Activists call for vote on California Forever’s Suisun City expansion plan

SUISUN CITY – Solano Together, a group opposed to the California Forever plan to build a new city in eastern Solano County,  held a rally outside of the Suisun City Council meeting on Tuesday to demand that the council let voters weigh in on a proposal for the city to annex land owned by California Forever.

Solano Together asked for an “advisory vote” on the November 2026 ballot on the “Suisun Expansion Plan,” which would expand the city’s boundaries by absorbing over 22,000 acres of surrounding agricultural lands owned by California Forever.

It would be a non-binding vote, but its supporters said it would give the council an idea of how the residents really feel about the involvement of California Forever and the idea to add more land to its jurisdiction. 

Nate Huntington of Solano Together said an advisory vote is important because there’s currently “two conflicting stories” about whether or not residents support this project. 

In January, the Greenbelt Alliance published a poll conducted by FM3 Research that interviewed 400 people in Suisun City in December and January and found that 58% of respondents opposed the expansion plan and 23% were undecided. 

In response, California Forever commissioned its own poll through Fulcrum Strategy Group, which found that 59% of 800 people surveyed in Solano County in February supported the expansion plan.

Huntington said a citywide advisory vote would provide more insight. During public comment, he added that the advisory vote doesn’t stop the City Council from making any decisions, it’s just a “pulse check” to understand how residents actually feel about it. 

Huntington said that Solano Together is also seeing that there’s still confusion in the community about the annexation plans, and how California Forever is involved. 

“When we interact with people, our volunteers are saying that people don’t know this is going through Suisun City and is going to be moving forward by a decision of you five,” Huntington said to the council.

A representative for California Forever declined to speak to The Vallejo Sun at the meeting.

Since 2018, California Forever founder Jan Sramek and his wealthy Silicon Valley investors have bought around 140 properties outside of Suisun City, according to a 2023 New York Times report. 

Sramek initially pitched California Forever as building a new walkable city from scratch for 400,000 residents. Solano County zoning law limits building residential growth in agricultural areas, and changing the law would require approval by Solano County voters. So California Forever drafted an initiative for the November 2024 ballot. But after polls showed low support, they pulled the initiative. 

Months later, the Suisun City Council announced annexation plans and preliminary talks with California Forever. As the smallest city in Solano County, Suisun City has faced numerous financial challenges, and last year the mayor said they were facing a “fiscal cliff” in 15 years if they didn’t bring in more revenue. 

The expansion plan, which is projected to take 40 years, promises to create 15,000 jobs and provide a steady stream of tax revenue for the city. California Forever agreed to reimburse the city for the time and consultant fees needed to complete the annexation, along with the cost of California Environmental Quality Act review.

Although it’s only in early talks, the project seems to have created a divide between the city and the county. In June 2025, the Solano County Board of Supervisors sent a letter to Suisun City asking them to pause annexation talks until the county could further refine its general plan.

It’s also divided the community. Some attendees at Tuesday’s rally said they were uncomfortable with how this project sidestepped the countywide ballot initiative, which would’ve allowed everyone to weigh in on the project. 

“In Solano County, we have a perfectly good system for determining what voters feel about this kind of project: if you're going to change the zoning of agricultural land that's outside of a city limits, then you have to get a vote of all the people in the county,” said Michael Zeiss, a resident of Suisun City for 20 years. Zeiss said that this current plan felt like a “run around” of the county’s laws. 

Zeiss added that it’s hard to put much stock in either group’s poll results because surveys “depend so much on how the question is phrased.” The Fulcrum Strategy Group poll, for example, asked people if they support more housing and jobs, and didn’t appear to mention that the expansion plan was associated with California Forever.

“So I simply don’t know what the majority of people feel,” Zeiss said. “Let’s put it to a vote and see.” 

The room was packed during the council meeting, with dozens of union workers and activists spilling out into the rotunda and listening over loudspeakers. The council moved up its public comments section after they received over 40 comment cards, signaling comments would go on for at least two hours. 

Many speakers cited the need for an advisory vote in November. Others who opposed the project also cited concerns about transparency, the impact on the environment, and if taxpayers would ultimately end up paying for anything. 

Alicia Mijares, a business representative for Sheet Metal Workers Local 104, spoke in support of California Forever and said that once the environmental impact report comes out, everyone’s concerns will be addressed.

“Construction workers live here too. This is our community,” she added. “We love the open space, we love the fresh air. We don’t want to see an endangered species get destroyed … we’re here because we support more jobs that pay a living wage. All issues do not have to be mutually exclusive. We can compromise.” 

For Steve McCall, a member of UA Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 343, the expansion plan means less of a commute. “My members can work where they live and spend more time with their families while having a good-paying job,” McCall said. He added that some of the project's opponents are living in areas that were historically annexed, so some of the push back feels like a “not in my backyard” attitude to him.

Meanwhile, some of the project’s critics maintain they are concerned about how much California Forever will be involved. 

“I don’t believe that the people who are the movers and shakers in California Forever have the best interest of the people of our town in their hearts,” said Mickey Schultz, a resident of Suisun City for 45 years. 

Suisun City Mayor Alma Hernandez has noted in past meetings that annexation would take several years, and the city is still exploring the idea. The city is currently waiting on the environmental review. Once that study is complete, annexation would need final approval from the Solano County Local Agency Formation Commission, which decides the borders of the cities in Solano County.