Tech billionaires ask Californians to give new utopian city their blessing
- Reference: 1705599008
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/01/18/billionaire_city_solano_county/
- Source link:
[1]Until recently , the identity of Flannery Associates was shrouded in mystery. Residents even expressed concerns about foreign espionage because the landgrab, which made some of the sellers millionaires, snaked close to Travis Air Force Base, one of the busiest in the US.
But it's not as sexy as that. It's just rich people doing rich people things led by former Goldman Sachs trader Jan Sramek with investors including LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, Marc Andreessen, venture capitalist Michael Moritz, Patrick and John Collison of Stripe, and Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve's widow.
[2]
The scheme dates back to 2017 and has since been the subject of speculation and conspiracy. However, the veil is now falling as the billionaires need to woo the community into approving their plans – which is going to be a big ask.
[3]
[4]
In a bid for a more friendly face, the group channeled their inner [5]Red Hot Chilli Peppers and rebranded to California Forever.
On Wednesday, Sramek spoke at the the Veterans Hall in the city of Rio Vista to share details about the plan and promised to be a "great neighbor" to the county.
[6]
According to the [7]Los Angeles Times , he pledged "to create at least 15,000 jobs; $500 million to assist with down payments for housing, scholarships and other benefits for residents; $200 million to revitalize the downtown cores of existing Solano County communities such as Rio Vista, Benicia and Dixon; and commitments to preserve open space, create walkable neighborhoods and improve traffic flow and safety on nearby roadways."
The city itself could be populated by several hundred thousand over 18,000 acres west of Rio Vista, separated by "712 acres of parkland, sports facilities and open space." The idea is that the utopia would be "walkable, socioeconomically integrated and fueled by clean energy" with "tens of thousands of new homes ... crisp new parks, bike lanes, open space and a solar farm."
Sramek said the project would take "tens of billions of dollars" in investment and could "change the conversation" about California, which he argued "has become a punishing place to live because of its sky-high housing and rental prices and soul-crushing commutes, gridlock and sprawl."
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"Our proposal is for a walkable, medium density, mixed-use community," said Head of Planning Gabriel Metcalf. "This would be not just housing, but jobs of all different kinds, parks and playgrounds, schools and grocery stores, bars and restaurants, hotels and hospitals. Everything that goes into a complete community."
While it sounds lovely, the public campaign has plenty of hurdles to overcome if construction is to begin by the touted 2026. The land has long been dedicated to agriculture, and not everyone who attended the event was convinced, despite California Forever wheeling out converts to speak in favor.
[9]Driverless cars swerve traffic tickets in California even if they break the law
[10]California approves lavatory-to-faucet water recycling
[11]Tesla says California's Autopilot action violates its free speech rights
[12]Silicon Valley billionaires secretly buy up land for new California city
Annie Vogelphohl, an 81-year-old former estate broker, expressed excitement "at the idea that her grandchildren could one day buy houses in the new city" and Patrice Lewis professed to be "elated" by the prospect, which she hoped would bring economic benefits to her home of nearby Vallejo.
Outside the meeting, however, California's notorious NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yard) told media that they had concerns over traffic and sprawl, but were not allowed in. Kathleen Threlfall, whose family were among those that refused to sell their land, carried a sign saying "Not Invited."
Joe Feller, former chair of the Solano County chapter of the Sierra Club, said: "We don't think we need housing on agricultural land," adding that behind California Forever's idyllic messaging was merely a desire "to make money."
Rio Vista resident Bill Guggemos called it "pie in the sky stuff." He protested: "They are saying 'Oh my god, there will be affordable housing and it will be all safe and there will be parks and hospital.' That's great but let's talk about the infrastructure, the highways. We are going to be a suburb of that thing – the identity we have now goes bye-bye."
State Senator Bill Dodd also expressed skepticism, saying: "They've certainly put plenty of money and time into their proposal, but there are still huge unresolved issues like traffic, and I'm not sold." He added that he hoped voters would decide "based on facts, not slogans, misdirection and massive campaign spending. We shouldn't gloss over very important public policy considerations that will have generational impacts."
As reported by the [13]San Francisco Chronicle , the East Solano Homes, Jobs, and Clean Energy Initiative, as it is being called, needs 13,500 signatures to go to ballot and seeks exemption from Solano County's Orderly Growth ordinance, which stipulates that "all urban development take place within the county's seven cities: Vallejo, Fairfield, Rio Vista, Vacaville, Suisun City, Dixon and Benicia." Residents must approve development outside of these areas.
As we see time and time again, billionaires tend to think they can do whatever they want, riding roughshod over communities and the environment, then [14]build bunkers to hide in for when the consequences of their actions catch up with them. California Forever could be in for a rude awakening. ®
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[1] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/28/silicon_valley_new_city/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Zamtn2W47fMNOW@9pnSZ3gAAAAY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zamtn2W47fMNOW@9pnSZ3gAAAAY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zamtn2W47fMNOW@9pnSZ3gAAAAY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://youtu.be/xAzwAoOihG0?si=NKn5_LfncWxyV_pi
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zamtn2W47fMNOW@9pnSZ3gAAAAY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-01-17/billionaires-collect-signatures-november-ballot-new-solano-county-city
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zamtn2W47fMNOW@9pnSZ3gAAAAY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/02/driverless_cars_tickets/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/19/california_approves_water_recycling/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/11/tesla_california_autopilot_lawsuit/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/28/silicon_valley_new_city/
[13] https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/california-forever-city-solano-county-18611011.php
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/18/zuckerberg_hawaii_bunker/
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
'to create at least 15,000 jobs'
gardeners, housekeepers, cleaners, car washers, flunkies, shop assistants, street cleaners, road gangs ...
Yes, all those jobs you'd want to send off on the B-ark...
Those are the people who will be coming over from Vallejo.
One wonders what long-established Marin County will do when their daily help gets stolen by the new community?
That's mostly sarcasm ... Plenty of folks in Vacaville and Fairfield who could use the work.
"channelling their inner RHCP"
poor choice of words, giving the former's reputation for SA'ing fans live on stage
(or maybe an excellent choice of words - I don't know the reputation of these billionaires)
Biggest problem.
Water. They have none. In drought-stricken California it'll never fly on this alone. And no, they are not allowed to simply pump it out of the Delta. Every drop (and then some) is already earmarked. There is a reason that they put Travis where they did... and a reason that Rio Vista hasn't appreciably expanded.
The other issue is traffic. Ever drive Highway 12 or Highway 113 during commute hours? I have. Never again ... YES, they could increase the size of those roads, but once you add the traffic from the new community it'll instantly become gridlock again. Lovely.
Someone is making a pile of loot from ignorant marks investors.
Re: Biggest problem.
Yup. "Cadillac Desert"
Re: Biggest problem.
Voters are still thick enough to give them what they ask for.
Re: Biggest problem.
The area they want to build the city is currently farmland, which will be getting water from somewhere. So if they can use that water the farmland taken out of production was using, they aren't increasing total demand vs if that land remains agricultural. They might even use LESS water, since irrigation uses a LOT of water out there, and a city that's built to be "walkable" like they say would have very small yards and they could use zoning to prevent people from having lawns that require watering, rainwater collection and the like.
Pretty sure billionaires who spent the better part of a decade planning something like this have considered those issues in that planning.
Two Things
Two thoughts came to me.
The first was that this new city will be "socioeconomically integrated" because the servants need to live somewhere and the second was that State Senator Bill Dodd seems to not understand how America works if he thinks this whole project will be decided "based on facts, not slogans, misdirection and massive campaign spending."
Re: Two Things
There is a ready supply of servants in Solano County. Their unemployment rate is the highest in the Bay Area.
Bill's fully aware of how politics works here in the USofA, being involved in it for about a third of a century.
He also knows that he's out of his current seat (due to term limits) in 2024, so if he wants to move along in his political career he has to "message the populace". Frankly, I'm surprised he hasn't thrown his hat into the ring for Feinstein's empty seat in Washington. Maybe he'll be sensible and retire.
> As we see time and time again, billionaires tend to think they can do whatever they want, riding roughshod over communities and the environment, then build bunkers to hide in for when the consequences of their actions catch up with them.
Got it in a nutshell.
We know damn well that many, if not most, of those hyper-rich, self-proclaimed "libertarians" don't give a toss about the "liberty" of the great unwashed, or anyone other than themselves and their hyper-rich chums. (*1)
They just want the right to carry on doing what the f*** *they* want without anyone getting in the way. It's been said countless times before, but people like that don't really want or support "freedom" or "freedom of speech" (*2), and never did. They want freedom from consequences, and only for themselves.
Let's remember that Peter Thiel- one of the most openly creepy "libertarians" whose views make clear he'd be more accurately described as a "neo-feudalist" or "neo-fascist"- said the quiet part out loud (*3) with his statement that "no longer believe[s] that freedom and democracy are compatible".
They're anti-government and anti-authority except when they need someone to suppress the plebs they'd happily screw over from rising up with their pitchforks and torches and mounting their heads on spikes at the entrance to the city.
They don't have a problem with any of this because they're at the top, and always will be if it plays out like that.
Ask yourself if the likes of Elon Musk- someone born into a highly-privileged, already-rich background, who leveraged that to become even richer, who has never known and will never know what it is to be poor- would be so keen to indulge his tech bro fantasy that we sacrifice social spending and making the lives of the vast majority of ordinary people in favour of the space exploration he thinks we need to save the human race (*4) if *he* was one of the plebs that actually had to live in squalor to fulfil that manchild fantasy.
(*1) Or those that like to imagine themselves among them when Ayn Rand rises from the grave and the libertarian revolution begins.
(*2) Think the "Free speech absolutist" manchild who bans those who say something that upsets him from his platform at the drop of a hat.
(*3) This says as much about him as the statement itself- the fact that he doesn't even feel the need to pretend otherwise. And indeed, he gloatingly named his big-data surveillance/panopticon business " [1]Palantir " after a Lord of the Rings reference to a magical surveillance technology subverted for evil.
(*4) [2]"A bunch of guys who's only social education is the funky sci-fi books they read whilst growing up, trying to deal with the "big questions" - Andy 73
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palantir_Technologies
[2] https://forums.theregister.com/forum/all/2023/12/18/zuckerberg_hawaii_bunker/#c_4778401
Because they can.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/oct/06/offshoring-wealth-capitalism-pandora-papers
Trashing the planet and hiding the money isn’t a perversion of capitalism. It is capitalism.
First Step
I'm with the others who are skeptical about this. So, first thing I'd want to see is actual binding commitments to pony up the promised cash, not just a bunch of promises that can go away at any time. Let's see the money go into an escrow account or something. Then I'll start to think maybe they're serious.
Brilliant!
Wipe out more farmland for suburbia. It's just what the planet needs!
"Our proposal is for a walkable, medium density, mixed-use community," said Head of Planning Gabriel Metcalf. "This would be not just housing, but jobs of all different kinds, parks and playgrounds, schools and grocery stores, bars and restaurants, hotels and hospitals. Everything that goes into a complete community."
Sounds like a 15 minute city plan to me. Does that mean we get to burn them at the stake? Or is that no longer a heresy?