Thanks for this. Interesting!
I’ve marked my map with the rough boundaries of this proposed development area. Yesterday I was in the neighborhood and took some baseline pictures of what 3 areas of it look like today.
The 3 places I stopped for pictures are given by DD coordinates:
▲ 38.2422, -121.8056, hwy CA-113 at Creed Rd and Robinson Rd
▲ 38.1837, -121.806, the intersection of hwys CA-113 and CA-12
▲ 38.1832, -121.731, at Rio Vista on hwy CA-12
My pictures form a baseline for what might be, if California Forever proceeds and succeeds, significant positive changes in the near future.
These days there’s a whole lotta nothing out there. Mainly grazing lands for cattle and sheep. Let’s see what the coming years will bring to this area.
My pictures are here —
(1) Solano Foundry pics 2025-11-16 from ▲ 38.2422, -121.8056, hwy CA-113 at Creed Rd and Robinson Rd ➜ https://imgur.com/gallery/PYXrl0j ■
(2) Solano Foundry pics 2025-11-16 from ▲ 38.1837, -121.806, the intersection of hwys CA-113 and CA-12 ➜ https://imgur.com/gallery/XeMclSB ■
(3) Solano Foundry pics 2025-11-16 from ▲ 38.1832, -121.731, at Rio Vista on hwy CA-12 ➜ https://imgur.com/gallery/QOsCeaP ■
Because humans haven’t built a lot of stuff doesn’t mean there’s “nothing” there. It may make sense to build things there; but, if so, the reason isn’t that there was “nothing” there before.
What California Forever is glossing over is the impact their development will have on the vernal pools on Jepson Prairie. A large part of the proposed development is over hard pan, a layer of nearly impermeable clay soils that catch and retain water seasonally, creating vernal pools (as have been previously mentioned upthread). The problem with most of their environmental mitigation, however, is patchwork, and vernal pools don’t work that way. They need large expanses to catch and retain water, which host thousands of native species at various times of the year, many of which only exist in a few places on earth. Once you punch through the clay layer, whether it’s in a search for water, part of a construction project, or any other reason, that becomes a drain for the vernal pool system, so pools sometimes a mile or more away will drain.
It’s easy to drive past Jepson Prairie and think, “There sure is a lot of nothing there,” but environmentally there’s a lot going on, and disturbing it could be the death knell for a significant part of the ecosystem.
I did a weekend bike trip thru this area in the spring, this past April. We rode on Hwy 113 and Robinson Rd and some other back roads to Rio Vista. It was quite nice (other than the Hwy 113 section) with lots of flowers and greenery and quiet country roads. There are still some ranches out there and a few abandoned barns. True, there is not a lot of economic activity in this area but I don’t know why we (collectively) consider places like this “empty” and “wasteland” and “nothing” - do we really need to pave-over every piece of land in sight with subdivisions and business parks?
This project started years ago and economic conditions are different now - there are miles of under-used industrial parks already in existence in Solano county alone, never mind the rest of the SF Bay Area - why not reimagine some of those? I agree housing remains problematic, but this area is not near anything - and with recent changes to state development laws it may now be easier and cheaper to build more housing within existing cities that already have infrastructure. I don’t think the locals want this project, either, but, ya know, money always finds a way to make things happen, even with bad ideas.
Coincidentally the New York Times today published a new article on it [can someone post a gift link?].
Thus a supposed win-win: California Forever has not been able to get development permission (lots of local negative opinion about it), while the city has serious financial problems. With this proposal California Forever would be able to develop, while the city would gain financially.
Or the city’s finances will be completely destroyed after the project fails.
Gift link: