Tag Archives: Solano County Water Agency

Latest on Flannery’s plan for new Solano City (California Forever)

[BenIndy note: We don’t often expect much good reporting from Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post, but the following story is thorough, fair and timely – highly recommended. Below that are links to three recent local reports from our Vallejo paper, and a few links to Bay Area tv reports. Check ’em out and stay informed. Oh, and… you might be interested in the Change.org petition: Oppose Flannery Associates and No to California Forever.]

$1B Silicon Valley-backed utopian city ‘California Forever’ facing national security probe: pols

Solano County
Flannery Associates has bought up nearly $1 billion in land located in Solano County. AFP via Getty Images

New York Post, by Thomas Barrabi, Published Nov. 12, 2023

A planned utopian city in California continues to face a high-stakes probe by a US national security panel – and state politicians still aren’t satisfied that the secretive project isn’t linked to China.

Since 2017, a little-known firm called Flannery Associates has stealthily bought up nearly $1 billion in land next to Travis Air Force Base, sparking alarms on Capitol Hill that a foreign entity could be backing the project for nefarious purposes.

Similar concerns arose last year after a Chinese firm bought 300 acres of land near an Air Force drone base in North Dakota.

In August, Flannery tried to calm nerves by revealing its backers included US tech tycoons such as LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen.

The group has said the land’s proximity to Travis was unintentional and outlined plans to develop a picturesque city featuring sustainable energy, a pedestrian-friendly layout and good-paying jobs.

John Garamendi
Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) is among those who have raised concerns about Flannery’s origins. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Nevertheless, the US Treasury Department’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) – an interagency panel responsible for vetting business transactions for potential national security risks – is still actively reviewing the project as of this month, a pair of California lawmakers told The Post.

Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif), who previously blasted Flannery for using “strong-arm mobster techniques” to acquire land from local farmers, told The Post that the firm’s explanation to date is “only half of the story” – and claimed the project bears the hallmarks of a “patient” foreign investment scheme.

“To say it’s ‘American money’ is not a complete explanation of who is the investor,” Garamendi said. “I’ve been around long enough to understand the way foreign money – legitimate and illegitimate – is invested in the United States. Usually in an LLC, in a real estate transaction.”

Flannery Associates was originally registered as an LLC in Delaware, which does not require an ownership disclosure. The project’s organizers describe California Forever as Flannery’s parent company.

Flannery has rankled Solano County residents with vaguely-defined plans to build the city on patches of dry, unincorporated farmland that is pockmarked with wind turbines and abandoned gas wells and is known to lack enough infrastructure to support a large population.

California Forever
The first renderings of the “California Forever” project emerged earlier this fall. California Forever

Catherine Moy, the mayor of Fairfield, Calif., said the feds are “still investigating” the situation and were “not 100% that China is not behind funding on this.”

“CFIUS, they’re still going forward with their investigation. You can trust but verify, especially with things like this,” Moy said. “A couple of the investors already are very connected with China, business-wise.”

The CFIUS probe was first reported by CNN in August – weeks after it emerged that Garamendi and fellow US Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) had asked the panel and the FBI to investigate the matter.

The duo noted that Travis is a critical military transport hub known as the “Gateway to the Pacific” that serves as a key conduit for shipments to Ukraine, among other key functions.

“My concerns with the land acquisition in Solano County have always been on national security and food security,” Thompson said in a statement. “Their rapid acquisition of land around Travis Air Force Base caused concern about who was making the purchases and their ultimate goal.”

A spokesperson for Travis Air Force base confirmed that “senior officials are actively supporting all involved federal and Solano County agencies regarding the land purchases.” The spokesperson referred further questions to the Treasury Department.

The Treasury Department did not return multiple requests for comment.

When reached for comment, a Flannery Associates spokesperson said the project has “no other foreign investors” beyond those it has disclosed.

The firm has said its investors are passive and have no role in day-to-day operations.

“While most area electeds have taken an open-minded approach to the opportunity our project presents for local jobs, investments, homes for middle class families, and clean power, a couple of local politicians are unfortunately and irresponsibly spreading rumors and misinformation to insinuate that California Forever is a not an American company,” the spokesperson said.

“We have complied with all government inquiries and provided documents (including all investment agreements and subscription agreements) that unquestionably prove that over 97% of our invested capital comes from U.S. investors, and that the remaining less than 3% comes from UK and Irish investors (Patrick and John Collison, with smaller stakes held by Charles Songhurst and Thomas Mather),” the spokesperson added.

Fairfield, California mayor Catherine Moy
Fairfield, California mayor Catherine Moy is an outspoken critic of the city project. fairfield.ca.gov

So far, the list of publicly-disclosed Flannery investors includes Hoffman, Andreesen, his investment firm Andreesen Horowitz, former Sequoia Capital partner Michael Moritz, Stripe co-founders Patrick and John Collison, Chris Dixon, John Dooer, Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross and Laurene Powell Jobs, the prominent philanthropist and widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

Moritz spent nearly four decades at Sequoia Capital and helped spearhead the venture firm’s expansion into China before exiting last June. Sequoia Capital itself has not been linked to Flannery Associates or the “California Forever” project, though the House Select Committee on China recently revealed it was probing the firm’s investments and business interests in China.

Moritz did not immediately return requests for comment.

A Sequoia Capital spokesperson confirmed that the firm had received the select committee’s letter about the probe, was “reviewing it and will respond.”

Jan Sramek.
Flannery Associates CEO Jan Srakek has denied that his firm wants to build a “utopian” city.  KGO-TV

Flannery CEO Jan Sramek has scrambled to downplay the project’s ties to the tech industry, describing it as a “city of yesterday.”

Its website specifically rejects the notion that it is building a “tech utopia” and said Flannery is “not proposing a pie-in-the-sky ‘utopian’ fantasy.”

Critics, including Garamendi and Moy, argue that Sramek and his team are merely trying to reframe the project due to local backlash.

“The story has changed,” Moy said. “Any credibility he was trying to earn after being secretive for five years is being lost because he’s changing the story now. That’s what happens with people who you can’t trust.”


RECENTLY IN THE VALLEJO TIMES-HERALD
Cars on Highway 12 between Suisun City and Rio Vista. (Chris Riley/The Reporter)

California Forever form community advisory committee | Company makes statement ahead of SCWA meeting
Vallejo Times-Herald, Nov 9, 2023
>> California Forever announced a community advisory committee, full of current and formal public officials and community leaders from across Solano County. The committee, according to a press release from the company… (continued)

California Forever CEO Jan Sramek during a packed Solano County Water Agency meeting in Vacaville. (Chris Riley/The Reporter)

Turning off the tap | SCWA directs staff not to discuss Water Plus with California Forever
Vallejo Times-Herald, Nov 10, 2023
>> The Solano County Water Agency Board of Directors told its staff not to continue discussions with California Forever regarding their proposed development project in eastern Solano County.   At a regular meeting of the board Thursday evening, over 90 attendees and public commenters filled the meeting room… (continued)

Sheep graze in a plot of land east of CA 113.  (Chris Riley/The Reporter)

What would a new Solano County city mean for Vallejo? | California Forever promises high-paying jobs; officials question company’s approach
Vallejo Times-Herald, Nov 11, 2023
>> With stances ranging from skepticism to outright hostility, Vallejo officials are pushing back against what they say is a shamelessly ambitious plan to construct a new city of between 100,000 and 400,000 people in eastern Solano County…. (continued)

RECENT BAY AREA TV COVERAGE

NBC BAY AREA NEWS: ‘California Forever’ CEO shows tour of proposed site amid uphill battle with Solano County residents, leaders, by Jodi Hernandez, Nov 10, 2023

KTVU Fox News: California Forever: 1st tour of Solano County land bought for $800M under mysterious circumstances, by KTVU staff, Nov 10, 2023

KXTV ABC10 Sacramento: California Forever proposes land swap, $1M toward habitat conservation, by Devin Trubey, Krys Shahin, Nov 11, 2023


CLICK HERE TO READ MORE about the proposed Flannery Inc. land grab here on the BenIndy

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Flannery Inc. (California Forever) Proposing Land Swap

Swap with City of Fairfield, Solano County and Solano County Water Agency would complete 15,000 acre prairie reserve near Travis AFB

A herd of horses walks in a pasture south of Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield. A group of investors, California Forever, which describes itself as the parent company of Flannery Associates, has been purchasing plots of farmland around the Air Force base from Suisun City to Rio Vista along Highway 12 in hopes of building a new tech city. (Chris Riley/The Reporter)

Vallejo Times-Herald, by Nick McConnell, November 7, 2023

California Forever sent a letter on Monday to Solano County, the City of Fairfield and the Solano County Water Agency proposing a land exchange of thousands of acres near Travis Air Force Base.

The company has offered to swap 1,573 acres of high habitat value land on Jepson Prairie near Travis Air Force Base, for 1,403 acres of pasture with medium agricultural value six to 10 miles away from the base, mostly east of Rio Dixon Road.

The letter, signed by California Forever CEO Jan Sramek, was addressed to Fairfield City Manager David Gassaway, County Administrator William Emlen and General Manager of Solano County Water Agency Chris Lee.

The letter says that California Forever is offering the exchange because it learned the parcels it purchased on the Jepson Prairie are included under the Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration program, and that its ownership of them could also pose a threat to the goals of the Solano County Habitat Conservation Plan.

“We believe this exchange proposal is a win-win transaction that makes good sense for all sides involved,” the letter reads.

A map included in the California Forever Letter shows the land involved in its exchange offer. Parcels shaded in yellow currently belong to the company, and parcels shaded in other colors currently belong to Solano County, Fairfield, or SCWA. (Courtesy image California Forever).

The letter also indicates that California Forever would provide $1 million to fund the completion of the Solano County Habitat Conservation plan. The land being offered by California Forever is the last land on the Jepson Prairie which is not currently publicly owned, according to the letter. creating the opportunity to unite one uninterrupted habitat.

“This exchange would therefore become the capstone achievement that substantially completes the preservation of the Jepson Prairie ecosystem, and creates a fully contiguous open space reserve of approximately 15,000 acres” the letter says.

The Solano County Water Agency has a meeting scheduled for Thursday at 6:30, which will be available both in person at 810 Vaca Valley Parkway and on Zoom. Its agenda, released before the letter was dated, includes an item titled “Water Supply Portfolio and Discussions with California Forever.”

The entire proposal is conditional on the approval of California Forever’s development plans in the area by the voters next November and by relevant regulatory agencies. The company said it is currently undergoing a listening tour, taking feedback from the community on how to make its plans work for Solano County residents. A more comprehensive plan, which will go in front of voters next November, will be released in January.

“Put plainly, if the voters or any regulatory agencies whose approvals would be required later do not approve our plans, the exchange agreement would terminate, we would cover all legal and other costs of the public agencies incurred in negotiating the exchange, and everything would remain the same as it is today,” the letter reads.

The offer is only on the table until Dec. 31, the letter explains, so that all of the changes can be reflected in the January plan.

“The reason to agree on this transaction now is to ensure that we can propose a more orderly plan to the voters, so that if the voters and regulators approve the proposal in the future, then the exchange automatically and immediately closes,” the letter reads.

Sramek said the REPI report and habitat plan were the main drivers of this proposal, as California Forever had no knowledge of both of those factors before the purchase of this land. Four weeks ago, when it learned of the REPI, he said, it started to think of how it might be able to get that land under Travis AFB’s control.

“I think what we want people to understand is that we are serious about the fact that we want to protect and strengthen Travis,” he said.

Sramek also said the company feels similarly about protecting open space and contributing to ecological projects in the area.

“We’ve been saying that for two months,” he said of commitments to the base and the environment, “and this is a step where we are going to change it into actions.”

The proposal would allow public shareholders to take over land of higher ecological value, and to consolidate their holdings into one place, California Forever said.

“We hope this transaction is the first of many ways that California Forever and local stakeholders can work together in a productive and collaborative fashion that benefits everyone involved,” the letter said. “We look forward to working with all stakeholders on this multi-benefit transaction, and attending public meetings where this matter is discussed to answer any questions.”


CLICK HERE TO READ MORE about the proposed Flannery Inc. land grab here on the BenIndy