California Forever

The company California Forever was founded by Jan Sramek in 2017. Sramek is also CEO of California Forever's parent company Flannery Associates.[1] 97% of the company's funding comes from American investors, with the remaining 3% coming from British and Irish investors.[2] The company's backers include numerous Silicon Valley investors such as Laurene Powell Jobs, Reid Hoffman, and Marc Andreessen.[3]

The development of the project was described as a five-year "stealth campaign" by the The Real Deal.[4] During that time, the company and its investors purchased 50,000 acres of land in Solano County, California for an estimated $900 million.[5] The company's website claimed that the project was kept secret to prevent speculation from driving up real estate prices.[1] The secrecy surrounding these acquisitions led to widespread media speculation.[6]

The land is currently zoned for agricultural use only and is subject to slow-growth laws.[7] Due to these legal protections, the land can only be developed for urban use if a ballot initiative is passed by local voters. In August 2023, the company issued a mail-in poll to gauge support for the project among local residents.[8]

After its announcement, state and federal officials expressed concern over the proposed city's proximity to the Travis Air Force Base, citing potential security risks.[9] The project has received opposition from local ranchers, who accused the company of canceling long-standing foraging leases and suing local ranch owners who refused to sell their property.[10]

The site is located approximately 60 miles northeast of San Francisco.[6] Its planned size would include a population of approximately 75,000 residents over a land area about twice the size of San Francisco.[7] The proposed city would include residential homes, a solar farm and public parks.[11] Part of these plans include the renovation of Highway 12 and the North Bay Aqueduct.[12][13]

The original architectural designs for the city, released on the company's website, showed Mediterranean architecture and streetcar infrastructure.[4] It is supposed to have a comparable level of walkability as cities such as New York City and Paris.[6] The designs were criticized by some news publications as lacking detail and being unrealistic,[14] and were compared to the futuristic city of The Jetsons.[15]

The project has received widespread criticism from local residents and officials.[16][17] Critics of the planned development have noted the lack of a reliable water supply and presence of wind farms as a potential obstacle to urban development.[7] Catherine Moy, the mayor of Fairfield, California, stated that the lack of mass transit, inadequate highway access, and drought conditions in the area would make it difficult to support a city.[11] Its potential impact on neighboring communities in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta has also been cited as a potential drawback.[7]

• Official website