Sacramento, California Local News
EXCLUSIVE: New renderings show California Forever’s plans for new city in Solano County
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Officials behind a new city proposed for Solano County shared new renderings of what the community would look like, including residential options and the public transit system.The images, provided exclusively to KCRA 3 by California Forever, show row houses with private backyards. Residents could decide to have a garage and an accessory dwelling unit in the backyard, or they could opt for more open space. In an exclusive interview with KCRA 3’s Orko Manna, California Forever Head of Planning Gabriel Metcalf said the idea is to provide residents with several choices.“It’s up to each homeowner what they want to do. Do they want a private garden? Do they want to have it be grass? They all face onto an alley in the back, and in the alley, you can of course park your car, but it can also be where you put an accessory dwelling unit, so it can be an office, it can be where your mother lives, or you can just have a bigger backyard. So, what we’re showing here is that range of options of very private intimate quiet backyards but also opening up onto an alley where all kinds of different things are going on,” Metcalf said.Metcalf added that the unnamed city, with an estimated residential population of 400,000 people, would have a wide variety of options when it comes to types of housing, including starter homes.“We really are focused on enabling first-time homeownership. We think there’s a really big need for that, it’s a very big market for us to try to serve. The Bay Area has gotten so expensive. We think if we can find a way to provide homeownership at a more affordable price point, it’s going to be really popular,” Metcalf said.Another new rendering given exclusively to KCRA 3 shows the bus rapid transit system that would be available for people to get around the city. Metcalf said the buses would function more like trains.“They have their own right of way in the middle of the street, they have boarding islands and they’re never stuck in traffic,” Metcalf said. “This is going to be a quality of public transit service that people have not seen before in this part of California.”Metcalf said another main goal of the proposed city is to have each resident only about a 5-to-10-minute walk away from schools, parks and shopping streets. Metcalf also said that people would still be able to drive, adding that there would be ample parking throughout the city including communal parking structures for each neighborhood.“What’s different from most of America is in this community, you have a choice. You can drive when you need to drive, but you don’t have to drive for everything. You can also get to things other ways, so this is going to be quite eye-opening for some people to experience that kind of freedom of choice on how they get around,” Metcalf said.But not everyone supports the proposal. In order for the new city to be built, the roughly 17,500 acres of land north of Highway 12 in between Travis Air Force Base and Rio Vista would need approval for urban development. Currently, the land is zoned for agriculture. Solano County Farm Bureau President William Brazelton said the bureau wants to keep it that way.“There’s a long, long history of agriculture in this county,” Brazelton said. “We’re not opposed to new housing. There’s a lot of, there’s actually quite a bit of space inside the city limits around the county, and that’s what we will advocate be built out before there’s sprawl, not just planting a brand-new 400,000-member community in the middle of ag land.”The Solano County Farm Bureau is part of a recently formed group called the Solano Together Coalition, which has concerns about what they call “California Forever’s sprawl development plans.”Suisun Mayor Pro Tem Princess Washington is also part of the coalition. She wants more details about the proposal, which she said she has not received from California Forever.“There is opposition to the overall plan, but I think that’s coupled with the lack of transparency when questions are asked. No answer is given. For example, the question of what would be the price point for housing. There has been no direct answer,” Washington said.Washington also said she wants people to understand that while the ideas for the proposed city may look good in renderings, the implementation of the plan would entail going against longstanding agriculture practices that have served Solano County well for years.“Everyone wants a good paying job, everyone wants affordable housing, but I think it’s very dangerous to use that as a carrot to change a policy,” Washington said.In response to the criticism, Metcalf said opponents should trust the process and understand that the new city could be a game-changer in helping solve the region’s housing crisis.“I think we have to look at the state of housing honestly in the Bay Area and in Northern California. What we’re doing right now is not working. Saying ‘no’ is not working. We need to create a place where we can say ‘yes,’” Metcalf said. “I am very hopeful and very cautiously optimistic that as people learn more about how this new community could work, that people are going to be really excited about it.”KCRA 3 confirmed with the Solano County Registrar of Voters office that California Forever has submitted a petition with more than 20,000 signatures, in an effort to allow urban development on the land where they want to build the new city. Election officials are in the process of verifying the signatures to make sure they are from valid Solano County voters. They said they expect to have a final determination by mid-June on if it can be put on the ballot in November.Even if the land-use change gets on the ballot and voters approve it, Solano County officials said a development agreement would need to be reached between the county and California Forever before any construction could begin.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.
Officials behind a new city proposed for Solano County shared new renderings of what the community would look like, including residential options and the public transit system.
The images, provided exclusively to KCRA 3 by California Forever, show row houses with private backyards. Residents could decide to have a garage and an accessory dwelling unit in the backyard, or they could opt for more open space.
In an exclusive interview with KCRA 3’s Orko Manna, California Forever Head of Planning Gabriel Metcalf said the idea is to provide residents with several choices.
“It’s up to each homeowner what they want to do. Do they want a private garden? Do they want to have it be grass? They all face onto an alley in the back, and in the alley, you can of course park your car, but it can also be where you put an accessory dwelling unit, so it can be an office, it can be where your mother lives, or you can just have a bigger backyard. So, what we’re showing here is that range of options of very private intimate quiet backyards but also opening up onto an alley where all kinds of different things are going on,” Metcalf said.
Metcalf added that the unnamed city, with an estimated residential population of 400,000 people, would have a wide variety of options when it comes to types of housing, including starter homes.
“We really are focused on enabling first-time homeownership. We think there’s a really big need for that, it’s a very big market for us to try to serve. The Bay Area has gotten so expensive. We think if we can find a way to provide homeownership at a more affordable price point, it’s going to be really popular,” Metcalf said.
Another new rendering given exclusively to KCRA 3 shows the bus rapid transit system that would be available for people to get around the city. Metcalf said the buses would function more like trains.
“They have their own right of way in the middle of the street, they have boarding islands and they’re never stuck in traffic,” Metcalf said. “This is going to be a quality of public transit service that people have not seen before in this part of California.”
Metcalf said another main goal of the proposed city is to have each resident only about a 5-to-10-minute walk away from schools, parks and shopping streets. Metcalf also said that people would still be able to drive, adding that there would be ample parking throughout the city including communal parking structures for each neighborhood.
“What’s different from most of America is in this community, you have a choice. You can drive when you need to drive, but you don’t have to drive for everything. You can also get to things other ways, so this is going to be quite eye-opening for some people to experience that kind of freedom of choice on how they get around,” Metcalf said.
But not everyone supports the proposal. In order for the new city to be built, the roughly 17,500 acres of land north of Highway 12 in between Travis Air Force Base and Rio Vista would need approval for urban development. Currently, the land is zoned for agriculture. Solano County Farm Bureau President William Brazelton said the bureau wants to keep it that way.
“There’s a long, long history of agriculture in this county,” Brazelton said. “We’re not opposed to new housing. There’s a lot of, there’s actually quite a bit of space inside the city limits around the county, and that’s what we will advocate be built out before there’s sprawl, not just planting a brand-new 400,000-member community in the middle of ag land.”
The Solano County Farm Bureau is part of a recently formed group called the Solano Together Coalition, which has concerns about what they call “California Forever’s sprawl development plans.”
Suisun Mayor Pro Tem Princess Washington is also part of the coalition. She wants more details about the proposal, which she said she has not received from California Forever.
“There is opposition to the overall plan, but I think that’s coupled with the lack of transparency when questions are asked. No answer is given. For example, the question of what would be the price point for housing. There has been no direct answer,” Washington said.
Washington also said she wants people to understand that while the ideas for the proposed city may look good in renderings, the implementation of the plan would entail going against longstanding agriculture practices that have served Solano County well for years.
“Everyone wants a good paying job, everyone wants affordable housing, but I think it’s very dangerous to use that as a carrot to change a policy,” Washington said.
In response to the criticism, Metcalf said opponents should trust the process and understand that the new city could be a game-changer in helping solve the region’s housing crisis.
“I think we have to look at the state of housing honestly in the Bay Area and in Northern California. What we’re doing right now is not working. Saying ‘no’ is not working. We need to create a place where we can say ‘yes,’” Metcalf said. “I am very hopeful and very cautiously optimistic that as people learn more about how this new community could work, that people are going to be really excited about it.”
KCRA 3 confirmed with the Solano County Registrar of Voters office that California Forever has submitted a petition with more than 20,000 signatures, in an effort to allow urban development on the land where they want to build the new city. Election officials are in the process of verifying the signatures to make sure they are from valid Solano County voters. They said they expect to have a final determination by mid-June on if it can be put on the ballot in November.
Even if the land-use change gets on the ballot and voters approve it, Solano County officials said a development agreement would need to be reached between the county and California Forever before any construction could begin.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.
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