Tech leaders behind 'California Forever' try to win over locals with 15K 'good-paying' jobs, massive financial incentives

The Silicon Valley technology moguls behind a plan to build a new city in California are trying to gain favor with skeptical locals by offering "ten Guarantees" that are "legally binding," according to a Wednesday news post on the project's website.

"California Forever," the firm behind the project, quietly purchased 52,000 acres of land near Travis Air Force Base in Solano County and plans to transform the area into a bustling and sustainable walkable city. The firm is backed by big names in the technology and finance industries, including Andreessen Horowitz, Laurene Powell Jobs, Michael Moritz, Reid Hoffman, Patrick and John Collison, Daniel Gross, and Nat Friedman, according to an August New York Times report.

On Wednesday, the firm announced "a powerful set of 10 guarantees to ensure the plan delivers on" the group's promise to create "more good paying jobs… and more county revenue to improve schools, promote public safety, reduce homelessness, and upgrade infrastructure."

California Forever said it will contribute to the existing community's growth by "creating good-paying jobs."

"The project has to support creation of at least 15,000 jobs that pay at least 125% of county average weekly wage by the time we hit 50,000 residents, or we can't grow," the firm's article read. According to United States Census Data, the median household income in the county was $97,037 in 2022.

The firm also promised to carve out "new pathways to homeownership" by providing hundreds of millions of dollars in down payment assistance. The development will primarily consist of row homes and apartment buildings.

"$400 million in funding for down payment assistance for Solano County residents to buy homes in the new community, including homes for working families, teachers, nurses, police and firefighters, and construction workers," the firm stated. "Funding can also be used to help build affordable homes for low, very low, extremely low, and special needs households, including veterans, seniors, and agricultural workers."

California Forever guaranteed it would allocate $70 million to fund higher education scholarships and small businesses. Additionally, it committed to investing $200 million in revitalizing downtown areas in Solano County by "renovating or building homes, offices, shops, and other mixed-use buildings."

As part of the group's sustainable energy commitments, the project includes permitting solar farms with the ability to power approximately 1.5 million homes.

The massive land purchase near Travis Air Force Base by Flannery Associates, the investment group behind California Forever, sparked national security concerns, Blaze News previously reported. Prior to the Times' August report, the identities of the group's financial backers were unknown, leading some to believe the firm might have Chinese or other foreign adversary ties. As a result, the U.S. Treasury Department's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States launched an investigation into the group's purchase, which is still ongoing.

Many locals, including Fairfield Mayor Catherine Moy, have been pushing to block the elites from developing the new city. Moy expressed concerns about the investors' business connections with China. California Democratic Rep. John Garamendi accused the firm of implementing "strong-arm mobster techniques" to acquire the land from small local farmers.

To win over critics and squelch national security concerns, California Forever announced that it is committed to developing "a new Travis Security Zone, by nearly doubling the size of the current buffer from 7,971 acres in the 2008 General Plan to a new total of nearly 15,000 acres."

The group further pledged that "the project has to pay its own way through taxes generated by its residents employers, without imposing any new tax or other fiscal obligation on any Solano County resident or business located outside of the proposed community."

"All ten Guarantees are legally binding on California Forever and enforceable by the county," the firm stated.

During a press conference on Wednesday announcing the details of the project, California Forever CEO Jan Sramek reaffirmed the group's commitment to work with the community and the military base.

"When we started the project, we had two roles. We knew we had to protect the base, but we didn't want to stop there. We wanted to be a partner that can make the base stronger today and for all the generations to come," Sramek stated.

He noted that not only is the project planning to double the base's security buffer zone, but the entire community will be located outside the noise and the accident-potential zones established by base officials.

A November vote will determine whether the project can advance.

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