by SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – After two false starts, the billionaires behind a plan to build an eco-friendly city from scratch are on schedule and on track to put their proposal before California voters this November spent
Former Goldman Sachs trader Jan Sramek unveiled his planned public close ballot initiative between San Francisco and Sacramento in January, a plan that envisions 20,000 homes, transportation infrastructure, schools, jobs and green space for an initial 50,000 residents. It has since been amended twice to address concerns raised by Solano County and the nearby US Air Force base.
Thursday is the deadline for the county attorney’s office to come up with a title and summary for the ballot initiative, which will allow signature gatherers to hit the streets in search of the 13,000 they need — and thousands more as relief if possible. The delay means the campaign has only two months, not three, to collect signatures if they want to give election officials the maximum amount of time to verify them.
“You get into this math game of time and getting people to sign your petition,” said Jim Ross, a veteran Democratic political consultant based in Oakland. “Losing a month is a big deal.”
But Brian Brokaw, a spokesman for the campaign, said he is confident of making the Nov. 5 ballot.
“We’ve been making sure we get this right and also realizing the clock is ticking,” he said. “At the same time, we believe that the amendments we have made to the measure will go a long way in increasing our chances of success in November, and the extra time it has cost us to get it right is certainly worth it.”
Sramek wants Solano County voters to approve urban development on rural land his company has purchased since 2018 for at least $800 million to build what he envisions as a walkable community of up to 400,000 residents with a cute downtown, jobs good pay and affordable homes. . The state desperately needs more housing, especially affordable units.
Sramek has not said how much he is willing to spend on the effort. His company California Forever can count on the deep pockets of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, including philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.
But enough money doesn’t always equate to ballot success — in 2022, California voters rejected two efforts to expand gambling despite at least $460 million spent by supporters.
Critics say the delay is tantamount to a non-union campaign that has operated in secret for years, thrived on local input and is now trying to break ground on agricultural land that voters chose to protect from urbanization back in 1984.
“What we’re seeing from that is a little bit of oversight in their process to really attract people,” said Sadie Wilson, director of planning and research at Greenbelt Alliance. The environmental advocacy group is part of Solano Together, a coalition that includes farming and open space interests and environmental groups.
Opponents of the plan say it makes bright promises but is extremely light on details.
The sustainable way is to build more housing within the existing city limits, Wilson said, rather than massive development on 27 square miles (70 square kilometers) of land in a county of 450,000 people with sensitive ecosystems and water supplies. already pressed.
Local people have wanted for years to compile which parcels contained cattle and wind farms. They were surprised to learn last summer that Sramek and his Silicon Valley investors wanted him for a new development — yet to be named — that could become a city or remain part of the county. .
Sramek then went on an apology tour, including meeting with two irate residents who had wanted to know for years whether foreign enemies or investors were behind the land purchases between Travis Air Force Base and the city of Sacramento River. Delta in Rio Vista. Representatives John Garamendi and Mike Thompson remain opposed to the project.
In January, Sramek held a news conference to describe the ballot initiative, filed it with the county elections office and withdrew it — all on the same day — after county officials asked for language clarification on the process.
California Forever could have avoided this if the campaign had been shared with local officials ahead of time, said Ross, the consultant. “It’s very much an outside-in approach,” he said.
Bernadette Curry, an attorney for Solano County, said officials requested technical changes to clarify that the county had the option of approving a development agreement with the company before it can be built. Previously there was language in the initiative that required approval from the county supervisors.
The initiative states that the development agreement will include the 10 guarantees made by California Forever, such as $400 million to help county residents and Travis Air Force Base families buy homes in the community and $200 million for the county’s larger towns. An environmental impact review would also be required.
The campaign withdrew its initiation again after base officials raised concerns including its ability to conduct flight operations. The revised initiative establishes a larger buffer zone between the development and the base.
There is no set deadline for submitting signatures, said John Gardner, the county’s assistant registrar of voters. But the Solano County Board of Supervisors only has until Aug. 8 to approve his inclusion on the ballot, and election officials have 30 to 90 days to verify signatures.
That 90-day window means the campaign would have to submit its paperwork by early May.
Wilson, of Solano Together, said the approach taken by California Forever raises national questions about how decisions about development, farmland and climate resilience are made — and who gets to circumvent the rules.
“This really deserves more attention because of the wave this is bringing,” she said, “and the precedent it could set for other places around the country.”
