The move to build a new city in rural Californiahas reached a significant milestone after qualifying for the proposal to be put before local voters in November.
But the group backing the plan, named California Forever, must convince voters to get behind their plans of turning 50,000 acres in Solano County into a city.
Led by former Goldman Sachs bankerJan Sramek, California Forever wants to turn the land into an 'old-fashioned,' walkable city that could grow to 400,000 residents.
Imagined as a largely middle-class utopia with safe neighborhoods and high-paying jobs, the group claims it already has eager businesses lined up.
The group must now convince voters to get behind their ideas, which is already facing opposition from local leaders, environmental groups, and locals alike.
New renderings by backers show resident life and the hopes for the city.
Opponents point to a recent poll they conducted that found that 70 percent of those surveyed were skeptical of the move.
Former Solano County Supervisor Duane Kromm told the LA Timesthat 'there's a litany of reasons' to oppose the project.
Kromm said among these is the county's longtime commitment to keeping development confined to existing cities.
While Representative Mike Thompson penned an op-ed against the project in his local newspaper.
Thompson, a Democrat, wrote: 'I strongly support efforts to increase the number of good-paying jobs, implement clean energy, and provide opportunity for our region.
'But these efforts require sound public policy that works with our community, not lavish promises that may never be realized.'
On Tuesday, Sramek said the question now for voters in Solano County was 'a referendum on what do we want the future of California to be'.
He added: 'The number of people that are a yes on this is going up every single day, you see in the numbers. And you see that in the endorsem*nts for the initiative as well.'
Led by former Goldman Sachs banker Jan Sramek, California Forever wants to turn the land into an 'old-fashioned,' walkable city
The investor group, whose identities were finally revealed at the end of August, acquired around 814 more acres in October, according to county records, meaning it now owns more than 53,000 acres in the region
Pictured: an early artistic depiction of the proposed city from the California Forever website
The East Solano Homes, Jobs, and Clean Energy Initiative required 13,500 signatures to get on the ballot, and amassed about 20,000.
This forces the project on theSolano County Board of Supervisors agenda next month ahead of a vote on the exemption in November.
The board is expected to order a study of how the project would affect local traffic, pollution, and environmental damage - among other considerations.
California Forever have said a dozen companies are committed to bringing jobs if the project ever gets off the ground.
They include aerospace and defense manufacturerHadrian, and Serve Robotics, which makes self-driving robots that trundle down the footpath to deliver food.
Another isLiving Carbon, which grows plants that absorb more carbon than regular plants, and indoor vertical farming company Plenty, and Cover, which builds custom-designed granny flats.
High-end sport facilities are also on the agenda, with the group already committing $500,000 to the planning stage.
Facilities for baseball, football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, tennis, gymnastics, and swimming would be included, and could host players from around the county.
Sramek said local parents told him: 'We are spending too much time driving our kids to sporting events in Sacramento and the Bay Area.'
The advertisem*nt also promises $400 million in down payment assistance for residents and 15,000 new jobs with 'good pay in manufacturing and tech'
Clean energy also features heavily through the artists' impressions, with proposals for solar farms to help power the city.
The renderings also portray the city as noticeable car free, instead dominated by pedestrians and cyclists.
Sramek said he hoped to build a 'walkable' city like the town in the Czech Republic where he grew up, where 'people can live close to shops'.
Other proposed features include commercial buildings and parks, with one image showing people kayaking through a nature reserve.
Other sweeteners include a proposed$70 million in funding for scholarships for college and vocational training, or to start or grow small businesses in the new city.
The group pledged $200 million in developments in renovating or building new homes and commercial property in other cities in the county.
California Forever proposed solar farms on the development that couldgenerate enough clean energy to power the equivalent of 1.5 million homes.
A 15,000-acre buffer zone will separate the city from the nearby Travis Air Force Base.
Images shared by the group show rolling landscapes with families enjoying a picnic amongst a cluster of trees, while youngsters are seen cycling
The company described the area as 'some of the worst for agriculture in Solano County. Land where for years, nothing much has been able to grow'
Images shared by the group show rolling landscapes with families enjoying a picnic amongst a cluster of trees, while youngsters are seen cycling.
Streetscapes are dominated by pedestrians and cyclists, with outdoor cafes filling the town square and no cars to be seen.
The scale of the project, encompassing more than 50,000 acres, is truly massive.
By way of comparison, San Francisco itself is only 30,000 acres, while New York's Manhattan borough is a puny 14,500 acres.
The Villages, the huge master-planned retirement community in Florida, covers about 51,200 acres, or more than 80 square miles.
Jan Sramek, the leader of California Forever, is a 36-year-old financial prodigy who made a name and fortune by his early 20s as an emerging markets trader in Goldman Sachs' London office.
As a high school student York, Sramek broke the British record for A-level tests by scoring 10 As in a diverse set of subjects, and went on to graduate from the London School of Economics.
In 2009, when he was just 22, Sramek was the youngest-ever financier to be named to the annual Financial News list of 100 'Rising Stars'.
Days after his 24th birthday, Sramek mysteriously quit Goldman Sachs and dropped out of the limelight.
Since then, Sramek relocated to the Bay Area, and appears to have been quietly working on his plan for California Forever since 2017.
