The longstanding mystery behind the acquisitions of thousands of acres of farmland in Solano County has been brought to light following reports in the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere. An entity known as Flannery Associates, which has now acquired 55,000 acres in the county for upwards of $800 million, has been shown to include Silicon Valley tech billionaires among its backers and aims to build at least one city and possibly more.

The Times reported that a survey was sent to area residents last week asking them what they thought about “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.” Much of the land on which this city would be built borders on Travis Air Force Base, according to the Times.

It’s also land that was restricted to open space and agricultural purposes under a state conservation program. Flannery Associates seeks to rezone the land, which would require approval by multiple state and county agencies and wouldn’t be as simple as asking residents to vote on the issue, officials familiar with the process told the Times.

U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, who represents the region, told the Times that for years he and other officials were unable to determine who was behind the land grab. Then, in the past week, representatives of Flannery Associates attempted to arrange sit-down meetings with Garamendi and U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson and the survey was sent out to residents.

Connect Orange County will take place Sept. 27, 2023 at VEA | Newport Beach Marriott in Newport Beach, concurrently with Connect Healthcare Real Estate on Sept. 27 and 28. Click here to register for Connect Orange County, and here to register for Connect Healthcare Real Estate.