California Forever, planning to set to roll out a newly made cable advertisement this week on local television channels, released a new rendering of its proposed development.
The new ad features people identified as Solano County locals asking questions about the project, including “Where would this city be built?” and “What is it going to mean for Solano County?”
The ad describes California Forever’s targeted land as “some of the worst for agriculture in Solano County. Land where for years and years, nothing much has been able to grow.”
The ad promises “walkable, middle class neighborhoods that we can afford” and a new security zone for Travis Air Force Base with “no development, just solar and agriculture.”
California Forever has submitted three different versions of its initiative so far, and critics, such as Solano Together, have noticed.
“In this third version of the initiative, there continue to be no answers for how this project will be delivered — just more questions,” said Sadie Wilson of the Greenbelt Alliance. “As an organization that sees housing as one of our best climate solutions, I think we have the opportunity to come together to overcome barriers to building in our seven cities rather than count on this project to bring the solutions we need when they have continuously failed to work with community members and public agencies, still have no plans to deliver income-restricted affordable housing, and have produced an initiative that has very little substance when it comes to project delivery. We need climate-smart housing solutions now, and building a new city far from jobs and transit is not how we will get there.”
U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, a Democrat from District 8, also opposes the development, arguing it would be a tremendous strain on the county if it were an unincorporated community, but insufficiently regulated if it becomes a city.
“As we’ve seen in the title and summary, all the benefits in the Development Agreement would go out the window if the community is incorporated into a city,” he said. “If this project goes forward, Solano County taxpayers will foot a large part of the bill. This is a lose-lose scenario for Solano County, and we cannot allow it to move forward.”
Regardless, California Forever is moving forward with its campaign, looking to gather signatures to get its initiative on the ballot in November and continue discussions on its proposals with voters.
“A knowledgeable voter is the best kind of voter, and we find that the more Solano County residents learn about our project, the more they like it,” said Matt Rodriguez, Campaign Manager for the East Solano Homes, Jobs, and Clean Energy Initiative. “We’re excited to be engaging with members of the Solano County community and this is another opportunity for us to continue sharing information about how we plan to bring middle class homes and good paying jobs to Solano County.”