The family of technology mogul Marc Andreessen owns land near the controversial “California Forever” urban project that he supports – and plans to build more than 1,000 homes as part of a “visionary” real estate plan, according to a report.

Andreessen, co-founder of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, is one of several Silicon Valley bigwigs trying to build a new city on farmland in Solano County. The California Forever project was delayed for at least two years in July after facing fierce opposition from local residents.

Meanwhile, an LLC run by Andreessen’s wife, Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, and his brother-in-law, John Arrillaga Jr., owns three properties totaling about 730 acres within a few miles of California Forever’s properties, according to documents obtained by TechCrunch.

The project was already in development in 2015 – two years before California Forever began buying up huge tracts of land in the area – and does not appear to be connected to it.

The land was reportedly purchased in 1985 by the siblings’ father, real estate magnate John Arrillaga Sr., and his partner Richard Peery. The LLC, called A&P Children Investments, plans to build a mixed-use development with more than 1,000 homes on land in the nearby city of Vacaville, California.

During a city council meeting in April, a representative of A&P Children called the development a “visionary” housing project.

“What we’re trying to do here is something that’s unique to Solano County and really to most of California,” Representative Greg Brun said, according to TechCrunch.

Brun added that the project “will not have the same problems as in the past.”

Andreessen and Arrillaga Jr. could not immediately be reached for comment on the report.

A California Forever spokesman told the news agency that officials had “never made an offer” to buy the land – and had already started buying land in the area years ago before they learned that the parcels belonged to Andreessen’s family.

“We were unaware that the Arrillaga and Peery families owned land in Solano County until about two years ago, when the project had already been underway for five years,” the spokesman said.

California Forever’s billionaire backers, which include Andreessen, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Steve Jobs’ widow, businesswoman Laurene Powell Jobs, have remained silent about their involvement since it was revealed that they funded nearly $1 billion in secret land purchases in Solano County.

The project’s CEO, Jan Sramek, has touted California Forever to locals as a walkable city that would solve the state’s problems, such as high housing costs, stressful commutes and environmental crises.

Sramek and his colleagues had planned to seek the city’s approval by referendum in November, but have put this measure on hold pending the results of the environmental impact studies.

Local lawmakers and residents have criticized California Forever’s tactics in building the city, with one resident once comparing Sramek to a “quack” during a heated town hall meeting.

“Postponing the vote gives everyone a chance to pause and work together. And that is what is needed – not a fight between friends across the county on both sides of the issue,” said a joint statement from the county and California Forever.