of collaboration with Native tribes to the impact on Travis Air Force Base.
"I think it really reconfirmed to me that some of the doubts that we have about them and what their long-term plans are," said Phillip Balbuena, of Vallejo. "They certainly have intentions of trying to build, but the job guarantees and the water rights is still questionable at best."
Former Vallejo mayor Bob Sampayan attended the town hall meeting. He said he's staying open-minded but has serious questions about if — and how — the team would be able to bring critical resources to the community, including water, power and law enforcement to the proposed city.
"I think it could be good provided that we get some of the fine points worked out," he said. "Let's not chop them off at the knees right from the beginning. It's too soon to do that."
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Sampayan said he felt "California Forever" needed to be more inclusive in its invitations to attend future town hall meetings to ensure all community members feel heard and can raise concerns.
Many of the details about what the city would comprise of are unclear at this point. Sramek said that’s because the team is working to collaborate with communities to determine the specifics. He said a full plan would be available by January 2024.
After presenting it, he said, they would work to get enough signatures to qualify the plan for a place on the November ballot.
"I think in this meeting it was pretty clear there wasn't, or I didn't hear, really any support for it," said Michael Hayes, of Solano County. "It would be interesting to how communities will respond."
Ultimately, it would be up to Solano County voters to decide how the project could proceed. Much of the purchased land is currently limited to agricultural use under current zoning regulations. Under the General Plan and Orderly Growth Ordinance, voters would have to vote to approve a change in the zoning to allow for construction of the proposed city.
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Aiden Mayhood, of the coalition "Solano Together," is against doing that. He and others put out signs ahead of the town hall denouncing the plans for the "California Forever" city, citing concerns about development on agricultural land and the number of current Solano County communities who need investment already.
"I really think this is going to cause the cost of living in Solano County to rise, and the natives here in Solano County are not going to be able to stay here," he said. "The thing that angers me the most is that they act as if our ag land in the area aren't important."
A series of town halls will take place over the coming weeks.
"California Forever" is opening an office in Vallejo Thursday at 537 Georgia Street for community members to ask questions and give feedback on plans.
Upcoming town halls
California Forever Town Halls are scheduled as follows (all events start at 5 p.m.):