The grand vision of constructing a new utopian city in Solano County, dubbed The Solano Plan by the California Forever Company, has been sharply retracted following a critical county report and widespread controversy. The withdrawal of the "California Forever" ballot initiative, initially set for this November, was announced after the report highlighted manifold concerns, including water supply, traffic congestion, and significant fiscal deficits that might arise. The Solano County report, released late last week, has placed a significant roadblock to the ambitions of Silicon Valley billionaires like Marc Andreessen and Michael Moritz, who have supported the project along with others such as LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and businesswoman Laurene Powell Jobs, according to Mercury News.
In a move that seemed to backtrack, California Forever said it would instead pursue typical county permit processes. CEO Sramek disclosed in a statement that the focus will be on collaborating with the county over the next two years on an environmental report and development agreement before seeking approval again in 2026. This decision came days after the county's damning findings suggested a potential financial quagmire for taxpayers, with an estimated $6.4 billion needed just for the first phase of development and nearly $50 billion to complete the city. The once-promising Mediterranean-style community, which was said to create tens of thousands of jobs, now faces major hurdles, as detailed also in a report by The Vacaville Reporter.
Despite brimming with vast promises of job creation and economic growth, the now-shelved initiative faced staunch criticism, not least for the litigation against landowners who hesitated to sell their properties. Critics had taken issue with the potential loss of rich agricultural land, the demands it could place on the area's water supplies, and the cultural shifts it could impose on the region. The withdrawal of the initiative is seen as a capitulation to the strong opposition, as underscored by County Supervisor Mitch Mashburn, who criticized the company for politicizing the entire project, creating rifts within the community. "This politicized the entire project, made it difficult for us and our staff to work with them, and forced everyone in our community to take sides," Mashburn explained in a Facebook post obtained by Mercury News.
Amid the controversy, California Forever has not neglected to invest in the current needs of Solano County, moving forward with a plan to build multiple healthcare facilities across the region. Partnering with NorthBay Health, the initiative promises to construct five to nine clinics to bolster local health services. The first of these, a clinic offering urgent and primary care, will open in Rio Vista, a city that has suffered from a glaring lack of medical facilities since 2013. "To me, this clinic is a prime example of what's possible with the right capital and the right partnerships," Sramek told the Business Times. The Rio Vista Mayor, Ronald Kott, praised the initiative, citing the vital need for accessible healthcare in a statement to the Business Times: "We have the oldest average age in Solano County, and yet we don’t have a clinic that addresses the health and wellness needs of our citizens."
