After weeks of intense debate and public pressure, a last-minute legislative proposal that would’ve fast-tracked California Forever’s shipbuilding project has been stopped for this legislative year. Recall that California Forever is a group of tech billionaires hell-bent on building their own brand new city in the middle of farmland, without real access to water, draining local resources, and all while attempting to sidestep normal public process, instead of investing in existing communities.
This is a win not only for the agricultural community of Solano County where this project is proposed, but for farmers and communities across the state.
On August 25, the Solano County Board of Supervisors rejected the proposal, which would have created an accelerated pathway for a shipbuilding and maritime manufacturing project. The measure also included provisions that could have accelerated permitting and allowed reliance on an earlier environmental review, and undermined voter-approved efforts designed to promote sustainable growth and development in the county.
The timing was extraordinary. The legislation surfaced only days before the county vote and shortly before the end of the state legislative session. More than 100 members of the public spoke at the supervisors’ meeting, including farmers, and other members of the Solano Together coalition.
County leaders ultimately said “no.”
At the same time, these tech billionaires attempted to sneak the proposal through the final few days of the state legislature. California Forever reported spending $455,000 in direct lobbying of legislators and the Governor’s office this session.
Local farmers have been fighting these tech billionaires and their fraught “utopia” for years. As third generation farmer Jeanne McCormack once said, “they are so arrogant it’s amazing.”
The success highlights the importance of local farmers sharing their voices. And it shows the importance of remaining united with farmers across the state so that similar ag land protection measures — like those in Alameda, Napa, Stanislaus, and Ventura Counties — are not undermined.
For now, California Forever is stopped. That is worth celebrating. But going forward, we must remain both united and vigilant if we want to protect our communities.
