At the 11th hour, the Silicon Valley-backed California Forever pulled the plug on their East Solano Plan initiative, after spending over $10 million to qualify the measure for the ballot and try to convince voters of their misbegotten plan.
Despite their various attempts at sugarcoating the damaging effects of the measure, the community stood strong and unified in opposition, all but guaranteeing a landslide defeat in November. The withdrawal happened one day before a Board of Supervisors meeting where they were set to discuss a damning impact report prepared by the County and place the initiative on the ballot.
This is a clear WIN for the people of Solano, who have been organizing and mobilizing in a grassroots effort to oppose and repeal this sprawl development project.
Members of the community from all parts of the county came together to clearly show they saw through the empty promises of this measure. “Let’s be clear: California Forever knew 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,” said the Solano Together coalition in a statement.
How We Got Here
When details of this project emerged last fall, with the news that a group of outside investors—known as Flannery Associates—had secretly bought up over 65k acres of farmland in Eastern Solano County, Greenbelt Alliance rapidly activated—bringing our expertise in climate resilience, stopping sprawl, investing in cities, creative communications, coalition building and campaign planning to lift up and support community members and organizations around the county. We are so thrilled to have deepened partnerships with longtime allies and built great new connections as well.
With our decades of expertise and advocacy on land use and protection of agricultural lands and open space, Greenbelt Alliance is proud to be part of this effort from the get go as part of the Solano Together coalition—a diverse group of people and organizations leading the opposition to California Forever.
After the withdrawal announcement earlier this week, California Forever will now work with the County to conduct an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and potentially reach a development agreement with the County. They are likely to come back in 2026.
Greenbelt Alliance will continue to advocate for housing and investment in existing cities and preservation of agricultural and open space lands. With Solano Together, we hope to continue facilitating essential conversations about land use, stewardship, equitable development, and more.
Avoiding Sprawl, Investing in Cities
Since Greenbelt Alliance’s foundation 65 years ago, we have been sounding the alarm on development proposals on iconic Bay Area landscapes that would be damaging to communities and ecosystems alike. We’ve paired our advocacy for open space protection with strong support for new climate-smart development within our existing cities and towns.
In 2008, multiple groups around Solano County, including Greenbelt Alliance, organized to support an updated Orderly Growth Initiative update. Originally adopted in 1984, the Initiative affirms a strategy of city-centered growth and protects and supports Solano County’s agricultural lands by preventing certain developments. Over 70% of voters supported this measure, which signaled to outside developers such as Flannery Associates that this type of proposal is not appropriate for Solano County. The Orderly Growth is set to expire in 2028, so there will need to be action by the Solano County Board of Supervisors or voters to renew the measure.
Regional and local land use requires collaboration because environmental and agricultural stewardship is intertwined with the interest of urban and suburban residents. Greenfield development, especially outside of existing cities, not only harms farm lands and the ecology of open space, but the allocation of resources from existing cities to a new city.
In the 1995 report Beyond Sprawl, Greenbelt opines that to build sustainable communities, “Political alliances must be forged broader constituencies and alliances among environmentalists, inner-city community advocates, business leaders, government experts, farmers, and suburbanites.”
Our engagement in the Solano Together coalition and in the strategic campaign to defeat project proposals such as California Forever comes from understanding that these “broader constituencies” are essential for county and regional land-use planning.
Coalition Building in Action
Working with partners such as the Orderly Growth Committee, Solano County Farm Bureau, and many more, we helped provide strategic, backbone, and communications support and coordination for a group of diverse partners.
We also worked to engage residents through educational materials and campaigns. Key to this effort was our facilitation of monthly Solano Together meetings, where we held a place to discuss what was happening, educate residents about the impacts of the proposal, share news updates, and explain how to get involved. Over the next few months, hundreds of people signed up to join these meetings and thousands signed up for the monthly newsletter.
Then in February 2024, a large grassroots community event in Suisun City marked the official launch of the Coalition, with many influential leaders and local residents sending a strong message of unity.
What's Next
While it’s important to pause and celebrate, we are certain this is not the end.
With deep pockets and owning thousands of acres of land, they will rethink their strategy and try to buy their way into Solano again in 2026.
It’s time to build on the momentum and continue to educate and organize voters around this issue, and that’s why the Solano Together coalition’s work has only just begun. Follow along on Solano Together’s website and social media channels to stay engaged in this fight.
