FutureFair in Vallejo Promotes a Collective Vision for Solano

Updated on December 17 to include insights from surveys and visioning exercises.

Once again, the Solano community showed their support for crafting a collective vision for the County and made our FutureFair a success. Over 120 attendees joined us on Saturday, November 16, at the Riverbank in Vallejo, to engage with local organizations and agencies, participate in visioning exercises, and have fun.

Check out the photo album.

Presented by Solano Together, this interactive event offered the opportunity for participants to learn about ongoing and upcoming initiatives that are shaping Solano’s future while offering opportunities for participants to provide their input on what is most important to them. We were joined by local agencies, non-profits, and institutions that provided their expertise and facilitated excellent discussions and activities to kick-off this visioning project. Big thanks to the following organizations for joining us:

• Fresh Air Vallejo

• Solano County Farm Bureau

• Greenbelt Alliance

• Sustainable Solano

• Solano Land Trust

• Solano Transportation Authority

• Solano Economic Development Corporation

• Sierra Club - Solano Group of the Redwood Chapter

• California Native Plant Society - Willis Jepson Chapter

• Cultivate Community Food Co-Op
  

Multiple local elected officials were also in attendance to show their support for Solano Together and interact with the community. 

Vallejo Mayor Elect Andrea Source shared a powerful message that stressed the importance of working collectively for the community we want to see. We were also honored to be joined by County Supervisor Elect Cassandra James, oncoming Vallejo City Council members Alexander Matias and Tonia Lediju, Benicia Mayor Steve Young, State Senator elect Cristopher Cabaldon’s aide, Timothy Knox, and more.

The fun continued with an art station where people could write haiku poems and draw creative landscapes for Solano and live music from local fixtures Jim and Jane Bartz.

Crafting a Vision for Solano

From the start, our FutureFair’s purpose was to create an open forum to gather input on multiple areas that Solano residents consider vital.

While engaging with partners and experts, some key messages were prevalent:

Graphic 1: Key messages that emerged from participants at the event.

For many participants, growing smartly, boosting housing stock, and creating more economic opportunities are important needs for Solano. At the same time, many support that new housing should go in existing communities and not on open spaces and farmlands, reinforcing the existing framework of the Orderly Growth Initiative.

Graphic 2 : Responses from a survey prompt "Where should Housing Go"

According to feedback collected at the event, “preserving and restoring natural ecosystems”, “clean water, air, and soil” and more “walkable/bikeable communities” are among the top future priorities for the community.

Graphic 3: Top community priorities according to participants in survey.

These insights reflect important pillars for our coalition. Through continued visioning efforts, we want to expand our reach and include more perspectives that are representative of the diversity of Solano.

What’s Next

Moving forward, Solano Together is committed to working with coalition members, trusted local organizations, Solano’s seven cities, and County agencies to craft a vision for Solano that we can all stand behind. The FutureFair in Vallejo was an empowering kick-off to an ongoing process to gather input through forums, workshops, surveys, and events where we look forward to engaging even more partners and Solano residents as we enter this new phase. Follow along with our newsletter and via social media to stay engaged about future opportunities and reach out if you’re interested in collaborating or learning more!