Proposal for Startup City in California Could Bypass Ballot Through Alternative Route
Supporters of a tech-backed new-urbanist city plan to collaborate with the small community of Suisun City to realize their developmental vision.
TroibNews 
A billionaire-funded initiative aimed at establishing a vast new city devoid of California's urban issues may have discovered a workaround that allows the proponent group to avoid putting their unapproved project to a vote in Solano County.
The city council of Suisun City, a small town of 27,000 located northeast of San Francisco, voted last Tuesday to instruct its city manager to engage with “regional partners” about potential city expansion as a means to tackle persistent financial difficulties.
“At only four square miles, we are Solano County’s smallest city,” City Manager Bret Prebula stated in a press release following the council's decision. “Now is the time to consider what more we can do to creatively grow our community and deliver more economic opportunity.”
Suisun City is grappling with clear economic difficulties and is currently operating emergency services at only 80 percent of the recommended staffing levels. A local sales tax ballot measure set for 2024 has helped prevent further cuts but won’t fully address the deficit. In Prebula’s perspective, expanding the city is a pathway to financial recovery.
Crucially, the only direction available for city expansion is east—directly into land owned by California Forever, the organization leading the controversial project that aims to create a dense new urban-style city doubling the county's population. Since its arrival in Solano County in 2023, the organization, led by CEO Jan Sramek, has encountered considerable local backlash despite its aggressive advertising campaign in the area promoting the project.
Residents of Solano County quickly made the connection.
A spokesperson for California Forever declined to confirm any discussions, with Julia Blystone remarking that the organization is “committed to working with all stakeholders to build a stronger Solano County.” She added, “If we receive an invitation to explore annexation by Suisun City, we would be open to a conversation.”
Critics of the project, like Michelle Trippi, who helped found an online opposition group called California ForNever, expressed concern, saying, “The city manager’s verbiage is exactly like California Forever, everything he says sounds like all their stuff. It's like this has all been systematically set up.”
Just six months ago, after facing disappointing polling, California Forever was forced to withdraw a proposal that sought countywide voter approval to rezone 17,500 acres for development. Since then, the company has attempted to negotiate a development agreement with county officials, but such an agreement would also require voter approval.
Forming a partnership with Suisun City would provide an alternative route for development—bypassing the need for a countywide ballot initiative. If the Suisun City Council decides to proceed, annexation could move forward with just the approval of the Solano County Local Agency Formation Commission, which oversees city and local government growth.
“The project would stop being California Forever and it would start being the city of Suisun. That’s what was a total mind trip,” commented Suisun City Mayor Pro Tem Princess Washington, a known critic of the initiative. “To do this was very cunning. It's diabolical.”
Before the meeting, Catherine Moy, the mayor of nearby Fairfield, suggested that Prebula and Washington “apparently quietly worked the deal out” with California Forever. Notably, Sramek contributed $5,000 to a ballot measure committee focused on passing a local sales tax to fund public services in Suisun City.
Like this content? Sign up for PMG’s California Playbook PM.
Jessica Kline contributed to this report for TROIB News
The city council of Suisun City, a small town of 27,000 located northeast of San Francisco, voted last Tuesday to instruct its city manager to engage with “regional partners” about potential city expansion as a means to tackle persistent financial difficulties.
“At only four square miles, we are Solano County’s smallest city,” City Manager Bret Prebula stated in a press release following the council's decision. “Now is the time to consider what more we can do to creatively grow our community and deliver more economic opportunity.”
Suisun City is grappling with clear economic difficulties and is currently operating emergency services at only 80 percent of the recommended staffing levels. A local sales tax ballot measure set for 2024 has helped prevent further cuts but won’t fully address the deficit. In Prebula’s perspective, expanding the city is a pathway to financial recovery.
Crucially, the only direction available for city expansion is east—directly into land owned by California Forever, the organization leading the controversial project that aims to create a dense new urban-style city doubling the county's population. Since its arrival in Solano County in 2023, the organization, led by CEO Jan Sramek, has encountered considerable local backlash despite its aggressive advertising campaign in the area promoting the project.
Residents of Solano County quickly made the connection.
A spokesperson for California Forever declined to confirm any discussions, with Julia Blystone remarking that the organization is “committed to working with all stakeholders to build a stronger Solano County.” She added, “If we receive an invitation to explore annexation by Suisun City, we would be open to a conversation.”
Critics of the project, like Michelle Trippi, who helped found an online opposition group called California ForNever, expressed concern, saying, “The city manager’s verbiage is exactly like California Forever, everything he says sounds like all their stuff. It's like this has all been systematically set up.”
Just six months ago, after facing disappointing polling, California Forever was forced to withdraw a proposal that sought countywide voter approval to rezone 17,500 acres for development. Since then, the company has attempted to negotiate a development agreement with county officials, but such an agreement would also require voter approval.
Forming a partnership with Suisun City would provide an alternative route for development—bypassing the need for a countywide ballot initiative. If the Suisun City Council decides to proceed, annexation could move forward with just the approval of the Solano County Local Agency Formation Commission, which oversees city and local government growth.
“The project would stop being California Forever and it would start being the city of Suisun. That’s what was a total mind trip,” commented Suisun City Mayor Pro Tem Princess Washington, a known critic of the initiative. “To do this was very cunning. It's diabolical.”
Before the meeting, Catherine Moy, the mayor of nearby Fairfield, suggested that Prebula and Washington “apparently quietly worked the deal out” with California Forever. Notably, Sramek contributed $5,000 to a ballot measure committee focused on passing a local sales tax to fund public services in Suisun City.
Like this content? Sign up for PMG’s California Playbook PM.
Jessica Kline contributed to this report for TROIB News
