Battling the Silicon Valley billionaires: Furious Californians erupt at council meeting against tech titans' plans to build a 53,000-acre 'utopian' city - but are dismissed as 'small, vocal minority'

Concerned Californians packed into a meeting earlier this month to protest a billionaire group's efforts to construct a 53,000-acre 'walkable and green' city.

California Forever, a group of Silicon Valley tech titans, hopes to create a new city in a rural area 60 miles northeast of San Francisco.

But residents have spurned the notion. Among them are the around 200 people who attended a Solano County Water Authority meeting about the group's proposal to fund a study on upgrading the county's water supply.

California Forever called the proposal a 'free lunch' for the community in a press release.

Brian Brokaw, a spokesperson for the group and its subsidiary, Flannery Associates, deemed naysayers 'a small but vocal minority.'

'We have learned both from our prior polling, our more recent survey, and our community engagement that many people are either supportive or undecided but have a very open mind,' Brokaw told The Daily Beast.

He added: 'Because of all the secrecy and intrigue around the project over the last number of years, people are going to be skeptical and suspicious.'

At the meeting, five people including California Forever founder Jan Sramek spoke in support of the project, while more than two dozen voiced their opposition.

Biology professor Jim DeKlowe referred to the proposal as an 'oligarch city' and expressed his fears that its development would harm local marshes.

He said it was an 'undermining of the democratic process' and a waste of '40 years of planning.'

Another local, Jeanne McCormack, said her family had occupied the land for more than 100 years.

'We're not leaving, and we're not going to cooperate,' she said. 'And I will die trying to stop this thing from happening.'

The board ultimately decided to halt discussions.

Flannery Associates drew the ire of Solano Country residents when the group started purchasing acres of land six years ago.

It spent more than $800 million discreetly buying up swathes around Travis Air Force Base in Solano County and acquired around 814 more acres in October, meaning it now owns more than 53,000 acres in the region. 

Flannery says the proposed new city will be 'walkable and green,' create thousands of jobs and 'bring back the California Dream.'

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

The group is currently embroiled in a $510 million lawsuit, according to court filings seen by DailyMail.com.

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

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

Flannery Associates is headed by former Goldman Sachs trader Jan Sramek and has the backing of tech moguls including former Sequoia Capital Chairman Mike Moritz, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen.

Despite mounting tensions, the group has said its project is gathering pace - indicating it now has 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,' it adds.

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

California Forever's ballot proposal, which releases 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 announcing a 'Community Advisory Committee' of 21 residents.