Oppose California Forever Development Project
A new sprawl development project is being proposed in Eastern Solano County disguised as a utopian city, but in fact it wants to develop farmlands away from transit and public infrastructure. Learn more and join us today!
Greenbelt Alliance is a part of the Solano Together coalition to oppose the “California Forever” sprawl development project and create a vibrant alternative future for Solano residents.
As a coalition of local organizations and residents, Solano Together provides educational and informative resources to voters and raises awareness about the potential impacts of the “California Forever” project on Solano’s lands, communities, and ecosystems. Currently, California Forever is collecting signatures to put an initiative on the ballot that will irreversibly change Solano County’s landscapes and diverse urban and rural communities. The “East Solano Homes, Jobs, and Clean Energy Initiative” threatens to pave over precious farmland and wildlife habitats to build a “new utopian community,” while diverting much-needed public and private resources from Solano’s existing cities.
As an organization that sees housing as one of our best climate solutions, I think we have the opportunity to come together to overcome barriers to building in our seven cities rather than count on this project to bring the solutions we need when they have continuously failed to work with community members and public agencies, still have no plans to deliver income-restricted affordable housing, and have produced an initiative that has very little substance when it comes to project delivery. We need climate-smart housing solutions now, and building a new city far from jobs and transit is not how we will get there.”
The Solano Together coalition was officially launched on February 4 in Suisun City, at a grassroots community event with an impressive turnout from the community and a powerful line-up of supporters. Since then, Solano voters have repeatedly expressed their growing concerns about “California Forever” while reiterating their communities’ need for growth in existing neighborhoods, more affordable housing, and good-paying jobs.
Greenbelt Alliance was founded 65 years ago by local community activists sounding the alarm on development proposals on iconic Bay Area landscapes that would be damaging to communities and ecosystems alike. We’ve paired our advocacy for open space protection with strong support for new climate-smart development within our existing cities and towns.
In 2008, multiple interests around Solano County, including Greenbelt Alliance organized to support an updated Orderly Growth Initiative. Originally adopted in 1984, the Initiative affirms a strategy of city-centered growth and protects and supports Solano County’s agricultural lands by preventing certain developments. Over 70% of voters supported this measure, which signaled to outside developers such as Flannery Associates that this type of proposal is not appropriate for Solano County.
We are proud to have worked with leaders throughout Solano County several years ago to protect the irreplaceable agricultural and natural areas within the county while directing growth and development into existing cities through the Orderly Growth Initiative, adopted originally in 1984 and renewed in 2008.
Now, we’re continuing to support environmentally sustainable growth and mobilize against harmful developments over six decades later. And with “California Forever,” the fight is ongoing.
We are a group of concerned residents, leaders, and organizations who came together to form Solano Together, a coalition that envisions a better future for the region that focuses development into existing cities and strengthens our agricultural industry.
Learn more and get involved!
Join forces with the Solano Together coalition—through the Neighbors to Protect Solano County committee—to stop this development by donating today. Your financial contribution supports educational campaigns, intelligence collection, voter outreach, legal fees, and get boots on the ground to oppose this initiative.
This blog provides a snapshot of our Resilient Roots Climate Leaders network curriculum, with highlights from the Coordinator Team who are designing and leading the program.
When Greenbelt Alliance and Sustainable Solano first imagined a climate literacy program in Solano County, we envisioned young and emerging climate leaders creating tangible change in their own backyards. But to build climate leadership skills, meaningful relationships need to be forged, with shared values and a commitment to create a more resilient Solano County. Fast
At the 11th hour, the Silicon Valley-backed California Forever pulled the plug on their East Solano Plan initiative, after spending over $10 million to qualify the measure for the ballot and try to convince voters of their misbegotten plan. Despite their various attempts at sugarcoating the damaging effects of the measure, the community stood strong
