Disney, which routinely funds city council campaigns, is looking to privatize public roads in Anaheim as part of the themepark’s proposed expansion – Disneyland Forward – mostly within its existing boundaries.
It comes during the fallout of Orange County’s biggest corruption scandal in recent history – one in which independent investigators and FBI agents essentially say Disneyland resort interests largely control city hall.
“The street closures are really troubling,” said Anaheim resident Cynthia Ward, a former city council aide, OC Cemetery District Trustee and longtime good government activist.
Ward is among a growing number of residents and activist groups that are asking whether their local streets should be given to a multi-billion entertainment juggernaut without adequate compensation.
Groups like Orange County Communities Organized For Responsible Development are also questioning the real impacts on quality of life for residents.
An online petition was started earlier this month against the privatization of Anaheim streets like Magic Way to do the expansion. As of Thursday, 126 people have signed on to the petition.
“The growth and expansion of Anaheim’s “economic engine” of tourism should benefit all stakeholders. Disney’s new profits should not come at the expense of our quality of life,” reads the petition.
In an interview last week, Ward questioned if Anaheim taxpayers will be compensated for giving up public roads.
“What’s the difference in value between a road …. Versus a restaurant or a theme park attraction or the corner of a hotel? That’s huge – that’s like changing the zoning on a piece of property and there needs to be a benefit to the people of Anaheim for doing that,” Ward said.
Anaheim City spokesman Mike Lyster said in a Thursday email that potential street acquisitions would be paid at “market value price,” which he said was separate from any rezoning for the proposed theme park expansion.
“Land that could be rezoned is all currently owned by Disney and would see no additional acreage, square footage or hotel rooms beyond what is already approved for development,” Lyster wrote.
Disney officials didn’t respond to questions.
City council members are slated to have their first public study session on the Disneyland proposal this Tuesday at 3 p.m.
Will Disney Expansion Close Anaheim Roads?
“We want to bring more Disney investment to Anaheim. However, this becomes more challenging under our current approvals and the limited space available in our Parks today,” reads Disney’s website on the proposal.
While city officials say the park isn’t expanding beyond its existing boundaries, Disney is asking the city to give up some planned road extensions in the area and let the theme park take over Magic Way – a road connecting Walnut Avenue to Disneyland Drive.
The road is driven on by 10,000 cars a day, according to Lyster.
Lyster said Magic Way is largely used by Disney visitors and that commuters can still reach the 5 freeway through Ball Road, Disneyland Drive and other streets.
Ward lambasted Disney’s proposal of privatizing the road, pointing to a 1996 deal struck between Anaheim and Disney that closed off a portion of Cerritos Avenue, moving the street north in what would eventually become Magic Way.
“Taxpayers have paid for that roadway several times now…We paid to relocate Cerritos, we own it – it’s some of the most high-valued real estate in the nation.”
Cynthia Ward
That 1996 deal would eventually allow the entertainment juggernaut to build Disney California Adventure.
And it also saddled the city with $510 million in bond debt, which is being repaid through 20% of citywide hotel taxes and all of Disney’s incremental taxes.
According to the current budget, the Disneyland resort district is expected to generate $289 million in sales tax revenue this fiscal year.
More than half of that – $149.2 million – is expected to go right back into the resort, mostly for bond payments.
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.
Ward said if the city and Disney walk back the planned extension it would betray residents’ trust after public investments.
“It just leaves me feeling like why should we ever trust Disney again? If their signature on a longstanding contract isn’t a guarantee of action, how can we trust them with anything ever again?” she said.
Lyster said the city is trying to ensure the best use of land to serve residents.
“If planned road expansions are replaced with visitor attractions that generate hotel, sales and property taxes, that would be more valuable in terms of funding we could use for public safety, libraries, community centers and other services,” he wrote.
Lyster added, “The Anaheim Convention Center already handles 1 million attendees a year with the roads we have now and would benefit from other road improvements that could come from DisneylandForward.”
Marisol Ramirez, deputy director for Orange County Communities for Responsible Development, said the proposal could impact quality of life in surrounding communities.
“If they’re going to be expanding their hotel rooms and parking spaces, it makes you think where all this overflow is going to go and what impact it’s going to have on surrounding neighborhoods,” Ramirez said.
There’s also lingering questions over what infrastructure upgrades could be needed if the proposal goes forward – and who would be responsible for paying for them.
“As we look at any major development, there would be significant street and other improvements expected. We are working through those details now and look forward to sharing more at the workshop,” Lyster said.
Will Disney’s Campaign Spending Pay Off?
Revelations from the FBI’s corruption probe spiked many residents’ concerns about the Disneyland resort industry’s influence on city hall – chiefly through independent spending on their preferred candidates’ campaigns, paying for things like political mailers and digital advertising.
In the 2022 city council election, Disney spent more than $1 million to boost the campaigns of preferred candidates – like Natalie Rubalcava and Natalie Meeks – through its chief political spending vehicle, the Support Our Anaheim Resort (SOAR) pac.
“This is where – again – campaign finance reform is so important for the city,” Ramirez said, adding that if the numerous campaign finance disclosures were easier to follow, residents could understand how “they’re going to vote” ahead of time.
One of the world’s largest entertainment companies has spent at least $1 million on elections stretching back to 2018 through SOAR.
[Read: Will Mickey Mouse Continue to Cast a Big Shadow Over Anaheim’s Election Campaigns?]
And that political action committee was called out in a 353 page city-commissioned corruption probe report, with one SOAR board member Paul Kott telling investigators the PAC was a vehicle to groom elected officials in Anaheim.
Investigators also detailed a shadowy Chamber of Commerce retreat in 2020, where elected officials including Disneyland’s Director of External Affairs Carrie Nocella, former Mayor Harry Sidhu, Former Chamber CEO Todd Ament, City Councilman Steve Faessel and current City Manager Jim Vanderpool were in attendance.
A streetcar project was proposed during that retreat and backed by Disney, which investigators say was given priority at the meeting.
There was also a plan proposed during that retreat to keep as much as $100 million out of the city’s general fund – the most flexible spending pool – once the resort bonds are paid off in a blue collar town where nearly half of the residents are on a public health plan.
[Read: How Disneyland Resort Interests Planned to Withhold Tax Money from Anaheim’s Working Class]
Sidhu and Ament would go on to plead guilty to multiple federal crimes, with the former mayor admitting to lying to FBI agents about his attempt to ram through the Angel Stadium land sale for $1 million in campaign support.
Spencer Custodio is the civic editor. You can reach him at scustodio@voiceofoc.org. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerCustodio.
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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