The tech billionaires who for years secretly amassed land within the scrubby grasslands on the perimeter of the San Francisco Bay have mentioned they intend to start gathering signatures for a poll initiative in Solano County that might clear the way in which to construct a brand new metropolis from scratch.
The group, known as California Endlessly, envisions a group with tens of 1000’s of latest properties, together with new parks, bike lanes and open house, in addition to a photo voltaic farm. They’re planning a mannequin metropolis. It could be walkable, socioeconomically built-in, and fueled by clear power.
However to get there, the backers must persuade Solano County voters. That may very well be a troublesome hurdle contemplating that the challenge started with secret land purchases and erupted in controversy final 12 months amid unfounded public hypothesis that the consumers had been overseas brokers intent on espionage. Federal, state and native approvals may even be required.
Theoretically, backers mentioned, the brand new metropolis might have a inhabitants of a number of hundred thousand individuals. However that could be a good distance off. If the poll measure is accredited, different authorities approvals will then be required. Lawsuits might additionally tie up the matter in court docket. The soonest building might start, backers mentioned, is 2026.
“We’re excited to share the small print of our plan to construct a greater Solano with all of you,” Jan Sramek, the chief govt of California Endlessly, mentioned in a press release. “This is usually a new financial engine for Solano County and proof that once we work collectively, California can nonetheless do massive issues.”
The general public marketing campaign is a stark departure from the challenge’s origins, which started years in the past when a mysterious LLC known as Flannery Associates started shopping for 1000’s of acres of farmland. The purchases, which totaled greater than $800 million, made millionaires out of some property sellers, lots of whose households had owned the land for greater than a century.
However Flannery Associates didn’t reveal why it was shopping for the land, which for many years had been dedicated to grazing and has extra lately been dotted with wind generators, turning lazily because the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta flows into the San Francisco Bay.
As a result of a lot of the land is close to Travis Air Pressure Base, some residents and elected officers started to take a position that Flannery Associates was a entrance for overseas traders looking for to spy on the bottom, one of many busiest army amenities within the nation.
U.S. Rep. John Garamendi (D-Walnut Grove), who represents the area, mentioned final 12 months that he and different officers had for years been unable to find out who was behind the dizzying land seize and criticized the corporate for not working with native residents.
“Flannery Associates is utilizing secrecy, bully and mobster ways to pressure generational farm households to promote,” the congressman mentioned.
However then the backers had been revealed not as spies however as titans of the tech business, together with Reid Hoffman; Marc Andreessen; and Patrick and John Collison, who based the cost firm Stripe.
Now, California Endlessly is launching a plan to win over those that have expressed skepticism — and there are a lot of. Officers have pledged $400 million in funding for down cost help for Solano County residents to purchase properties within the new group. They’ve additionally unveiled renderings that depict idyllic city squares, tranquil wetlands and charming cafes.
If the measure features sufficient signatures, it might go earlier than Solano County voters in November.
