Billionaire backers of new California city reveal map and details of proposed development

Source: Associated Press

Billionaire backers of new California city reveal map and details of proposed development

BY JANIE HAR
Updated 3:04 AM EST, January 17, 2024

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Promoters of a secretive Silicon Valley-backed ballot initiative to build a new city on farmland between Sacramento and San Francisco are releasing more details of their plan as they submit paperwork Wednesday to qualify for the November election.

California Forever, the company that stealthily snapped up more than $800 million of Solano County land in recent years, envisions a new community on roughly 30 square miles (75 square kilometers) between Travis Air Force Base and the tiny city of Rio Vista, according to a presentation by the group.

The development would start with nearly 20,000 homes for 50,000 residents. It could grow to 400,000 people — which is nearly the current population of Solano County — but only if the project creates at least 15,000 jobs that pay above average wages, the group’s backers say. Plans call for a medium-density downtown with rowhouses and apartment buildings, and jobs, schools, bars and restaurants and grocery stores all within walking distance.

But none of that can happen without approval from county voters, who in 1984 backed protections against turning farmland into urban space. That’s why Jan Sramek, CEO and founder of California Forever, and the project’s backers are turning to the ballot. He’ll speak about the project and the proposed ballot initiative Wednesday, and the group must collect about 13,000 signatures from county voters to place it on the November ballot.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/new-california-city-tech-silicon-valley-4097f0872c4e18ca9d75776e2d8974d9