We heard back in January that the billionaire-backed group hoping to build a new utopian city in Solano County was pivoting and hoping to get their land annexed by the existing town of Suisun City. Will this plan work out better than their first one?

It appears that the California Forever billionaire cabal would like to get around Solano County's pesky orderly growth ordinance by having their planned new city become just an extension of one that already exists. The county has an ordinance on the books that discourages sprawl and the buying up of agricultural land, which became the first major impediment to the group's plan for a brand new city in eastern Solano County, between Fairfield and Rio Vista.

California Forever, as they call themselves, now owns some 60,000 acres (94 square miles) of undeveloped farmland, and they realized last year that the political winds were probably going to keep a ballot measure to amend that growth ordinance from passing.

And while the city leadership in neighboring Fairfield wasn't sounding too friendly to their endeavor, the smaller, four-square-mile town of Suisun City is warming up to the group. As the SF Business Times reports this week, California Forever has offered to buy some city-owned buildings in the town's downtown for $1.5 million, which will help to close the town's current $1.3 million budget gap.

Jan Sramek, the utopian thinker and CEO of California Forever, says they're hoping to "design something wonderful" and turn Suisun City's downtown into a "lifestyle and entertainment destination."

That's some big talk! The properties reportedly include the Lawler/Theater Block and some city-owned parcels on an adjacent block of Main Street.

California Forever is also cozying up to the town leadership by offering a $55,000 grant to underwrite things like Suisun City's Music on the Waterfront, Sunday Jazz concert series, and Movies in the Park.

Suisun City City Manager Bret Prebula calls the offers, both for the land purchase and the grants, "a signal that California Forever is not just investing in the land, they are investing in the people, the culture and the long-term vibrancy of Suisun City."

Suisun City could have a lot to gain from this partnership. And as the Business Times notes, they currently have less than half the general fund revenue, around $28 million, of neighboring Benicia, despite having similar populations.

But can you take a four-square-mile town and have it just annex over 90 square miles and call that kosher under county guidelines for orderly growth? We'll see!

Actually, it might just be some fraction of that land, and there could be plans in store to divide their efforts with neighboring Rio Vista to the east. Per the Business Times, Rio Vista is also in talks to annex some of California Forever's land.

Previously: California Forever Sees New Way to Get Around Voter Approval For Their Solano County City-From-Scratch