Joint statement by Solano County and California Forever

By California Forever · Mon Jul 22 2024

Statement by Mitch Mashburn, Chair of the Board of Supervisors, and Supervisor for District Five

After a discussion between myself and Jan Sramek, the Founder and CEO of California Forever, we have agreed that they will withdraw their measure and not proceed with the election in November.

Instead, they will submit an application for a General Plan & Zoning Amendment and proceed with the normal County process which includes preparation of a full Environmental Impact Report and the negotiation and execution of Development Agreement. As part of the normal County process, California Forever will reimburse the County’s costs for this future work, including both staff time and external consultants.

As a result, the action for the Board to place this measure on the ballot on tomorrow’s agenda is no longer needed.

I think it signals Jan Sramek’s understanding that while the need for more affordable housing and good paying jobs has merit, the timing has been unrealistic. I want to acknowledge that many Solano residents are excited about Mr. Sramek’s optimism about a California that builds again. He is also right that we cannot solve our jobs, housing, and energy challenges if every project takes a decade or more to break ground.

But announcing last year that California Forever would seek a vote on the November 2024 ballot, without a full Environmental Impact Report and a fully negotiated Development Agreement, was a mistake. 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.

Delaying the vote gives everyone a chance to pause and work together, which is what is needed – not a fight between friends throughout the County on both sides of the issue. With the ballot measure off the table, it will be far easier for county staff to work with California Forever. It also creates an opportunity to take a fresh look at the plan and incorporate input from more stakeholders.

We are who we are in Solano County because we do things differently here. We take our time to make informed decisions that are best for the current generation and future generations. We want to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to be heard and get all the information they need before voting on a General Plan change of this size.

As we now have competing reports and studies to consider and reflect on, I’ll give Mr. Sramek and his team a challenge. Consider us the ‘show-me county.’ Use the Environmental Impact Report and Development Agreement process to prove to us how you’ll strengthen Travis AFB, how you’ll provide water, and how you will solve the transportation challenges. And show us the financial engineering that makes it possible to pay for billions of dollars of infrastructure, without increasing our taxes, and while delivering a net tax surplus to our county.

I’d like to thank Mr. Sramek for recognizing the need of our community for more time and information. As Chair of the Board and the Supervisor who represents the area most impacted, I will seek to form a subcommittee of the Board for this proposal, and I look forward to working with him and his team collaboratively going forward.

Supervisor Mitch Mashburn

Statement by Jan Sramek, Founder & CEO of California Forever

For close to a century, California has been a place of optimism and opportunity, where every generation was better off than their parents. That’s why I moved here a decade ago, and that’s the California I believe in and want to help build.

But in recent decades, California has stopped building, and as a result, that optimism and opportunity has begun to slip away. We build a fraction of the homes every year that we built in the 1970s – despite our population growth. We make companies go through five years of planning and environmental review to open one factory – so they move to Arizona instead, and take their jobs with them. We make solar farms so difficult to permit that Texas now has more renewables than California.

We believe that Solano County has the opportunity to forge a new path towards the California Dream for this generation, and generations to come.

We also believe that we must move forward with urgency – because delays are not just a statistic. They have a human cost. As the father of two toddlers, I’m reminded of this reality every day. For every year we delay, thousands of Solano parents miss more mornings, recitals, and bedtime stories because they’re commuting two hours for work. They cannot get those magical moments back.

We want to show that it’s possible to move faster in California. That’s why we asked for zoning approvals in 2024, followed by an Environmental Impact Report and Development Agreement in 2025 and 2026. But we recognize now that it’s possible to reorder these steps without impacting our ambitious timeline. Instead, we will work with the County to prepare the Environmental Impact Report and Development Agreement over the next two years, and then bring the full package back for approval in 2026.

This creates opportunities to incorporate additional community input, and then provide everyone with access to objective analysis, and the full terms of the Development Agreement, including the community benefits. We believe that with this process, we can build a shared vision that passes with a decisive majority and creates broad consensus for the future. We’re excited about working with the Board of Supervisors, its land use subcommittee, and county staff to make this happen.

Finally, I want to personally thank the tens of thousands of Solano residents who have shaped and supported the East Solano Plan. In the upcoming weeks we will launch a series of community workshops to help design the community benefits, including down-payment assistance, training funds, and small business grants, and to hear any other suggestions for improving the plan. If you would like to participate or have other ideas, my email is jan@californiaforever.com.

Jan Sramek

A new poll by Impact Research shows 65% of Solano likely voters support development in East Solano

A new poll of likely voters in Solano County finds that 65% support development of good paying jobs, more affordable homes, and clean energy in East Solano, with 48% of voters strongly supporting development in East Solano. Most voters are also asking for a full environmental impact report to be completed before approving the East Solano Plan.

Download the full memo from Impact Research here.

Said about this joint statement

“We support California Forever’s plan to pause on the East Solano County development. The largest development in Solano County history deserves more time for community input and support. We have been in productive and active discussions with California Forever leadership to guarantee that the East Solano Plan will create the good union construction jobs we need in our county. We are hopeful to finalize these discussions and look forward to building the future that Solano County and California needs.”

– Danny Bernardini, Business Manager, Napa-Solano Building & Construction Trades Council

The Updated Process

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the East Solano Plan no longer on the ballot in 2024?

On July 22nd, an agreement between Mitch Mashburn, Chair of the Board of Supervisors of Solano County, and Supervisor for District Five and Jan Sramek, Founder & CEO of California Forever was announced. California Forever will work with the County to prepare the Environmental Impact Report and Development Agreement over the next two years, and then bring the full package back for approval in 2026.

What does polling say about the plan? Did this affect your decision?

At the same time, most voters are also asking for a full environmental impact report to be completed first.

Since doing the Environmental Impact Report first does not impact the overall timeline – it just reorders the steps – we have recognized that this is the better process to follow. This would allow additional community input, and give everyone the objective analysis they are looking for.

Download the poll memorandum from Impact Research here.

What is the path forward? What changes are you planning to make to the plan now?

We believe the foundation of the plan is strong, but we have also learned a lot since we initially published the initiative in February 2024, especially about what the people of Solano County want to see in the community benefits. We look forward to working with all stakeholders across Solano County, and creating more opportunities for input and collectively building an even stronger plan together. This alternative path does not change timing for breaking ground.

Are you going to resubmit in 2026?

Yes. Our goal is to work with all stakeholders towards receiving approval for the general plan, zoning change, Environmental Impact Report, and Development Agreement by 2026.

What will happen to the land if this initiative never passes?

Given that 65% of likely Solano voters support development in East Solano, with 48% of them strongly supporting it, we are confident that the project will be approved.

What happens to the 10 Guarantees and other community benefits?

We will be working with the community on revising the plan, including the design of any community benefits.

What will happen with the sports complex and Crystal Lagoons?

We will continue our work with the working groups on preliminary design for both projects, with the first meetings happening in August. Any advanced design and construction would follow approval of the East Solano Plan.

What is happening with your NorthBay Health partnership? Will you still be opening a facility in Rio Vista?

Our partnership with NorthBay Health to help accelerate opening 6-10 new primary and urgent care clinics across Solano County has always been independent of the process and timing for the East Solano Plan. The partnership remains and we are actively working towards other new clinics now.

What are the employers who promised to bring jobs here saying?

They hope that we can work with the community to design and approve a plan soon, so that they can bring more good paying jobs to Solano County. Technology companies grow fast and make decisions about where to grow every year, so the sooner we can design a good plan that everyone can get behind, and get shovels in the ground, the sooner new jobs will arrive.

Are you/the investors considering alternate uses for the land?

No. We have always said that we have 4 lines of business – community development, renewable energy, agriculture, and mitigation and habitat conservation. We will continue to pursue these four business areas.

What is labor’s position? Are they involved in these discussions?

Over the past year, we have had productive discussions with many constituents in the labor movement, including construction trades. We look forward to continuing our work together in this next phase.