California residents erupt at town hall meeting over 'utopian city' plans that are backed by Silicon Valley billionaires: 'This is very disrespectful'

Residents of Solano County erupted in fury and questions for the Silicon Valley billionaires who secretly bought land to build a 'utopian city' in California. 

At a town hall on Wednesday, residents of Vallejo - a city in Solano County - explained their fears about the proposed city, which is slated to be developed on farmland in the surrounding region.

The development is being called 'California Forever.' Its architects plan to turn 50,000 acres of Solano County farmland into a brand new city of about as many people.

Flannery Associates, the parent company of California Forever, has purchased some $900million of land for the new city. 

One attendee at Wednesday's meeting said she felt the secretive nature of the land buying undermines any trust that could be had in the project.

'It’s the secrecy,' said Paula Conley, according to the San Francisco Standard. 'This is whole city, not a shopping center. I think it nullifies the whole point here of them trying to be open about it.'

Jan Sramek, the CEO of California Forever, began purchasing the necessary land in 2017. Later, he was joined by an elite group of tech investors, including Marc Andreessen and Chris Dixon, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, Steve Jobs' widow Laurene Powell Jobs, and former Sequoia Capital Chairman Mike Moritz.

On Wednesday, they faced the people who could soon be their neighbors.  

Some residents would love to see the nearly $1billion investment be pumped into their already existing city.

'You could help us come in and help us fix our city 'cause we have no money,' said former Vallejo City Councilwoman Katy Miessner.

Anne Carr, a native of Vallejo said: 'It’s heartbreaking. They’re gonna build this utopia, but we could use the jobs and development here. 

'It doesn’t do good to have service jobs here, what Vallejo needs are big corporation jobs where there’s advancement and you can devote yourself.'

Marge Grow-Eppard, a Miwok Tribe member, had other concerns.

'What about the Native American graves that you’re going to be excavating and building on without even consulting us, the natives of this land?

'You’re already talking about $900 million, but you have not said anything about the respect for the native people of this land. This is very disrespectful for us.' 

California Forever claims the proposed new city will be 'walkable and green,' in addition to creating thousands of jobs and 'bring(ing) back the California Dream.'

But controversy has been ongoing and earlier this year, Flannery Associated hit out at a group of farmers who refused to sell their land, accusing them of collusion to inflate its value.

The land purchases also concerned lawmakers including U.S. Representative John Garamendi, who is worried about the project's proximity to Travis Air Force Base.

Those fears inspired a national security investigation by the Treasury Department that continued even after the billionaire backers were unmasked at the end of August.

Despite mounting tensions, the group has said its project is gathering pace - indicating that they now have all the land necessary to begin construction on the city.

'With regards to future purchases, except for a few remaining properties that Flannery has under contract and will close on in the coming weeks, Flannery has assembled all the land it needs and does not anticipate making any additional purchases,' the company said in a statement. 

The investors aim to build 'a new community, solar farms, and a greenbelt of agriculture and habitat in eastern Solano County,' according to the project website.

'Doing so would bring thousands of good paying jobs, new paths to middle-class home ownership in safe, walkable neighborhoods, and a new source of clean power for every resident of Solano County.'

Next November, Solano County residents will vote on whether to change a local growth ordinance to allow the development of a new city.

California Forever's ballot proposal, which is due out early next year, will include the most detailed description of the project to date.

Until then, the group is attempting to rally community support, hosting town halls and earlier this month announcing a 'Community Advisory Committee' of 21 residents.