Critics fired up at first California Forever town hall
VALLEJO, Calif. - The developer of California Forever, a proposal for a new walkable community in Solano County, held its first town hall meeting Wednesday night.
The presentation given at the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum turned into an angry venting session for many in the audience who were upset about the development.
It started out with a presentation from Jan Sramek, the founder and CEO of the project that would see the formation of California’s newest city.
"We have an idea for how to make Solano County better," Sramek said.
He has invested $900 million in buying up 60,000 acres, 4 miles from Travis Air Force Base on mostly agricultural grazing land in southeast Solano County.
Dozens of critics who showed up to the town hall don’t want this happening in their backyard.
"What about the Native American graves that you are going to be excavating and building on without even consulting with us the Native Americans of this land?" Marge Grow-Eppard shouted.
Sramek said the project would first create construction jobs and later permanent jobs within the development that pay above average.
Former Vallejo City Council Member Katy Miessner is worried the project would take away opportunities from existing communities.
"It sounds like from what you’re saying about funding from the federal government to Solano County, we’ll get more money from homeless that will come here, and we’ll have all the homeless, and you’ll have a shiny new city up in Rio Vista, and we’ll get nothing," Miessner said.
Others are concerned about taxes going up and urban sprawl.
"You did a bad investment, and we’re not going to support shill for your project so shame on you!" Vallejo native and current Benicia resident Michael Hayes said.
Sramek, a Cambridge-educated CEO who came to the U.S. 10 years ago as a Czech immigrant, hopes the people of Solano County will have an open mind to the economic benefits.
"I think that a lot of opponents of the project just don’t realize just this huge shot in the arm economically," Sramek said.
By 2030, Sramek projected California Forever would be home to around 50,000 people and up to 400,000 in a couple of generations.
Water rights were included in the land deal.
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"This is one of the areas where the aquifer isn’t depleted," Sramek said.
The homes are said to be smaller and more affordable.
The community will be walkable, and people won’t have to commute to make a living.
But the majority of the dozens who attended the town hall were not buying it.
"We can’t afford this housing, and we will not go live on our own people’s bones, but you will!" Marge Grow-Eppard said.
Five more town hall meetings were planned.
Sramek plans to collect signatures to get the proposal on the November 2024 ballot.
If approved, construction would start in 2025 or 2026.