Standing in an empty field in southern Kings County facing the horizon, W. Quay Hays enthusiastically surveys the land -- stark and featureless except for two newly planted redwood trees.
This desolate patch of San Joaquin Valley real estate along Interstate 5 is the spot Hays has chosen to pursue his vision for a new city: a utopia of 150,000 people living in a solar-powered, self-contained community rising from the dirt flats about 50 miles north of Bakersfield.
"This is perfect," says Hays, a Pacific Palisades entrepreneur turned developer. "It's halfway between two world-class cities in San Francisco and Los Angeles. It's beside a major highway, it has power lines, and the land" is cheap.
Even in a state built on big development dreams, Hays' proposed Quay Valley Ranch project boggles the mind. It would be built from scratch on 12,000 acres stretching about five miles along the interstate, just north of the Kern County line.
About 50,000 houses and condominiums would be constructed in a village-like matrix with parks, offices and retail centers, and anchored by four "town centers." Houses would be equipped with "smart technology" and new energy-efficient building materials.
No one would pay electric bills because solar power -- including three 100-acre solar arrays -- would produce 600 megawatts of power, enough to supply the city and export power to Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for use elsewhere in California.
People could commute to jobs via water taxi, plying a 300-foot-wide stream meandering about eight miles through groves and neighborhoods. The community would include a theme park, a convention center, a racetrack, an auto mall, industrial land, farms, houses, schools and a medical center.
Hays' Kings County Ventures LLC submitted a development application in October and plans to deliver a more detailed proposal next month. The project would be built in phases over 25 years, financed largely by commercial and residential developers working as partners and paying as they go.
Costs could reach $25 billion. Hays said building could begin as early as next year, though officials say that seems ambitious for such a large-scale project that is likely to face strong opposition from environmentalists and others concerned about increased traffic and pollution in the smoggy valley.
