yet on a cause. The project is called California Forever, and as we've been reporting for months, it's facing a lot of criticism. This is the group of billionaires aiming to build a new city in Solano County. Today, that group announced it's secured the signatures to get the initiative on the November ballot. However, it's still going to be an uphill battle. Here's NBC's Pete Serratos. Over 20,000 Solano residents have signed the petition. California Forever CEO John Cermak says his group has gathered the signatures. They need to place their initiative before voters this November. The group wants to build a green community that it claims will include thousands of affordable homes, shopping, dining and walkable neighborhoods in what is currently farmland near Travis Air Force Base. But voters must first decide to rezone the 17,500 acres of land for development. I think it's a real vote of confidence by the voters in Solano County. The businesses downtown are dead. There's no restaurants really to eat at. When people come into town, you know, I have to take them either to Napa or somewhere else. Vicki Jackson is one of the 20,472 voters who has signed on the longtime real estate agent says she's tired of a lack of services and affordable housing in Solano County. She says she just had to deliver bad news to another client that the person couldn't really qualify because the interest rates were so high and, you know, the payment was going to be around $5,000. And so and this is a family that can put 20% down. And still they can't really afford the $5,000 payments. This is a terrible idea. Congressman John Garamendi is among the elected officials who remain staunchly opposed to the plan. Garamendi says voters will end up shouldering the cost. I understand that the taxpayers of Solano County, the state of California, and quite possibly the federal government are going to be asked to finance a good portion of this urban sprawl. We're going to be announcing a number of employers who want to come here and number of major entertainment things that would come to Solano County. And I think people are going to start asking elected officials how many companies that you bring to Solano County? The county registrar is now counting and verifying the signatures, a process
