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Megan Fan Munce Aug. 23, 2023Updated: Aug. 24, 2023 2:09 p.m. Facebook Twitter Email Comments The small town of Rio Vista, located along the Sacramento River and Highway 12 in Solano County, is near land that has been purchased by a mysterious company. The company, Flannery Associates, has been buying land in the county near Travis Air Force Base. The small town of Rio Vista, located along the Sacramento River and Highway 12 in Solano County, is near land that has been purchased by a mysterious company. The company, Flannery Associates, has been buying land in the county near Travis Air Force Base. George Rose/Getty Images For the past five years, one company has been buying so much vacant land near Fairfield that it has quietly become the largest landowner in Solano County -- and without ever explaining why. The purchases have spurred national security concerns because they surround Travis Air Force Base. But now a local mayor says the company could have a less sinister, but perhaps more lucrative, plan: the creation of a new city. State records show Flannery Associates and its parent company, Flannery Holdings, were incorporated in Delaware in 2018. Since then, the company has been purchasing land in Solano County at premium rates -- so much so that in May the company sued several local landowners who it alleges conspired to overcharge the company. In its complaint, Flannery says it has paid more than $800 million for approximately 140 properties in the Jepson Prairie and Montezuma Hills areas of Solano County, at times offering to pay more than $15,000 per acre. Lawyers for families who sold land to Flannery even claimed in legal filings that they had no idea what the land would be used for. All but one of the properties have agricultural zoning, while one has industrial zoning but is largely used for grazing livestock, Flannery writes in its initial complaint. Some properties include wind turbines and natural gas storage, and the company has also received several proposals to use the land for battery storage, carbon sequestration and other energy projects, according to the filing. Several of the properties surround Travis Air Force Base, home to the largest air mobility organization in the Air Force. But a poll reportedly sent to Solano County residents says the plan is to build "tens of thousands of new homes, a large solar energy farm, orchards with over a million new trees, and over 10,000 acres of new parks and open space," according to Fairfield Mayor Catherine Moy. The poll was first reported by SFGATE. Moy, whose city is next to Travis Air Force Base, said on Facebook that she learned about the poll from several residents. In it, Flannery describes itself as "led by a group of architects and planners" and "funded by a group of California firms and wealthy families," according to Moy. "As the mayor of Fairfield, I sit on countywide boards that have received Flannery offers to buy land at greatly inflated prices," Moy wrote on Facebook. "We turned the offers away to protect Travis." Moy also wrote that she tried contacting the firm that is pushing the poll, and her email bounced back. The company advertised in the poll that the new city would generate millions in tax revenue, reduce energy bills and even replace Solano County's current aqueduct, Moy said. It also promised residents first pick of the newly constructed middle-class homes. The poll also suggested Flannery hopes to get its plans for the new city on next year's ballot for residents to vote on. But first, it will have to weather several federal inquiries into why it has been purchasing so much land next to a critical military base. In July, the Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Air Force's Foreign Investment Risk Review office had been investigating Flannery's purchases for about eight months, citing "people familiar with the matter." The U.S. Department of Agriculture has also "inquired about Flannery's ownership," according to the Wall Street Journal, and CNN reported earlier this month that the Committee on Foreign Investment, a federal interagency committee, is also reviewing the purchases. Flannery has no known website. Its registration with the state of California lists no CEO and describes itself as an agricultural business. An attorney for the company told the Wall Street Journal that the company is controlled by U.S. citizens and gets 97% of its capital from U.S. investors. The other 3% comes from British and Irish investors, the attorney told the outlet. Reach Megan Fan Munce: Megan.Munce@sfchronicle.com Fifth & Mission The Chronicle's flagship news podcast. Listen and subscribe on your favorite app. Click the player below for the latest episode. * Photo of Megan Fan Munce Written By Megan Fan Munce Reach Megan on Megan Fan Munce is a reporter who joined the San Francisco Chronicle as part of the two-year Hearst Journalism Fellowship, spending her first year of the program at the Houston Chronicle. Munce grew up in San Jose before attending Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, graduating with a B.S. and M.S. in journalism and a second major in political science. She previously worked as an audience engagement fellow and a reporting fellow at the Texas Tribune, as well as an audience intelligence intern for KQED. View Comments Top of the News * 'This has to stop': S.F. police to use new tactic to crack down on car... San Francisco law enforcement officials announced new plans Thursday to use bait cars in an effort to crack down on smash-and-grab break-ins. 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