Cabal of billionaires release new images of proposed California city they say could house 400,000 people and provide good jobs for all residents

The group behind a proposed new 'utopian city' in rural Northern California have rolled out new images showing their proposed developments. 

The company, known as 'California Forever', is the largest landowner in Solano County, which lies around 60 miles northeast of San Francisco. 

In a new advert, 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'.

The ad promises to create 'walkable, middle class neighborhoods that we can afford', as well as add a new security zone for nearby Travis Air Force Base. 

It also features people identified as Solano County locals who ask questions like 'where would this city be built?' and 'what is it going to mean for Solano County?' 

The ad promises to create 'walkable, middle class neighborhoods that we can afford'

Images shared by the group show rolling landscapes with families enjoying a picnic amongst a cluster of trees, while youngsters are seen cycling

The advertisement also promises $400 million in down payment assistance for residents and 15,000 new jobs with 'good pay in manufacturing and tech'. 

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. 

A survey previously circulated by the group suggested the plan included a 'new city with tens of thousands of new homes, a large solar energy farm, orchards with over a million new trees, and over ten thousand acres of new parks and open space.'

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.

California Forever has now submitted three different versions of its ideas so far, with critics raising concerns over the lack of answers. 

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'

Streetscapes are dominated by pedestrians and cyclists, with outdoor cafes filling the town square and no cars to be seen

The advertisement also promises $400 million in down payment assistance for residents and 15,000 new jobs with 'good pay in manufacturing and tech'

Pictured: an early artistic depiction of the proposed city from the California Forever website

Sadie Wilson of the Greenbelt Alliance said in a statement: 'In this third version of the initiative, there continue to be no answers for how this project will be delivered — just more questions.

'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/ 

'They have continuously failed to work with community members and public agencies 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.'

Representative John Garamendi, a Democrat from District 8, told Mercury News: 'If this project goes forward, Solano County taxpayers will foot a large part of the bill. 

'This is a lose-lose scenario for Solano County, and we cannot allow it to move forward.'

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

Congressman John Garamendi is among the politicians who have raised concerns about the covert nature of the land purchases by Flannery Associates 

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.

Last December, Sramek addressed a crowd of around 150 ranchers at a heated town hall meeting. 

At the meeting at the American Legion hall, accusations that Sramek's Silicon Valley firm - already the largest property in the county - were displacing residents were rife, with several citing their families' history in the region. 

A map of a new proposed community in Solano County, Calif., is displayed during a news conference in Rio Vista, Calif. on Jan. 17, 2024

Jan Sramek, a 36-year-old billionaire behind a planned 'utopian city' in rural Northern California, clashed with locals at a heated town hall this week, where he refused to rescind a  lawsuit against property owners that claims they are price gauging land his firm wants to buy

At the meeting at the American Legion hall, accusations that Sramek's Silicon Valley firm - already the largest property in the county - were displacing residents were rife, with several citing their families' history in the region

The company also pursuing a $510 million lawsuit against property owners, alleging price fixing on the part of the farmers. 

At the meeting, Sramek refused to stand down and remained adamant that he would not rescind his lawsuit. 

'I believe we have been extremely reasonable in wanting to have a discussion, and it has been you and your family who don’t want to do this,' Sramek told Margaret Anderson, who is named in the suit.

An audibly irate Anderson - who has owned a farm in area with her husband and two kids for decades - responded: 'We are not hoping to settle, because we do not want to sell our land. We are hoping that you will drop the lawsuit.'

The sixth-generation resident went on to ask: 'Will you commit to dropping the lawsuit against the local farmers who are not aligned with your vision, in a goodwill attempt to change the way that you are interacting with our community?'

Sramek responded by calling the sued landowners’ alleged actions - colluding to increase the price of their land - 'illegal and criminal.' 

The response drew jeers, as several others - including several defendants - also urged Sramek to drop the lawsuit as a show of faith to home and landowners. 

Standing silently in an unassuming button-up shirt, the stock trader-turned-philanthropist stood and listened, but remained steadfast in his vow to pursue legal action against the landowners. 

California Forever are currently collecting the necessary 13,000 signatures for their newest proposal, put forward last month, in time to put it before voters this November.