Silicon Valley billionaires press pause on plans for $800 million utopian city amid growing tensions with county

esnodgrass@businessinsider.com (Erin Snodgrass)
·3 min read

  • The billionaires backing a new utopian city outside San Francisco have put some of their plans on hold.

  • The California Forever company said it won't put forward a planned ballot initiative this year.

  • Instead, the company will spend the next two years creating an environmental impact report.

The Silicon Valley billionaires behind an effort to build a controversial new city near San Francisco will delay further development of the utopian project for at least two years, the California Forever company announced Monday, just days after a county report on The East Solano Plan raised new concerns about the endeavor.

Over the past few years, several tech investors have raised over $800 million and bought up more than 50,000 acres of primarily agricultural land in the Bay Area. They aim to build a walkable urban community that will provide desperately needed housing for some 400,000 people in the overpopulated state.

However, the project stoked tensions between the billionaire backers and Solano County stakeholders, who quarreled over California Forever's anonymous approach to buying land and investors' desire to implement their plans quickly. Throughout the process, California Forever CEO Jan Sramek has pushed for an expedited approvals process, arguing that the need for more housing is urgent.

While a report published by California Forever earlier this month said the project would funnel billions of dollars in economic activity back into the county and create tens of thousands of jobs, a report ordered by the Solano County Board of Supervisors last month estimated the utopia would cost billions of dollars in county funds and hurt agricultural production in the rural region. The report also noted that the development could threaten local water supplies and "may not be financially feasible.

California Forever took issue with some of the data used in the county's report, Sramek told Business Insider, saying he hopes the reconfigured timeline announced Monday will help bridge the gap between the company and county and allow the two to work more cohesively.

California Forever planned to put a ballot initiative before Solano County voters this November, but that idea has now been scrapped, according to a joint statement from Sramek and Solano County supervisor Mitch Mashburn.

Instead, California Forever will spend the next two years preparing a report on the development's environmental impact while continuing to work with the county on a developmental agreement.

Mashburn said he believes the decision reflects Sramek's understanding that the timing of the project has been "unrealistic."

"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," Mashburn wrote.

Sramek, meanwhile, framed the delay slightly differently, saying the company is "reordering" the steps in a way that will prioritize an environmental impact report ahead of zoning approvals but stressing that the switch will not impact the project's "ambitious timeline."

Sramek told Business Insider that California Forever feels "pretty excited" about the new plans despite the timing switch-up.

"It's something we didn't expect in the beginning, but it's emerged organically over the last few weeks," Sramek said.

The brains behind the utopia cited strong community support for the city. In the Monday statement, California Forever pointed to an Impact Research poll that shows a majority of Solano likely voters support the development but believe the project is moving too fast.

The plan will still need voter approval before it can get final approval. Sramek said in the statement that California Forever still plans to submit the full package for approval in 2026.

Business Insider reached out to Solano County for additional comment.

Update — July 22, 2024: This story has been updated to include comments from California Forever CEO Jan Sramek.

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