A measure to rezone parts of eastern Solano County has qualified for the November ballot, bringing the dream of a utopian, billionaire-backed city one step closer to fruition.
The county registrar confirmed Tuesday that the petitioners met the threshold after verifying a sample of more than 20,000 signatures.
The Solano County Board of Supervisors will decide at its next meeting on June 25 whether to put the measure — dubbed the “Homes, Jobs and Clean Energy Initiative” — on the ballot in November. Instead, the board could adopt the zoning changes as outlined without putting them to voters.
Thousands of acres of land in the eastern part of the county would be rezoned to allow for a city of up to 400,000 people if the measure passes.
California Forever, the tech billionaire-backed company behind the plan, has ambitious goals should it get approved for construction. According to its website, the company hopes to bring thousands of jobs and walkable, middle-class neighborhoods to rural Solano County. Backers of the plan also want to revitalize the downtowns of other Solano County cities like Fairfield, Vacaville and Vallejo.
“This is a win for the future of the county and for the California Dream,” said California Forever CEO Jan Sramek.
However, the plans have faced sharp criticism from environmental groups and residents who worry about the economic longevity and mass acquisition of land in eastern Solano County.
One citizen coalition called Solano Together formally launched an opposition to the plans in February. The group cites one poll conducted in March that found 70 percent of Solano County residents would reject the California Forever ballot measure if it made it onto the ballot in November.
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