The East Solano Plan, a proposal for a walkable urban community in a rural corner of the San Francisco Bay Area, stoked tension, fear and mistrust among some neighbors.The East Solano Plan, a proposal backed by a group of technology billionaires to build a city of up to 400,000 people on farmland about 60 miles from San Francisco, has caused tension, fear, and mistrust among some neighbors. The plan, which aimed to create a walkable urban community in a rural area of the San Francisco Bay Area, has been put on hold due to concerns about its impact on the environment. The company behind the development, California Forever, has announced a delay of at least two years to conduct further studies.

The proposed city, which was the brainchild of former Goldman Sachs trader Jan Sramek, was meant to address the housing shortage in California by building a large number of homes in a short period of time. The project attracted investments from prominent Silicon Valley figures, including LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Emerson Collective founder Laurene Powell Jobs. However, the company’s secretive approach to buying up farmland and lack of transparency about its plans caused unease among neighbors and members of Congress.

The tension was further exacerbated when California Forever filed a $500 million antitrust lawsuit against a group of farmers who refused to sell their land. The company’s aggressive tactics and lack of communication only fueled mistrust and suspicion among the community. A recent report commissioned by Solano County estimated that the project would require billions of dollars in infrastructure investment, but the details of the development were still unclear.

The New York Times revealed the identities of the backers and plans for the new city last year, causing even more fear and mistrust among neighbors. The report noted that the project was rushed through without proper study and evaluation, which is not typical for large developments. The delay in the project has been met with relief by some, but the future of the East Solano Plan remains uncertain. 

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