The Silicon Valley tech billionaires who want to build a utopian city on the rural outskirts of the San Francisco Bay Area are putting those plans on hold amid opposition from locals.
California Forever, the initiative that seeks to construct an innovative urban area atop farmland in Solano County, said that it would delay the project for at least two years while it studies its environmental impact.
The original plan called for constructing a walkable urban area atop what is now sheep farms and windmills in a rural region that lies some 60 miles northeast of San Francisco.
California Forever, whose roster of backers include billionaire LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Steve Jobs’ widow, businesswoman Laurene Powell Jobs, had planned to seek approval for the city from Solano County voters by putting a measure on the ballot this November.
The measure would have removed zoning restrictions that prevent urban development in the area.
But it decided to pull the measure in the face of local opposition, which grew so heated that angry residents denounced California Forever CEO Jan Sramek as a “snake oil salesman” during a tense town hall meeting.
“Delaying the vote gives everyone a chance to pause and work together, which is what is needed — not a fight between friends throughout the County on both sides of the issue,” according to a joint statement by the county and California Forever.
The venture will instead “submit an application for a General Plan & Zoning Amendment and proceed with the normal County process which includes preparation of a full Environmental Impact Report and the negotiation and execution of Development Agreement,” Solano County Board of Supervisors Chair Mitch Mashburn said in a statement.
Solano Forever, a group that was formed to oppose the project, claimed victory on Monday, saying that “the people have spoken and California Forever has been forced to withdraw their hastily drawn, poorly designed initiative, given a surefire loss in November.”
California Forever, which is the largest landowner in the county, still plans to move forward with plans to build the city, which is expected to house some 400,000 inhabitants.
“We believe that with this process, we can build a shared vision that passes with a decisive majority and creates broad consensus for the future,” Sramek said.
“We’re excited about working with the Board of Supervisors, its land use subcommittee, and county staff to make this happen.”
Solano County residents first grew alarmed after a mysterious entity started buying up large tracts of local farmland worth around $900 million.
The massive land purchases which were executed by anonymous entities initially raised suspicion that a hostile foreign power was behind the move given the proximity to Travis Air Force base.
The identity of the buyers who scooped up around 52,000 acres of farmland near the base was later revealed to be Flannery Associates, a limited liability company registered in Delaware.
Flannery was approaching landowners one by one and offering rates that were well above market value for properties which weren’t even listed for sale.
Neighbors were further enraged when Flannery filed a $500 million antitrust lawsuit against a group of farmers who refused to sell their land.
The farmers were accused in the suit of colluding with one another to inflate the value of their properties.
Last year, The New York Times revealed the identities of those behind the venture.
Sramek, a 36-year-old former Goldman Sachs trader, has pitched locals on a walkable city with short commutes, thousands of high-paying new jobs, sustainable energy, huge orchards and affordable homes.
California is ground zero for the nation’s housing crisis as red tape, bureaucracy and local opposition has stifled construction of new homes — exacerbating a severe shortage that has sent property values skyrocketing while making cost of living increasingly unaffordable for many.
