I'm sure California and its legendary NIMBYs will do everything they can to stop it.
California, legendary NIMBYs included, built the most prosperous and popular state in the nation, with its largest and fastest growing companies, with more innovation and scientific discovery than any other part of the country, with by far the best public university system in the country, and with maximal tolerance for immigrants and people with uncommon religious beliefs, sexual and gender inclinations, and approaches to work and life generally.
It was historically flexible enough about development to accommodate more people than any other state. I wouldn’t be so cynical as to think that greenfield development in a place where basically no one is now will not win over a substantial part of the population (even if some of the supporters would oppose the project if it was in their own metaphorical backyard).
As an ex Californian I know as well as anyone how easy it can be to take the state’s many unique strengths for granted when you live there. But believe me, you miss a lot of it when you leave, and you also realize most other states face similar problems, or will, including with nimbyism, homelessness, addiction, you name it.
California is great and retains the capacity to surprise. And I think one of the strongest pieces of evidence for that is even the critics building this development away from everyone else in the state still called it California Forever.
think how great california could have been if it hadn't stopped growing and the immense economic output had been harnessed over the past decades. SF would be amongst the largest cities in the world.
For example, even if only 10% of new residents insisted on driving a car no matter what for daily transportation, due to whatever personal reasons, then that would still be enough to put the city in permanent gridlock all day.
https://www.sfmta.com/blog/how-people-traveled-through-san-f...
Plenty of room. Panhandle upper deck, pave Dolores and GG parks. Bulldoze The Mission and Hayes like the Fillmore was... Plenty of room for flying car landing pads and Manhattanization. Utopia denied.
Anyway, SF has desicively destroyed whatever formerly made it unique. The arts community has been extirpated by the housing cost crisis. Even the gay rights activists don't live there any more. The whole city has been hollowed out by Boomers like Cleve Jones who live elsewhere and maintain their vacant pieds-à-terre in prime SF neighborhoods.
I remember Sunnyvale downtown projects were abandoned you can explain it but the reality is they (developers and city) did not meet their commitments and it leaves a bad taste. I saw aggressive campaigning myself in front of Cupertino library which was in line with reports of aggression and manhandling that the opposition to Valco talked about. And I supported the NIMBYs even though I was a renter because the opposition was just so ham handed.
So when citizens feel overpowered, in mega cities they don't have much choice but in mini cities they can have a say, and they do revolt and get called nimbys. If we had double the nimbys maybe the construction corporates will try a better faith negotiation with them. No?