The Solano County Board of Supervisors has dealt a blow, albeit possibly a temporary one, to the group known as California Forever and its fast-tracked legislation that would pave the way for a new shipbuilding facility on the Delta.

Weeks after California Forever got some bad news in the form of a lost contract for a $3.2 billion automated shipbuilding facility, they've gotten some further bad news from the Solano County Board of Supervisors. The board voted 3-2 on Tuesday to table, essentially, an endorsement vote for some fast-tracked legislation that the group has been pushing, which would have allowed them to bypass environmental review for a potential shipyard.

As CalMatters explains, the proposed Solano Maritime and Manufacturing Act would exempt 1,350 acres along the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in the unincorporated area of Collinsville from new, project-specific CEQA review — something that has the support of Governor Gavin Newsom — and instead rely on an 18-year-old environmental report. The draft legislation also allows for streamlined construction permitting and other concessions that California Forever says will help them bring 10,000 new jobs to the area and a new source of revenue to the county.

The shipyard is only one piece of the broader, highly controversial plan, which was hatched in secret with the financial support of a group of Silicon Valley billionaires about seven or eight years ago, to construct a new city of 400,000 residents on farmland in eastern Solano County. An earlier ballot-measure effort that would have allowed California Forever to bypass a 1984 county growth initiative — which prohibits new development outside the existing incorporated areas of the county — was aborted two years ago after pushback from county leaders and residents.

The group has so far used grand promises and AI-generated illustrations to sell local residents on the idea of a new, utopian community full of affordable housing and walkable, European-style neighborhoods — a plan that seems to have its roots in the belief that the Bay Area's existing cities are broken and beyond fixing, and wouldn't it be cool to just start from scratch and build a new one.

A group that goes by the name Solano Together, which has organized in opposition to California Forever, reportedly turned out with about 200 of its supporters to the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, seeking to offer public comment on the shipyard legislation, per CalMatters. And the issue of having billionaires from elsewhere trying to push legislation and new development in the county has been a sensitive one.

"The only thing unique about this is the deep pockets of the people that are promoting it and the methods they’re going about it," said Vallejo resident Jeff Deis during the public comment session, per CalMatters.

Another county resident, Jasmine Westbrook, added, speaking to the supervisors, "Do not put billionaires over your community, your constituents, the environment, and the future of Solano County and the state. Do not set this precedent."

As CalMatters reports, about two dozen speakers voiced support for the legislation, especially because of the job-creation potential of a shipyard.

As KPIX reports, Supervisor Wanda Williams, who voted to table the legislation, said, "Do I support shipbuilding? Yes. Do I support good-paying jobs? I definitely do… we have lost a lot of jobs in this county, and there is a serious need for jobs. Yet, I am still responsible to make sure there are protections and guardrails in."

Jim Wunderman, head of public affairs for California Forever, tells CalMatters that the supervisors "punted."

"There was an opportunity to move something forward that would have mattered for generations, and could really move this county forward in this region," Wunderman said.

And as Wunderman said during the meeting, per KPIX, time is of the essence — basically because Donald Trump is in office. "The United States is investing heavily in restoring the Navy and the vessels that support the Navy," he said. "A lot of money is in the defense department to support this. There is a chance to bring that legacy industry back, so many jobs lost, in this county and the Bay Area. There is only a small window of time here to get a bill done this year or else companies won't come."

Previously: California Forever Loses Shipbuilding Contract to Texas, But They Say They're Still 'On Track'