For anybody that follows Disney that isn't familiar with this issue. SunCal is proposing building condos on a site that is currently occupied by trailer homes. The property is across the street from property that is owned by Disney and rumored to be the future home of a third theme park for the Disneyland Resort. Disney is opposed to this new construction because they would like to see the space reserved for a hotel in the future. The condominium development would have 1275 units and 225 low cost apartments.
The Anaheim City Council voted in favor of the condominium project. Disney and the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce are backing a group called Save Our Anaheim Resort Area. Save Our Anaheim Resort Area collected enough signatures to force a vote by the city to see if they would prefer the condo's or whatever Disney would prefer done with the project.
I think that Disney is wasting time and money, both theirs and the city's. I have seen estimates that if they hold a special election it could cost the city $500,000. Unless they have firm plans for a third gate and they know that they are going to draw additional tourists to the area they should leave the SunCal Project alone. Anaheim does not need additional hotel space right now. The Cast Members that do not get paid as much as a Costco employee could use some lower income apartments in the area. I think that Anaheim should do whatever they can to improve their city. The resort area looks very nice. Once you stray away a little it can go downhill fast. I also do not think that a corporation should have this much influence on the local government.
Tonight Anaheim decides how to handle the Disney referendum and I hope that they can just reach a compromise and save the taxpayers some money. If you wonder why I care about the tax dollars in Anaheim it is simple. I spend a lot of money down there year after year. I stay in hotels, eat in their restaurants, and spend more than I should at Disneyland. I pay taxes there. I just don't get to vote.
It may not look like it from this entry but I love Disney. I am not so blind as to think they are infallible though.
Here are a couple links to recent articles on this story.
ABC7.com - 7/31/07
LATimes.com - 7/31/07
Update 8/1
The City Council has delayed the vote on the initiative for another three weeks. 30 minutes before this was supposed to come to a vote SunCal asked for the extension so they could continue their talks with Disney.
Will the Disney Company please stop the madness. It is time for this to end. The condos and apartments are for the good of the city right now.
Here is the link to the update in the LA Times
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Disney vs. SunCal & Anaheim
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1 comment:
I disagree with your analysis. While Disney is at the forefront of this issue, it isn't just about them. In order to grow investment in the city and increase the tax base (tourism dollars is a huge percentage of the city's yearly take), the Anaheim City Council agreed to protect the 'Resort District' from non-tourist based development. This opened the floodgates of development and turned what was a dirty zone with rundown hotels and seedy businesses into one of the nicer areas in SoCal. The businesses that made those investments should expect the original promise to be kept. If anything the resort district should be expanded a bit.
That said, low income housing is a major issue for all of SoCal. Anaheim should look seriously at the other 95% of the city to find opportunities for low income housing developments. Move the SunCal development two blocks down the street and there would be no problem here.
Finally, don't blame Disney for the costs of a special election if one is needed. Disney and SOAR collected 3 times the required number of signatures in half the amount of time allowed. That shows that most residents of the city know that the Resort District is a good thing for them and keeps the tax homeowners pay low. The Anaheim City Council should never have made their vote in the first place and now should overturn it to prevent the election costs.
This is a good start to your blog. Keep up the posts!
-John
www.thedisneyblog.com
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