Tag Archives: California Forever Inc.

California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), California Forever, Economy, Elizabeth Patterson, Environmental review, Just transition, Solano County Maritime

Elizabeth Patterson on CEQA, etc… ‘Look Before You Leap’

Look before you leap

By Elizabeth Patterson, first appearing in The Benicia Herald, September 13, 2026

Elizabeth Patterson, Benicia Mayor 2007 – 2020

“Look before you leap” describes the reason for California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).  Before a project is built it is wise and thoughtful to determine impacts to air and water quality, wildlife habitats including terrestrial and aquatic species.  And for many what are the impacts from traffic, water supply, noise – a public health issue often ignored by decision makers.

California Forever pounded the hallways of California legislature in August to get Solano County Senator and Assembly member to sponsor CF’s proposed bill aided and abetted by the Governor’s Go Biz office.  The proposed bill would use  2008 Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the County General Plan.  Why wait until August to introduce this so-called trailer bill?  The answer is to avoid public review through the appropriate legislative committees and to use the power of the Governor’s office to wield their billionaire influence.  Sound familiar?

Senator Cabaldon noted that the 2008 General Plan EIR spelled out clearly that any “water related industrial project” would require a full CEQA assessment for potential impacts.  This is why the Senator among other concerns never endorsed the proposed legislation.

Assembly Member Wilson would not support the legislation without the Solano County Board of Supervisors signing on.  They didn’t.  And they didn’t because of multiple reasons including the last-minute California Forever steamrolling approach.  “I am not afraid of the Governor” said Supervisor Mitch Mashburn.  Board Chair Brown said “just say no”.

Mashburn’s motion to consider Solano County Maritime and Manufacturing  Act (Solano County Maritime) was “no” this year but next year consider Benicia’s deep water port and revitalizing Mare Island and its dry docks.  Will the billionaires do that?

Investing in existing communities such as Benicia and Vallejo means fewer new roads, water pipes, electrical power systems and so on versus the proposed shipbuilding near Collinsville.  It means investing private and public resources efficiently and effectively.  The ill-conceived Solano County Maritime “shipbuilding” project would take massive amounts of new roads, miles of new water supply pipes, and miles of new electrical power lines.  As a note, unless the Investor Owned Utilities and Public Utilities Commission change the rules, these new transmission lines will be part of your electricity energy bill.  That is how new development pays for utilities.  It is not just the developer or project.  The costs are spread around to all of us.

Roads.  The Solano Transportation Authority plans projects decades in advance because it must line up resources to pay for the improvements.  STA has a list.  It has projected funding sources.  What California Forever proposes with the shipbuilding project would require limited funds to be redirected and the approved projects list delayed by a decade or so.  Read STA’s comments on the notice of preparation for the EIR for the Suisun City Expansion project.  Legislative rumors have it that CF suggested diverting available funding from SR 37 to apply to SR 12.  It is hard to believe such rumors.

Investing in existing communities means where people live and work.  And it means avoiding significant impacts to tidal marshlands of the Sacramento River in the Delta.  Some of those impacts include harm from dredging especially if the existing ship channel is dug deeper.  The Army Corps of Engineers through numerous studies  identify that dredging the channel deeper could result in the channel walls collapsing because the sediment from hydraulic mining is weak.  Furthermore, the ACOE identified that a deeper channel would enable more salt water into the Delta where farmers pump to irrigate their crops.

The Bay-Delta is the heart of California’s water system. It supports some of the state’s most iconic and threatened fish and wildlife, sustains tribes and other local communities, and provides water for nearly 30 million Californians and 4 million acres of farmland. These benefits are essential to the economy and environment.

It would be helpful to understand all of this which is what a full CEQA review would provide.

Some have said that the proposed legislation to by-pass CEQA and local government adopted policies would still allow County discretionary decision making.  Nope.  Read the draft legislation to note that after the project is designed, the county would issue permits – permits which are ministerial – meaning adhering to adopted standards.  There would be no mitigation measures because there would be no identified impact because there is no CEQA.

Furthermore, all the important decisions of project design are made by the developer and the proposed development agreement is meaningless because there is nothing to negotiate.  And even with a development agreement, things happen such as bankruptcy leaving government holding the empty promises.

Imbedded in the failed CF legislation was a device to solve issues between agencies.  For instance, if STA disagreed with CalTrans, there was a proposed “master” who would decide.  This proposed master would be appointed by Land Use and Climate Innovation whose members are appointed by the Governor.  Want to guess how that decision would go?

It is true that there are many governmental agencies with decision making : air quality districts, water quality and water supply agencies, federal, state, regional and local transportation agencies, PUC, fish and wildlife, Delta Protection Commission, Delta Stewardship Council, NOAA, and Department of Defense – it is a long list.  Because things are complicated, expertise, knowledge and oversight are needed to secure public health, safety and welfare and the Public Trust Doctrine.

It is said that CEQA and the complications of getting approval are ruinous for California.  Really?  CEQA has been law since 1970.  More than 50 years.  And California is the 4th largest economy in the world.  Something must be working.  I suggest it is the “looking before you leap” that has had a net positive benefit.  Other benefits are cleaner air, better water quality, many habits protected, better transportation planning and less reliance on fossil fuels.

Right here in the river City of Benicia are opportunities for ship repair and maritime activities, expanding  tourism and visitors as a perfect place to explore the Delta National Heritage Area of which we are a part.  Invest in Benicia. Reduce our carbon footprint. Restore our fisheries.  And do it with the public.  Perhaps the billionaires will reflect on their attempts to get favorable treatment and remember Winston Churchill’s “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the other forms that have been tried”.  The billionaires “cram it down our throats” approach didn’t work.  Try public participation and democratic principles.

Elizabeth Patterson, Mayor 2007-2020
State staff environmental scientist, retired

Previously here on this subject:

Walking Back CEQA Protections Will Leave Californians Paying the Price for Ignoring Impacts, by Elizabeth Patterson, July 30, 2024

California Forever Inc., Campaign finance, East Solano Plan, Flannery Associates, Solano County Board of Supervisors

California Forever going dark? …after spending $7 million in April-June

Latest campaign finance report includes details on massive income & spending…

Big bucks aren’t enough to win the day…

By Roger Straw, The Benicia Independent, August 13, 2024

Solano County recently posted California Forever’s 2nd Quarter campaign finance report, Form 460.  It’s 68 pages long, and provides a detailed look inside the billionaire funding and the massive effort to sell the public on the billionaires’ failed ballot initiative.

Contributions

The report details 11 self-funding contributions April-June totaling $5,935,000. In addition, they made non-monetary contributions (staff time, office space & expenses, legal fees and event sponsorships) totaling $1,473,302. Total contributions for the three months – all self-funded – were $7,408,302. This was on top of the $1,850,109 California Forever gave itself in the 1st Quarter. Yes, that’s a total self-funding of $9,258,411 through the first half of 2024!

Expenditures

California Forever spent most of that money. Expenditures April-June totaled $7,078,688 (plus another $319,455 in as yet unpaid bills). This on top of its 1st Quarter expenses of $2,008,873, a total outlay for the first 6 months of this year: $9,087,561.

The details revealed on the 60 pages of individual expenditures are mind-blowing. For instance, just take a look at the first page of expenditures, p. 8:

  • Acosta Consulting, Sacramento, for literature: $112,500.20
  • Angie Wei Consulting, Sacramento, for campaign consulting, 2 payments, both for $20,000
  • Grindstone Field Solutions, Sacramento, for campaign workers’ salaries, $140,135.42

That is only the first of 60 pages, with additional payments for each of the above categories.

Another example: see pp. 56-64 for massive amounts spent on “radio airtime and production costs”:

  • KCBS-AM San Francisco: payments of  $9,452, $13,636 and $17,106, total around $40K. (and similar payments to many other AM and FM stations in the Bay Area, Sacramento and one in Burbank)
  • Pandora Radio: 2 payments of $13,440. Spotify: 2 payments of $13,440 and another of $16,800. Sirius XM: $16,800.
  • And 2 whopping payments, $438,537 and $389,662.36 paid to DMA Nielsen of Queensbury NY for “t.v. or cable airtime and production costs.”
Transparency going forward?

QUESTION: Now that the initiative is no longer on the ballot, will California Forever be required by State and/or County law to file another 460 at the next deadline (probably in September sometime)?

QUESTION: California Forever now says they will “apply for a General Plan and Zoning Amendment and proceed with the normal County process for the negotiation and execution of a development agreement.” [County news release 22 Jul 2024]  >>What County department will be overseeing this kind of process? I assume that project documents will be posted on the County website, but it’s not clear to me where. Interested parties will want to be monitoring this process closely.

I’ll be sure to update with answers on the BenIndy if/when I get answers.

Roger Straw, Benicia Independent contributor

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California Forever Inc., East Solano Plan, Flannery Associates, Solano County Board of Supervisors

California Forever told to ‘Go somewhere else’

Supervisor Monica Brown doesn’t hold back…

Leaders react to East Solano Plan removal

A herd of horses walks in a pasture south of Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield. (Chris Riley/The Reporter)

Vallejo Times-Herald, July 24, 2024

Solano County Supervisor Monica Brown waited months to share her thoughts on California Forever’s East Solano Plan. So when her moment came Tuesday morning, she didn’t mince words.

“How dare you come in here with your arrogance,” she scolded the company, criticizing the Silicon Valley-backed project for failing to communicate clearly with the County, accusing them of misleading voters and putting them on blast for a lack of detail and transparency in their initiative.

Brown said she was previously advised by Solano County Counsel not to speak out against California Forever to avoid recusing herself on matters that came before the board. Ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, she said, she got the green light from that office to share some thoughts on the situation.

And share she did, using supervisors’ comments as an opportunity to let fly a volley of verbal missiles for the would-be developers and celebrate the postponement of the initiative’s ballot appearance until at least 2026.

“You came here and thought ‘Well they’re a bunch of hicks, they won’t fight,’ ” she said. “Well, we did.”

Brown also challenged the company on its decision to sue Solano County farmers and questioned the qualifications of their employees.

“Who did you have working for you? The kids I gave Fs to in math?” the former teacher asked.

She also attacked the company for failing to use the normal means of development that the County has laid out. She accused the organization of trying to “buy votes” with their charitable giving.

“You had an agenda,” she said. ” ‘By God, we’re going to get this done in November and we’re going to tell those hicks forget you.’ “

While California Forever has indicated it hopes to mend fences with the County and its voters, and while it remains by far the county’s largest single landowner, Brown made clear she wasn’t particularly interested at this point.

“As far as I’m concerned, you’re not welcome here ever again,” she said. “Go somewhere else.”

After the meeting, Supervisor John Vasquez told reporters that elected officials are entitled to their own opinions without making them public, and noted that other officials have faced recusal on issues for speaking out ahead of time in the past.

“Private opinions are private opinions,” he said. “Decisions at the dais are based on fact. You hear everything, and then you make a decision.”

Brown, a Democrat, expressed frustration with the Democratic consultants that the company brought in to help on this campaign, saying they had “sold your soul.”

She also noted that the County will have many things to work on over the next few years and that California Forever should have to wait its turn to get more County resources expended on it.

“What we have to tell them is, ‘You don’t get to jump to the front of the line,’ ” she said. “And I believe that with this going, that we do have a little bit of control at the driver’s side.” [See Supervisor Brown’s full comment, video below.]

Vacaville Mayor John Carli spoke to The Reporter about the future of the project on Monday. Carli, who has expressed before that California Forever did not sufficiently build trust with the community, said removing the initiative and taking time to hear from the community once again could help that aim.

“I do believe that their actions today are a step in the right direction,” he said.

Crafting an Environmental Impact Report and a Development Agreement could help the company explain to voters what they precisely mean to do and how it might impact the county as a whole, Carli said.

“This makes a lot more sense if you truly are interested in being here for the long term,” he said.

Still, he said, the firm has a long road ahead if they hope to rebuild that trust.

“Part of trust is being a good neighbor,” he said.

State Sen. Bill Dodd (D-3) expressed approval of the decision to remove the initiative from the ballot, but still had sharp words for the company’s end goals.

“The proponents of this ill-conceived development thought they were going to flash their cash and run over our community like a bunch of bumpkins, but instead they ran face-first into a brick wall,” Dodd said in a statement. “These billionaire speculators may try to spin it, but the bottom line is they got a wakeup call that Solano County residents won’t be fooled or taken advantage of.”

Dodd said he still believes the project would have “devastating consequences” for a number of issues in the county, including water, public safety, traffic and Travis Air Force Base.

“I hope they abandon their fundamentally flawed design and approach and instead work collaboratively with local governments to develop housing in a thoughtful way in places where it’s actually suitable.”

Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D-11) commended the company for removing its initiative but struck a much more positive tone about the company’s end goals than other local politicians, focusing on the “further discussion” that needs to occur on key issues with the project.

“While the proposed initiative could offer our county many benefits, we must ensure that more work is done to protect current Solano County residents and our local assets,” she said.

Wilson noted that she looks forward to a future of “collaborating with all stakeholders.”

U.S. Rep. John Garamendi (D-8) commended Supervisor Mitch Mashburn for reaching an agreement with California Forever and reiterated his position that the development would be irresponsible.

“From the beginning, I have maintained that the proposed project was only a pipe dream, not a true plan,” he said. “Rushing the process without thorough environmental and community review would have been disastrous for the existing residents of Solano County.”

[sta_anchor id=”brown” /]Supervisor Brown’s comment on July 23, 2024:

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California Forever Inc., Flannery Associates, Solano County Board of Supervisors, Solano County CA, Solano County Orderly Growth Committee, Solano County Registrar of Voters, Solano Together, Travis Air Force Base

Solano Together Statement: The People of Solano County Defeat the Billionaires’ Development Plan

Statement: The People of Solano County Defeat the Billionaires’ Development Plan

Solano Together, July 22, 2024

Faced with the anticipation of overwhelming rejection by Solano County voters on the ballot, California Forever has pulled the plug on the East Solano Plan Initiative. The people have spoken and California Forever has been forced to withdraw their hastily drawn, poorly designed initiative, given a surefire loss in November.

Solano Together is proud of the people of Solano County for this amazing WIN. For the tireless advocates who engaged and educated the constituents, the brave local officials and community leaders who spoke out and denounced the project, and the resilient farmers who were on the frontlines against this harmful proposal.

Let’s be clear: California Forever knew that their guarantees were not binding. They knew the impact of their proposal on traffic, Travis Air Force Base, the environment, agriculture, existing cities, and more. Instead of taking the time to deeply engage in a transparent process of what their proposal means to the county, they decided to deceive the public to try and get the initiative passed.

We thank the Board of Supervisors for initiating the impact study that showed the negative impacts a project of this magnitude would have on Solano families.

Solano Together looks forward to continuing our local, community driven efforts to invest in the future of our county, including advocating for bringing more jobs and affordable homes to our existing communities while protecting farmland and open spaces through the renewal of the Orderly Growth Initiative by 2028.