FAIRFIELD, Calif. — California Forever made a second amendment to their proposed ballot initiative Wednesday, adjusting land designation for their proposed city to minimize interference with a nearby Air Force base’s training operations.
The new plan was released after lawmakers and residents continued to express concerns about national security, the safety of Travis Air Force Base personnel and training in relation to the project.
California Forever officials say the change "fully addresses the new concerns raised by Travis Air Force Base and removes any remaining impacts on the base’s mission" on their website.
It’s something the base itself says it is acknowledging.
"With this revised proposal, Travis AFB will be able to continue flying its full mission, including all of our operational, exercise, and local training flights consisting of multiple patterns and landings to all runways, including night vision goggle training to the assault landing zone runway," said a spokesperson from the 60th Air Mobility Wing in a statement. "(We recognize) California Forever’s efforts to minimize impacts to operations and mission capabilities, as well as their project’s potential to improve the wellbeing of our Airmen and families into the future."
Representatives John Garamendi and Mike Thompson say while they haven’t reviewed the entire document yet, they’re still hesitant about the idea as a whole.
"My opposition to this is even stronger today," said Garamendi. "I don’t trust them. Their initiative created even further distrust."
The new plan, amended from the Jan. 19 revision, now designates 4,200 acres inside the Travis Radar Pattern to be "Travis Compatible Infrastructure" which would include technological infrastructure the base approves of and agricultural and habitat uses, according to the initiative. The land was originally proposed to be a mix of industry, technology and neighborhood mixed use.
Along with the new land designation, the proposed downtown center and housing units were shifted closer to Rio Vista than the base.
Thompson says his concerns about oversight of the land and proposed city keep growing, especially since the current plan does not include a traditional form of government.
"With the way this is structured with the initiative process, the initiative would remove all the protections on that land," he said. "There’s nothing they've done that verifies they're trustworthy."
He's worried the initiative isn't enough of a plan, that it "doesn't even pass the giggle test" and planners are more or less making promises they will not be forced to keep.
It begs the question, what could California Forever do to ease these representatives' concerns about the proposed city?
"Don't build in this area, period," said Garamendi.
See the entire statement from Travis Air Force Base to ABC10 below:
“Two weeks ago, Travis AFB expressed concerns regarding the impact on our mission of the proposed land uses in the northwestern portion of the new community proposed by California Forever. We have now learned that in response to our concerns, California Forever filed an amended version of the initiative with the Solano County Registrar of Voters yesterday, February 14, 2024.
California Forever made significant changes to its plans in order to protect Travis’ global mission and local flight operations. With this revised proposal, Travis AFB will be able to continue flying its full mission, including all of our operational, exercise, and local training flights consisting of multiple patterns and landings to all runways, including night vision goggle training to the assault landing zone (ALZ) runway.
Travis AFB recognizes California Forever’s efforts to minimize impacts to operations and mission capabilities, as well as their project’s potential to improve the wellbeing of our Airmen and families into the future.”
See the entire Feb. 14 proposal below:
WATCH MORE: California Forever in Solano County | Explained
