More landowners reach settlement in Solano County planned community lawsuit

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — The organization planning a sustainable community in Northern California has reached a settlement with a large group of people in its ongoing lawsuit over land sales.

The federal judge overseeing the litigation determined Monday that Flannery Associates had reached an agreement with several of the remaining defendants. Only a handful of people haven’t reached an agreement in the price-fixing case that’s led to fierce pushback by some in Solano County.

Flannery Associates, a subsidiary of California Forever, has bought tens of thousands of acres in the county in its attempt to create a community that provides some solution to California’s housing crisis. When it filed suit last year, it already had purchased or planned to buy around 140 properties at over $800 million.

Flannery in its suit accused landowners of reaching an agreement among themselves to set prices for the land, if they were to sell. The landowners asked the judge to dismiss the case, which he denied in March.

Some people settled before that ruling, with others following in July. This month’s settlement involves over 10 people, including Ian and Margaret Anderson, who work a 100-year-old farm.

A representative of California Forever said Monday that the group had no comment. Attorneys for both sides couldn’t be reached for comment.

Flannery is pushing for what it’s called a dynamic community with middle-class homes in walkable neighborhoods. Its plan includes a promise of bringing 15,000 good-paying jobs to Solano County, as well as $500 million in benefits like down payment assistance and $200 million in investments to existing downtowns.

The land purchases initially flew under the radar, which irked groups that coalesced into opposition. Those groups have characterized Flannery as planning a sprawl development through the use of secretive methods to hide its identity before filing its lawsuit.

Flannery had planned to place an initiative on the November ballot, called the “Rezoning of 17,500 acres of land in East Solano County to allow the development of a new community.” The initiative, filed with the county in February, was withdrawn by the proponent in July.

Solano County has said this decision happened after Jan Sramek, founder and CEO of California Forever, spoke with county Supervisor Mitch Mashburn, chair of the Board of Supervisors. Sramek agreed to apply for a general plan and zoning agreement, following the usual governmental process.

Mashburn in a letter wrote that the process would include a complete environmental impact report.

Writing that report often can take months, if not longer, for large projects.

The decision to withdraw the ballot initiative showed that while Sramek understands the need for affordable housing and jobs, the timetable for the project wasn’t realistic, Mashburn wrote.

These problems can’t be solved when projects take over a decade to reach the point where officials can break ground, the supervisor wrote. However, stating that the group would seek a November 2024 ballot proposition that had no environmental report was an error that politicized the issue and forced people to take sides.

“We are who we are in Solano County because we do things differently here,” Mashburn wrote. “We take our time to make informed decisions that are best for the current generation and future generations.”

The supervisor then challenged Sramek. He asked for evidence in the environmental impact report and development agreement that will show how Travis Air Force Base will be strengthened, how it’ll solve transportation issues and how it’ll pay for billions of dollars in infrastructure with no tax increases.