Solano supervisors order 30‑day impact report on East Solano rezoning initiative after hours of public comment

The Solano County Board of Supervisors voted 5‑0 to order a 30‑day impact report on a ballot initiative that would rezone about 17,500 acres in eastern Solano County to allow development of a new community commonly called East Solano or "California Forever." The motion, supported by supervisors on both sides of the dais, directs county staff to analyze fiscal, infrastructure, water, environmental and other impacts and present the findings at the board's July 23 meeting.

The board acted after Assistant Registrar John Gardner described the county's signature‑verification process for the initiative. Gardner said staff hand‑counted 20,473 submitted signature lines, used a 6% random sample to validate signatures and extrapolated a statistical valid total of about 14,832—approximately 113% of the 13,062 signatures needed to qualify the petition for further action. Gardner warned the sampling process is labor intensive and that the registrar's office will face significant printing and translation costs for voter materials if the measure proceeds.

Supervisor Mitch Mashburn, the board chair, and other supervisors said the initiative's scale and many unknowns warranted a formal staff report rather than an immediate placement on the ballot. "This may be one of the biggest entitlement requests in California history," a member of county staff told the board, referring to the initiative's potential to add tens of thousands of dwelling units and millions of square feet of nonresidential development at maximum build‑out.

Public comment filled the chamber and overflow rooms for hours. Speakers opposing the initiative raised environmental and agricultural concerns, saying the proposed site includes prime dry‑land farmland, vernal pools and habitat for threatened species such as Swainson's hawk and the California tiger salamander. Conservationists and long‑time residents asked the board to study potential effects on groundwater recharge, biodiversity and local farms. Several speakers warned of traffic and road‑capacity problems on Highway 12 and other regional corridors, and about the risk of encroachment on Travis Air Force Base operations.

Proponents, including representatives of the initiative and many residents, urged the board to allow voters to decide. Supporters said the project promises housing, jobs, local tax revenue and modern planning approaches such as compact, walkable neighborhoods. A California Forever planning official said the team has released water and infrastructure plans and called the proposal an opportunity to build large‑scale, sustainable development.

Board members said the report should address impacts on Solano's seven cities, fiscal obligations and infrastructure costs (including road widening and sewer), water sourcing, and whether the initiative's stated guarantees would be enforceable. Several supervisors emphasized they lacked authority to prevent federal decisions such as possible future base realignments at Travis Air Force Base but said base compatibility should be analyzed.

The board's order requires staff to prepare a report assessing key impacts and return to the board for a July 23 meeting; only then will supervisors decide whether to adopt the ordinance as written, submit it to the ballot, or take other allowable actions under the Elections Code. The assistant registrar told the board the voter information guide for a measure of this length could cost the registrar's office roughly $750,000 to print as a standalone booklet, not including translation and other incidentals.

The decision followed a longer morning of routine business that included resolutions honoring retiring county engineers, a Park and Recreation Month proclamation, and a presentation of Solano County's 2023 index of economic and community progress.