California Forever

This Solano County Development Has Dangerous Implications

A group of billionaire investors called Flannery Associates has spent $800 million to buy 55,000 acres of agricultural land in California's Solano County. That's where they want to build a brand-new city, which they’ve dubbed California Forever, that would dwarf the neighboring city of Rio Vista. Developers have said it could bring 400,000 new residents to what’s now mostly a rural and agricultural community.

And in fact, the site of the project hosts incredible, irreplaceable biodiversity. It’s home to more than 100 rare plant and animal species, from western burrowing owls to western pond turtles, and serves as essential habitat for California tiger salamanders, vernal pool fairy shrimps, and other federally protected species.

Building a city from scratch in this area presents a host of environmental concerns and public safety risks. The Center for Biological Diversity is committed to spreading the truth about this massive project: that it will harm California’s climate, water, air and biodiversity — possibly forever.

Dangers of Sprawl

Development far away from existing cities and job centers — aka “exurban development” — is bad urban planning. Sprawl projects like California Forever degrade air quality, damage natural ecosystems, and force residents to commute for hours.

Proponents of these developments often make grand promises of new jobs and economic prosperity. But when those promises go unfulfilled, people who moved to those communities are stuck in a remote place with polluted air and water, along with the other harms of such poorly planned projects.

Environmental Concerns

Paving over the land purchased to build California Forever will have dire and irreversible ecological consequences.

• Biodiversity loss: There are nearly 130 rare plant and animal species in Solano County, and developing over their habitats would harm a number of federally and state-protected species including western pond turtles, vernal pool tadpole shrimp, and California tiger salamanders.

• Extreme weather and flooding risks: Approximately 20% of lands proposed for development are in a flood inundation zone. As the climate crisis worsens and extreme weather events become more common, more areas will be at risk from flooding. Natural areas as opposed to exurban sprawl can better protect inland areas from more damage.

• Water scarcity: The water source to accommodate a new city has yet to be identified, posing serious questions about groundwater availability. Developers have indicated hopes of using the North Bay Aqueduct to transport water to the new city, but the Solano County Water Agency decided to cease discussions with developers on studying this option.

• Worsening the climate crisis and air pollution: Without viable transportation options linking southeastern Solano County to Bay Area job centers, tens of thousands of commuters will spend many hours on the roads. These mega-commutes will increase greenhouse gas emissions and worsen air pollution in nearby communities. At the same time, the land poised for development also offers significant carbon storage benefits, with more than 100,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas stored in the aboveground vegetation.

Urban Wildlands Program

The Center for Biological Diversity’s Urban Wildlands program advocates for land-use policies that protect communities and wildlife. For decades decisionmakers across California have steered development to the edges of urban and suburban areas, destroying wildlife habitat and pumping out more air and water pollution. The Urban Wildlands team uses scientific research, land-use law and water law to challenge destructive sprawl projects.