Locals have accused billionaire group California Forever of trying to trick them into signing a petition so they can start development of their ‘utopian city’.
The secretive group has long been met with fierce local opposition after they bought thousands of acres of farmland in Solano County – worth $800 million – with plans to turn it into a ‘utopian city’.
They need to gain 13,000 signatures from registered voters for their plan to rezone the land to be added to a ballot in November – if it is added and passed, they can start development.
But locals say they are using nefarious tactics to gain signatures, waiting outside businesses and telling passersby that they are signing a petition to ‘get better roads’, ‘harsher fentanyl-use penalties’ or even to ‘cure cancer’.
Solano county said on Wednesday that they had received ‘multiple reports’ of ‘voters being misinformed by circulators collecting signatures’.
California Forever’s proposal has been met with fierce local opposition, but they need local support to rezone farmland into residential land for development
One of the locals took a photo of a suspicious petitioner they said tried to deceive them
An early artistic depiction of the proposed city from the California Forever website – the secretive group bought up $800 million of farmland in Solano County
Locals flocked to Facebook groups to share their stories of suspicious petitioners.
Susan Imboden wrote in Solano Together: ‘Today I encountered a serious deception in trying to get me to sign a [California Forever] petition.
‘The County Registrar’s office advised me to contact the state elections division about it.’
Another wrote: ‘Be careful when signing a petition for higher penalties for fentanyl sales. They pull out a petition that supports California Forever and try to get you to sign it instead.
‘This happened to me at Raley’s on Travis Blvd. They keep that one hidden under the clipboard until you go to sign.’
A third said: ‘The one I encountered at Walmart on alamo had 15,000 solano county jobs on the front sign and cure cancer sign on the side. Their sneaky tactic continue. They cannot be trusted.’
Another said ‘They lied to me, too!’ and said that they had told her the petition was against ‘defunding benefits’, but when she checked the paper it said ‘paid for by California Forever’ at the bottom.
Solano County said they had received ‘multiple reports’ of locals being ‘misinformed’ by people collecting signatures
After the Facebook posts, Solano County Registrar of Voters (ROV) said: ‘The County has received multiple reports of voters being misinformed by circulators collecting signatures either with incorrect information or for a petition to stop the East Solano Homes, Jobs and Clean Energy Initiative (also known as ‘California Forever’).
‘No such initiative has been cleared for circulation.’
Tim Flanagan, Chief Information Officer and Registrar of Voters added: ‘Only one local initiative has been approved for circulation – and that petition is to authorize rezoning of 17,500 acres of Solano County agricultural land for a new community.
‘Anyone who signed a petition and wishes to withdraw their signature may do so by contacting our office.
‘The freedom to petition your government through the initiative process is central to our democracy.
‘We strongly encourage voters to carefully read petitions before signing them to ensure they are acting on their convictions instead of misinformation.’
It is just the latest in a string of controversies surrounding the proposal.
The company, known as ‘California Forever’, is now the largest landowner in Solano County, which lies around 60 miles northeast of San Francisco.
It described the area as ‘some of the worst for agriculture in Solano County. Land where for years, nothing much has been able to grow’.
Instead, using the land, they have promised to create ‘walkable, middle class neighborhoods that we can afford’, as well as add a new security zone for nearby Travis Air Force Base.
The ad promises to create ‘walkable, middle class neighborhoods that we can afford’
Images shared by the group show rolling landscapes with families enjoying a picnic amongst a cluster of trees, while youngsters are seen cycling
Images shared by the group show rolling landscapes with families enjoying a picnic amongst a cluster of trees, while youngsters are seen cycling.
Streetscapes are dominated by pedestrians and cyclists, with outdoor cafes filling the town square and no cars to be seen.
But locals have accused them of forcing out farmers and questioned where they will find water, whether they will pay their share of expensive highway upgrades and if the homes will be as affordable as promised.
A survey previously circulated by the group suggested the plan included a ‘new city with tens of thousands of new homes, a large solar energy farm, orchards with over a million new trees, and over ten thousand acres of new parks and open space.’
The scale of the project, encompassing more than 50,000 acres, is truly massive.
By way of comparison, San Francisco itself is only 30,000 acres, while New York’s Manhattan borough is a puny 14,500 acres.
The Villages, the huge master-planned retirement community in Florida, covers about 51,200 acres, or more than 80 square miles.
California Forever has now submitted three different versions of its ideas so far, with critics raising concerns over the lack of answers.
The company described the area as ‘some of the worst for agriculture in Solano County. Land where for years, nothing much has been able to grow’
Streetscapes are dominated by pedestrians and cyclists, with outdoor cafes filling the town square and no cars to be seen
The also promises $400 million in down payment assistance for residents and 15,000 new jobs with ‘good pay in manufacturing and tech’
Sadie Wilson of the Greenbelt Alliance said in a statement: ‘In this third version of the initiative, there continue to be no answers for how this project will be delivered — just more questions.
‘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/
‘They have continuously failed to work with community members and public agencies 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.’
Representative John Garamendi, a Democrat from District 8, told Mercury News: ‘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.’
The investor group, whose identities were finally revealed at the end of August, acquired around 814 more acres in October, according to county records, meaning it now owns more than 53,000 acres in the region
Congressman John Garamendi is among the politicians who have raised concerns about the covert nature of the land purchases by Flannery Associates
Jan Sramek, the leader of California Forever, is a 36-year-old financial prodigy who made a name and fortune by his early 20s as an emerging markets trader in Goldman Sachs’ London office.
As a high school student York, Sramek broke the British record for A-level tests by scoring 10 As in a diverse set of subjects, and went on to graduate from the London School of Economics.
In 2009, when he was just 22, Sramek was the youngest-ever financier to be named to the annual Financial News list of 100 ‘Rising Stars’.
Days after his 24th birthday, Sramek mysteriously quit Goldman Sachs and dropped out of the limelight.
Since then, Sramek relocated to the Bay Area, and appears to have been quietly working on his plan for California Forever since 2017.
Last December, Sramek addressed a crowd of around 150 ranchers at a heated town hall meeting.
At the meeting at the American Legion hall, accusations that Sramek’s Silicon Valley firm – already the largest property in the county – were displacing residents were rife, with several citing their families’ history in the region.
A map of a new proposed community in Solano County, Calif., is displayed during a news conference in Rio Vista, Calif. on Jan. 17, 2024
Jan Sramek, a 36-year-old billionaire behind a planned ‘utopian city’ in rural Northern California, clashed with locals at a heated town hall this week, where he refused to rescind a lawsuit against property owners that claims they are price gauging land his firm wants to buy
At the meeting at the American Legion hall, accusations that Sramek’s Silicon Valley firm – already the largest property in the county – were displacing residents were rife, with several citing their families’ history in the region
The company also pursuing a $510 million lawsuit against property owners, alleging price fixing on the part of the farmers.
At the meeting, Sramek refused to stand down and remained adamant that he would not rescind his lawsuit.
‘I believe we have been extremely reasonable in wanting to have a discussion, and it has been you and your family who don’t want to do this,’ Sramek told Margaret Anderson, who is named in the suit.
An audibly irate Anderson – who has owned a farm in area with her husband and two kids for decades – responded: ‘We are not hoping to settle, because we do not want to sell our land. We are hoping that you will drop the lawsuit.’
The sixth-generation resident went on to ask: ‘Will you commit to dropping the lawsuit against the local farmers who are not aligned with your vision, in a goodwill attempt to change the way that you are interacting with our community?’
Sramek responded by calling the sued landowners’ alleged actions – colluding to increase the price of their land – ‘illegal and criminal.’
The response drew jeers, as several others – including several defendants – also urged Sramek to drop the lawsuit as a show of faith to home and landowners.
Standing silently in an unassuming button-up shirt, the stock trader-turned-philanthropist stood and listened, but remained steadfast in his vow to pursue legal action against the landowners.
California Forever are currently collecting the necessary 13,000 signatures for their newest proposal, put forward last month, in time to put it before voters this November.