Plan to Create ‘Green’ City in California to Be Put to Voters

2024-01-25 16:29:00来源：网络

Plan to Create ‘Green’ City in California to Be Put to Voters

加利福尼亚州计划创建“绿色”城市的提案将提交给选民投票

【听力音频】

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　　By Bryan Lynn

　　20 January 2024

　　Developers of a proposed new city in northern California have begun presenting their plans to voters.

　　Jan Sramek leads the project, called California Forever. Sramek is a former trader with American financial services company Goldman Sachs. He recently started a campaign to seek community support in Solano County for the new city.

　　The project needs the support because current community rules bar development of some agricultural land. California Forever needs the written support of 13,000 Solano County voters to propose the building project on a ballot in November elections.

　　Leaders of the project have already spent more than $800 million on land purchases in an area between San Francisco and Sacramento. Planners say they aim to create an environment friendly and walkable city with affordable housing and good jobs.

　　Among billionaire backers of the project are philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and investor and Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen.

　　Planners want to build about 20,000 homes for 50,000 residents. The city will sit between Travis Air Force Base and the small city of Rio Vista. The housing is to be built within walking distance to jobs, schools, restaurants and stores. Developers have suggested the city's population could one day reach 400,000.

　　Since it was formed in 2017, California Forever has bought more than 202 square kilometers of farmland in Solano County. The plan calls for $400 million to help Solano County residents buy homes in the proposed community.

　　Sramek has already held a series of community meetings around the county. But the efforts have not quieted critics who have been opposed to the project since the start of land-buying began in the area years ago.

　　The land California Forever is targeting sits in the heart of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, which serves as home to many fish and wildlife species. The Delta is also a source for the area's already limited water supply. Critics of the project worry that adding more development will further harm an already threatened ecosystem.

　　But supporters say Solano County is a smart place to build because the area has a big need for additional housing. There is especially a great need for affordable homes for teachers, firefighters, police and other public workers.

　　Gabriel Metcalf is head of planning for California Forever. He told The Associated Press he thinks Solano County is a good place because it will appeal to military contractors, as well as technology and construction companies seeking a new project.

　　Metcalf said, if "we can provide companies with a pathway to growth, we think we'll get some major employers creating jobs here that would otherwise go out of state, to places like Texas."

　　I'm Bryan Lynn.

　　The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English.

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　　作者：Bryan Lynn

　　2024年1月20日

　　加利福尼亚北部一座拟议新城的开发者已开始向选民展示他们的计划。

　　Jan Sramek领导的这个项目被称为“California Forever”。Sramek是美国金融服务公司高盛的前交易员。他最近在索拉诺县发起了一场运动，寻求社区对新城的支持。

　　这个项目需要得到支持，因为当前的社区规定禁止开发一些农业用地。“California Forever”需要得到13,000名索拉诺县选民的书面支持，才能在11月选举的投票中提出建设项目。

　　项目的领导者已经在旧金山和萨克拉门托之间的地区花费了超过8亿美元购买土地。规划者表示，他们的目标是创建一个环保、适合步行的城市，提供负担得起的住房和良好的工作机会。

　　项目的亿万富翁支持者包括慈善家劳伦·鲍威尔·乔布斯、LinkedIn联合创始人里德·霍夫曼和投资者兼网景联合创始人马克·安德森。

　　规划者希望为5万居民建造大约2万套住房。这个城市将位于特拉维斯空军基地和里奥维斯塔小城之间。住房将在步行可达的工作、学校、餐馆和商店范围内建造。开发者暗示，这个城市的人口有朝一日可能达到40万。

　　自2017年成立以来，“California Forever”已在索拉诺县购买了超过202平方公里的农田。该计划呼吁提供4亿美元帮助索拉诺县居民在拟议的社区购买房屋。