(KRON) — A planned idyllic community on the banks of the Sacramento River and bankrolled by Silicon Valley billionaires will have to clear a major hurdle with voters to be developed, according to Sonoma County officials. The corporation, Flannery & Associates, has purchased over 50,000 acres of land surrounding Travis Air Force Base over the past few years.
Last week, the company went public with its plans by launching the “California Forever” website featuring vaguely Mediterranean renderings for a proposed new community that have been called “cartoonish.” But according to the county, building a new community on the land could be a nonstarter without voter approval.
The land in question is currently zoned for agriculture, the county said in a news release Wednesday. The county said it has been tracking Flannery’s purchases in the area since 2018 and has been in regular communication with state and federal officials. However, the county said communications with the corporation have been “limited,” despite efforts to understand Flannery’s intentions for using the land.
“The County has been upfront with Flannery since 2018 that the properties they had acquired were limited to agricultural uses under the 2008-voter approved General Plan and zoning regulations that currently exist,” the news release stated.
On the California Forever website, Flannery said it wants “to build a new community that attracts new employers, creates good paying local jobs, builds homes in walkable neighborhoods, leads in environmental stewardship, and fuels a growing tax base to serve the county at large.”
According to the county, these assertions from California Forever raise “complex issues.”
“The voter-approved General Plan and Orderly Growth Ordinance allows only for agricultural uses on the majority of the land California Forever has acquired,” the county said. “To change the Ag land designation and zoning of the properties to accommodate urban development, a measure would have to be placed on the ballot and approved by a majority of Solano County voters.”
Apart from voter approval, rezoning the land for development would require substantial “entitlement and permitting processes that involve County, State and Federal agencies,” the county added.
KRON4 reached out to California Forever and received the following statement from a spokesperson:
“This week we continue meeting with local, state, and federal elected officials in Solano County and look forward to engaging with the community to find a shared vision for Solano County’s future. “
