California Forever initiative qualifies for November ballot: county officials

(Graphic by Solano NewsNet)

An initiative that would allow California Forever to move into its initial development phase by overcoming the region’s slow-growth initiative received enough verified signatures to qualify for the November ballot, county election officials affirmed on Tuesday.

The Solano County Registrar of Voters spent more than a month scrutinizing the signatures of voters on petitions submitted by California Forever, which has acquired thousands of acres of land in rural Solano County west of Rio Vista, some of which it hopes to use for a large-scale urban development project.

After securing enough signatures, the proposal now moves to the Solano County Board of Supervisors, where members will vote on whether to immediately approve the initiative, place it on the November ballot or request an impact study that addresses how the project could affect rural Solano County. At least one supervisor, Mitch Mashburn, has said publicly he intends to push for the impact study before the measure moves to the ballot.