Last week, we looked at the latest update to the mystery surrounding someone buying up vast tracks of land around Travis Air Force Base in California. Rather than turning out to be the Chinese Communist Party as many of us had suspected, the purchasers turned out to be a conglomerate of tech and investment sector billionaires who were planning to build their own private paradise city on the largely empty farmlands they acquired for nearly a billion dollars. They had gone to great lengths to conceal their identities, using an obscure company named Flannery Associates to conduct all of the transactions. But now that the cat is out of the bag, it appears that they realize they’ve been discovered and are scrambling to do some PR work so the commoners don’t revolt against their plans. However, the AP reports that it might not be smooth sailing for CEO Jan Sramek and his happy band of billionaires. They will still have to convince local officials and residents to approve the plan and allow them to bend the rules so they can break ground. In response, Sramek has launched a new website to promote the project and has begun making promises as to how wonderful it will all be for everyone.

Silicon Valley billionaires behind a secretive $800 million land-buying spree in Northern California have finally released some details about their plans for a new green city, but they still must win over skeptical voters and local leaders.

After years of ducking scrutiny, Jan Sramek, the former Goldman Sachs trader spearheading the effort, launched a website Thursday about “California Forever.” The site billed the project as “a chance for a new community, good paying local jobs, solar farms, and open space” in Solano, a rural county between San Francisco and Sacramento that is now home to 450,000 people.

He also began meeting with key politicians representing the area who have been trying unsuccessfully for years to find out who was behind the mysterious Flannery Associates LLC as it bought up huge swaths of land, making it the largest single landholder in the county.

There are serious hurdles for “California Forever” (Flannery’s parent company) to overcome if they really want to do this. Residents of Solano County would have to approve a ballot initiative to allow for urban development on that land. Such uses are currently prohibited and have been since the 80s. They would also need to obtain various permits and waivers from county officials.

That would explain the promotional website that was just launched. They’re describing a new vision of city life that will have lots of houses available at various price points for people from all walks of life, so it wouldn’t just be a playground for billionaires and their families and friends. (Perish the thought! How could you have suspected that?!?!) The site contains cartoon depictions of neighborhoods filled with townhouses where smiling children – who all appear to be suspiciously light-skinned – ride their bikes and walk their dogs in the sunshine. Others sit around outdoor cafe tables under protective umbrellas, snacking on whatever organic treats the rich enjoy. People in kayaks paddle around a pond in a verdant park while diligent workers in hardhats install massive solar panels in the hills.

It’s a little slice of paradise on earth, assuming you believe all the hype. Or perhaps a very large slice, given the overall acreage it would occupy. But would it really be open for “just anybody” to show up and put down roots? Are we to believe that these billionaires spent all of that money on this vast amount of land and now they’re just going to build a community for “regular people” out of the goodness of their hearts? Perhaps. and that would certainly be very generous of them if they did.

But color me skeptical. And even if they are sincere right down to the bottom of their fabulously wealthy hearts, just how big would this city be and how many residents could it possibly hold? Based on the descriptions and depictions on the website, a lot of the land will be open parks and orchards. And you can only put up so many homes and businesses before the community really isn’t so “walkable” anymore. So it sounds as if they want to build one relatively small city that will seem like paradise and will hold (let’s be generous) perhaps 100,000 people. California has a population of more than 39 million people, the majority of whom are packed into increasingly filthy and crime-ridden cities. What about everyone else?

But hey… I remain a capitalist. These people have a ton of cash. If they can convince the public to go along with this scheme and give them the required permits and waivers, I say go for it. Build your paradise. But I wouldn’t expect the PR efforts for Billionaire City to sway the working class very much.