Disney is looking to expand its iconic theme park, but some Anaheim residents question what it could mean for public streets and if the multi-billion dollar corporation will do enough to help create affordable housing in the city as part of the project.
It comes in the wake of one of the largest corruption scandals in Orange County history, with FBI agents and independent investigators alleging Disneyland resort interests essentially control city hall.
The entertainment juggernaut that regularly funds city council campaigns is looking to get city approval this year on the expansion proposal – Disneyland Forward – that it touts would come with community benefits like $30 million for affordable housing and $8 million for parks.
On Tuesday, the city council held a workshop on the expansion proposal and a proposed amended agreement between Disney and Anaheim that city staff say would commit the company to invest at least $1.9 billion into the resort district in the next decade.
Proponents say the expansion will help boost sales and hotel tax revenue for the city while adding thousands of jobs.
“Disneyland Resort is the single largest private employer in Orange County and is critical to the region’s economic vitality,” said Amanda Walsh, vice president of Government Affairs for the Orange County Business Council at the meeting.
“Disneyland Forward will bring tens of millions of dollars in additional tax revenue each year to the City of Anaheim.”
Critics argue the project would see Disney privatize Magic Way – a frequently used street that takes commuters to the 5 freeway from Walnut Street – and other public streets.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Cynthia Ward – a former city council aide, OC Cemetery District Trustee and longtime good government activist – raised concerns about the expansion impacting quality of life for residents.
“I want assurance that the everyday lives of those who already live with Disney impacts will not be sacrificed for tax dollars while our own city staff spins that destruction as a big win for Anaheim,” Ward told council members during public comment.
Some residents also say it’ll add to local economic woes by creating jobs that don’t pay enough, increase noise and traffic and negatively impact residents near the park.
“The people who make the magic live in their overcrowded apartments or cars or the streets,” resident and longtime activist for homeless people Jeanine Robbins said during Tuesday’s public comment.
Some people questioned if officials would prioritize Disney over residents’ quality of life in a city where about half the population is on a public health plan – with one resident living near the proposed expansion calling Anaheim “Disney’s favorite prostitute.”
[Read: The Happiest Place on Earth is Surrounded by Some of Orange County’s Poorest]
A public hearing on the expansion project held by the council is expected in April.
What Will Privatizing Public Streets Mean in Anaheim?
A chief concern of residents critical of Disney’s expansion is the privatization of public streets like Magic Way – from Walnut to Disneyland Drive – a part of Clementine Street South of Katella and Hotel Way.
Stephanie Mercadante, a resident who lives near Disneyland, said the closure of Magic Way will cause a traffic nightmare.
“We end up being collateral damage every time Disney wants something,” she said about residents living near the park.
“I feel these changes will leave me sitting on Ball Road daily being angry with Disney, angry with city hall and eventually angry with the tourists my family has always welcomed knowing the value they bring to our city.”
“I don’t want to spend my life being angry.”
[Read: Will Anaheim Let Disneyland Privatize Public Roads?]
City staff say Disney will pay the market value of $40 million for the streets, but won’t pay additional money for traffic impact caused by the loss of the roads.
City spokesman Mike Lyster previously told the Voice of OC that 10,000 cars drive on Magic Way everyday.
Disney’s also asking Anaheim to give up its planned extension of Gene Autry Way, which city officials have long planned to connect to the Convention Center in an effort to alleviate traffic congestion, and a planned extension of Clementine Street.
Two pedestrian bridges are also expected to be built on Disneyland Drive and three on Harbor Boulevard, if the project is approved.
Will Disney Help Finance Housing?
As part of the proposed agreement, Disney would give $30 million to the city that would go to a housing trust and be used for affordable homes.
Half of it would go to the city the first year of the Disneyland Forward development and the other half would be paid over five years, according to city staff.
Grace Stepter, the city’s Housing and Community Development director, said it takes on average $550,000 to $600,000 to build an affordable home.
City Councilwoman Natalie Rubalcava said she would like to see Disney put additional funds for housing and that most of the over 13,000 new jobs the expansion is expected to create inside the theme park are low wage.
“I love the fact that we have this economic engine in Anaheim, but I think this is really going to generate a lot of money for Disney as well and we need to make sure that all ships rise together.” Rubalcava said.
In 2022, Rubalcava got over $380,000 in support from Disneyland’s political spending vehicle – Support Our Anaheim Resort political action committee.
She could now potentially face a recall election, with recall proponents pointing to her name appearing in the corruption report – which alleges Rualcava improperly got voter information from a Chamber of Commerce created nonprofit that received city funding.
[Read: Was an Anaheim City Hall-Funded Nonprofit Used as a Political Data Mining Operation?]
Rubalcava has publicly denied the allegations and said the report is full of inaccuracies.
Residents also raised concerns on whether the entertainment behemoth’s proposal would do enough to create affordable housing
Cesar Covarrubias, executive director of the Kennedy Commission, said that jobs paying $19 to $25 an hour was not enough for someone to buy a home in OC.
“A family of four has to make over $40 an hour to be able to afford a typical two bedroom apartment in Orange County,” Covarrubias said.
“If we are going to depend on resort expansion and the resort as a way to finance the city’s budget, we also have to think about the impacts of the entertainment industry on our population,” he said.
The housing concerns come after a study by the nonprofit United Way that found over 3,000 OC residents were evicted from their homes in 2022.
And some residents living in Hermosa Village near Disney, who spoke out against the project, said they are receiving eviction notices to allow for apartment remodels.
Marisol Ramirez, deputy director of Orange County Communities Organized for Responsible Development, called on the council to require Disney to have a workforce housing requirement before moving forward with the expansion.
“Anaheim residents are being displaced from affordable units,” she said at Tuesday’s meeting.
“We need a council that will bargain for the residents in all communities over large development to ensure families are not pushed out but are rather incorporated into the future of Anaheim.”
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.
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