The building of a utopian city in Solano County, California — a city backed by various Silicon Valley billionaires — has shockingly been put on hold.
California Forever, the group of investors planning to create the futuristic city, has suddenly decided to pull its ballot measure.
California Forever’s Ballot Measure
Previously, California Forever had received the number of signatures needed to put its creation of a new utopian city on the November ballot in Solano County.
If this measure was passed, this would have allowed the group to remove some necessary requirements, such as zoning restrictions.
A New Plan
Instead of going through with this sought-after ballot measure, the California Forever group has seemingly decided to start up a new plan.
Now, they will submit an application to Solano County, a more old-fashioned way to get this process up and rolling.
Going the Old Fashioned Way
Mitch Mashburn, the Solano County Board of Supervisors, released a statement revealing this shocking change of events.
Mashburn explained that California Forever will “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.”
A Sudden Change
This news may come as a huge win for many people in Solano County who have been against the creation of a utopian city funded by billionaires — and there have been many.
Since locals in Solano County first heard about the California Forever project, many have been completely against it.
All About California Forever
The investors behind California Forever have claimed that they want to make a city for 400,000 people in Solano County, which is an agricultural region in the Bay Area.
Many of the people who have put money towards this project are Silicon Valley billionaires. Though the group has claimed that this city will be for everybody, many critics have theorized it will only be a city for the rich.
Shady California Purchases
The California Forever project got off on the wrong foot in the region after the group started to purchase large tracts of land secretly.
Nobody in the vicinity knew who was buying up all of this land — and this caused deep fears. Even politicians were brought into the mix, as national security fears escalated before California Forever investors revealed themselves.
A Billionaire Reveal
Once the billionaires behind California Forever revealed that they were behind these large land purchases, fears didn’t deescalate.
Instead, many locals came out against the idea of this utopian city, especially as they had major concerns about the billionaires — such as Laurene Powell Jobs and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman — behind this idea.
Concerns Remain
Many locals have also voiced their concerns about how the creation of this city may impact local traffic in a very negative way. Worries over water usage, as well as the town’s nearness to Travis Air Force Base, remain.
As a result, many home and landowners have attempted to fight back against this idea, even going so far as to refuse to sell their land to California Forever, regardless of how much money they were being offered.
A Difficult Fight
So far, the fight against California Forever hasn’t been full of wins. Many locals have become resigned to the idea of this utopian city being built, even if they don’t want it to happen.
However, as long as the California Forever project is still a go, locals will likely continue to have an issue with it.
A Potential Loss in November
Solano Forever, a group that was formed in opposition to California Forever, released their own statement after it was revealed that the group was withdrawing their ballot measure.
“The people have spoken and California Forever has been forced to withdraw their hastily drawn, poorly designed initiative, given a surefire loss in November,” the group said.
California Forever’s Next Steps
Though the group has decided to withdraw its ballot measure, California Forever is still working towards completing its project and getting its city built.
However, now they will go about things the old-fashioned way. The group has revealed they hope to have a new plan approved by 2026.
