Campaign to build new California city submits signatures to get on November ballot

By JANIE HAR
Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A Silicon Valley-backed campaign to build a new city in California for up to 400,000 people says it submitted enough signatures to qualify the initiative for the November election. If Solano County elections officials agree, voters in the San Francisco Bay Area county will decide whether to allow urban development on land now zoned for agriculture. Voters would need to approve the change for the development to be built. Jan Sramek, who heads the company behind the campaign, submitted more than 20,000 signatures to the elections office Tuesday, more than the 13,000 needed. He proposes a development of homes and a walkable downtown. Critics say he should build housing within existing cities.