Tech billionaires postpone their plan for a new California city

Good morning. It’s Thursday, July 25. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

• Billionaires’ plans for a new California city are put on hold.
• Our best attempt at making sense of the viral Kamala Harris memes.
• Take a look at the brutal offbeat comedy ‘Dido of Idaho’ at the Echo Theater.
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper

Plans for a new California city are halted. Can trust be rebuilt?

A billionaires-backed plan to build a city from scratch in rural Solano County had been slated to go before the region’s voters in November.

But on Monday, county leaders and the initiative’s architect announced an agreement to pull it from the ballot.

The group, called California Forever, says it will now go through the usual multiyear process for would-be developments, which involves applying for necessary rezoning, conducting an environmental impact report and reaching a development agreement with the county.

An artist’s rendering of a neighborhood. Backers who want to build a green city from scratch began with secretive land purchases in Solano County.

(Sitelab Urban Studio / CMG)

The county and aspiring developers framed the decision as a chance to pause and reset after years of secrecy and mistrust. But critics say the tech billionaires’ vision is an ill-conceived plan that would do more harm than good.

First, a refresher

We first brought you the mysterious story of California Forever in August when a secretive limited liability company that spent about $800 million to purchase more than 52,000 acres in Solano County was revealed to be an ambitious project by Silicon Valley elites.

Proponents of the project used a limited liability company to buy up land from farmers in a vast swath of the county, stretching from Rio Vista, pictured, to the west, without telling anyone why.

(Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)

Their pitch: Build a new California city fueled by clean energy and filled with affordable housing and good-paying jobs. The plan is the brainchild of Jan Sramek, a former Goldman Sachs trader, who framed it as vital to boost California’s dismal housing supply and keep the state competitive as jobs and renewable energy move elsewhere.

Investors in the project include billionaire investor Michael Moritz, Emerson Collective founder Laurene Powell Jobs, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen.

Once they were outed, the group changed its approach, initially dubbing its plan California Forever (with renderings that appeared to have been hastily created with artificial intelligence) before rebranding to the East Solano Plan. The group began gathering signatures to get a ballot measure before local voters in November that would change zoning rules, bypassing the typical process.

An artist’s rendering of a neighborhood in a proposed city in Solano County.

(Sitelab Urban Studio)

Going that route “was a mistake,” Mitch Mashburn, chair of the Solano County Board of Supervisors, wrote in the joint statement. “This politicized the entire project, made it difficult for us and our staff to work with them, and forced everyone in our community to take sides.”

The group’s lack of transparency and accusations of heavy-handed tactics rubbed many politicians and residents the wrong way. They also sued farmers in federal court, which further incensed residents and elected leaders.

Speaking during a Tuesday meeting, Solano County Supervisor Monica Brown said that California Forever “operated in bad faith” and that she “will never trust anything that they bring forward.”

“Go somewhere else,” Brown said. “There’s 57 other counties. They might want you and your money.”

Critics say the plan is the wrong approach

Local opposition to the project has been swift and vocal, with some noting it breaks the prime rule of real estate: location, location, location. Critics point to the lack of road infrastructure, access to water and public transit.

“It is a huge waste of private and public resources to develop a new city in this location,” said Sadie Wilson, director of planning and research at Greenbelt Alliance. The nonprofit advocates for climate resiliency in Bay Area counties and is part of the Solano Together Coalition.

An aerial rendering of where the planned community by California Forever would fit into Solano County.

(California Forever)

Members have been focused on getting accurate information to voters about the East Solano Plan, Wilson told me, but are also cultivating an “alternative vision” for prosperity in the region that doesn’t rely on billionaires.

Wilson said the plan “flies in the face” of both climate resiliency and housing goals, which would be better served by strategically expanding housing in existing cities. Building the schools, roads, sewer systems and other infrastructure to accommodate the more than 500,000 people California Forever hopes would live in its new city would cost a lot — both in dollars and emissions.

The county commissioned a consultant’s report for the project, which found that creating the necessary infrastructure would cost tens of billions and generate well over 2 billion new vehicle miles traveled (the state meanwhile is working to reduce how much Californians drive).

What’s next?

In that joint statement, Sramek said his group will work with the county “to build a shared vision” and plans to “bring the full package back for approval in 2026.”

“We want to show that it’s possible to move faster in California,” he wrote in a statement.

“But we recognize now that it’s possible to reorder these steps without impacting our ambitious timeline.”

Mashburn acknowledged Sramek for his understanding and optimism, but also issued him a challenge:

California Forever’s decision to pull the ballot measure was “a major win” for the coalition, Wilson told me.

“They just backed out of this initiative because they knew they weren’t going to win,” she said, adding that she hopes the group will be more transparent about their endgame if they’re serious about mending things with county leaders and residents.

“It’s hard to come back from that lack of trust and that deception,” she said. But “this is certainly not over.”

Today’s top stories

(Los Angeles Times photo illustration; Photos via AP Photo)

Kamala Harris

• Yes, we noticed the coconut and ‘brat summer’ memes about Kamala. Here’s our best attempt to make sense of them.
• ‘We are not playing around’: Harris called on Black women to mobilize for 2024 election.
• Harris is still the underdog against Trump. Three decisions could change that.

Homelessness

• Three new studies show that homeless encampment cleanups do little to change numbers of people on the street.
• Will the Grants Pass ruling on homelessness spur smaller cities to shoo people into L.A.?

Extreme weather is on the move

• Tropical moisture is mixing with California’s heat, driving storms, flood potential and fire risks.
• Heat waves are growing hotter and more prolonged.
• Check out our wildfire tracking map.
• The Death Valley heat melted the skin off a man’s feet after he lost his flip-flops in the dunes.
• The last quarter-century ranks as the driest in 1,200 years in the West, research shows.

The 2024 Summer Olympics start tomorrow!

• Chasing the Olympic dream isn’t cheap, and U.S. athletes often are stuck with the bill.
• Nyjah Huston is the Michael Jordan of skateboarding, but he flopped in Tokyo. He’s looking for redemption at the Paris Olympics.

Say hello to the Hydrogen Hub

• California will host a billion-dollar ‘hydrogen hub.’ Here’s what that means for our energy future.
• The hub was approved not without controversy.

Pro-Palestinian campus protests

• California Highway Patrol officers fired nearly 60 ‘less lethal’ rounds during one UCLA protest, a new report says.
• Protests, violence and division marked a ‘dark chapter’ at UCLA this spring.

UCLA Fowler Museum’s stolen artifacts

• UCLA Fowler Museum announced it will repatriate artworks to Aboriginal community in Australia.
• It’s highly unusual for a museum to initiate the repatriation of looted works.

More big stories

• The fast-moving Park fire in Butte County is forcing evacuations in mountain areas
• California and Hawaii lead charge against deep-sea mining of critical metals.
• He’s the guy who buys equipment from shuttered restaurants. Yeah, he’s busy
• California teen Chloe Cole has emerged as a leader of the ‘detransition’ movement — and a right-wing icon.
• This father saw his daughter fall from Half Dome. He says safety changes could prevent more tragedies.
  

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Commentary and opinions

• Editorial board: LAUSD students scores are bouncing back but still have far to go.
• Mary McNamara: Whatever happens at the Olympics, Simone Biles has written a comeback story for the ages.
• Gustavo Arellano: The lawyer who thinks he can free street vendor activist Edin Enamorado.
• Patt Morrison: As the world arrives for the Olympics, Paris food goes local. How can L.A. compete?
• David Lauter: Kamala Harris is still the underdog against Trump. These three things could change that

Today’s great reads

Chris Kraus for Image.

(Arielle Bobb-Willis / For The Times)

L.A. legend Chris Kraus is finding answers in her sleep, and she’s not looking back. Chris Kraus and Catherine Lacey, two writers of two generations, talk mixing genres, daily schedules and the critics.

Other great reads

• John DeLorean built the ‘car of the future.’ Then came the briefcase full of cocaine.

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For your downtime

Andrew Chaves, director of operations at Rancho Los Alamitos Historic Ranch and Gardens in Long Beach, stands next to a preformed pond that he and his wife, Amanda, dug into the ground.

(Jeanette Marantos/Los Angeles Times)

Going out

• 🎢 Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is an old-school ride in a modern way.
• 🎭 An offbeat comedy takes a brutal turn in Echo Theater’s ‘Dido of Idaho.’
  
• Staying in
• 🐛 Create a DIY water feature for a habitat garden without breaking the bank.
• 💿 Koe Wetzel reveals a new side of himself on his latest album, ‘9 Lives.’
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• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

And finally ... from our archives

(Los Angeles Times)

On this day in history, Lance Armstrong finalized his seventh consecutive Tour de France win. He was later stripped of the titles.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Defne Karabatur, fellow
Andrew Campa, Sunday reporter
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor and Saturday reporter
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Stephanie Chavez, deputy metro editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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