Anaheim officials approved Disneyland Forward – a proposal to expand the iconic theme park – and sell off three public streets, including Magic Way, to the entertainment juggernaut.
City council members – a majority of whom had their campaigns heavily supported by Disney – voted unanimously early Wednesday to approve the 40-year agreement without knowing the specifics of what’s going to be built.
Some residents questioned the speed of the expansion’s approval, and tried urging council members to hold off on the vote until it’s clear what the impacts to the community are.
The approved expansion comes after FBI agents in sworn affidavits and independent investigators – with decades of law enforcement experience – concluded Disneyland resort interests hold outsized influence over city hall.
Something that opponents often reminded city council members about throughout the night.
[Read: Anaheim’s Own Look at City Hall Finds Disneyland Resort Businesses Improperly Steer Policymaking]
Yet for much of Tuesday night, supporters instead focused on the historic nature of the proposal, estimated to bring nearly $2 billion to Anaheim over the next decade – on par, they said, with when Walt Disney himself showed up in Anaheim in the 1950s.
Mayor Ashleigh Aitken said at Tuesday’s meeting that the expansion will give the city an opportunity to build affordable homes, improve infrastructure and support city services like police and fire.
“Allowing Disneyland to grow ensures Anaheim thrives,” she said.
Councilman Carlos Leon said he never saw a private investment of this magnitude.
At the same time, he noted that many low-income families have to bunch up together in one bedroom apartments to live in a city home to the “happiest place on earth.”
“We can do better to ensure that all families in our city have the highest quality of life, and that not only we’re working together to help address the day to day issues that we’re living through now but that we’re also preparing for those of tomorrow,” Leon said, adding that he felt confident putting his trust in Disney officials.
Disney representatives and city staff say the project will bring in community benefits like $30 million for housing, $8 million for parks and generate more tax revenue for public services like police and fire.
Disney also says it will invest close to $2 billion into the resort district over the next decade.
Numerous labor leaders – carpenters, iron workers, painters, plasterers and a host of others – also came out to support the project Tuesday night, noting the expansion would provide high-quality jobs for their workers.
Ken Potrock, president of the Disneyland Resort, said at Tuesday’s meeting that the expansion was a partnership between the city and the company that will impact generations to come.
“Walt Disney knew exactly what he was doing when he chose Anaheim to build his one of a kind theme park in the 1950s,” he said.
Tuesday’s decision comes as a group of residents say the whole process was rushed and lacked transparency, raising a host of concerns regarding the sale of public roads, the appraisal of the streets, noise, pollution and an economic impact report the city never fully received.
[Read: Anaheim to Consider Approving Disneyland Forward]
They demanded officials postpone the vote until more study and outreach is conducted on the project and ensure they negotiate a fair shake when it comes to community benefits like affordable housing that Disney is expected to provide as part of the deal.
“With the continuing cloud of corruption that has plagued our City over the past several years, it behooves the Council to slow down,” former City Councilman Jose Moreno wrote in an email to officials Tuesday.
“Disney will do what’s best, first and foremost for their shareholders, that is their priority–we ask you to prioritize fully the residents of Anaheim who’ve entrusted you to clean up City Hall,” Moreno added.
Several residents compared the Disneyland Forward approval process to the failed Angel Stadium land sale that was detailed in both the city commissioned corruption investigation report and FBI sworn affidavits.
[Read: Is Anaheim Rushing the Approval of Disneyland’s Expansion?]
In the last two elections, Disney spent over $1 million each cycle through its political spending arm – Support Our Anaheim Resort Political Action Committee – on resort-friendly candidates.
[Read: Will Mickey Mouse Continue to Cast a Big Shadow Over Anaheim’s Election Campaigns?]
In 2022, SOAR spent over $546,000 on Councilwoman Natalie Meeks’ campaign and over $380,000 on Councilwoman Natalie Rubalcava campaign.
Meeks spoke in favor of the project, pointing to the hotel tax revenue increases after the approved expansion in the 90s, leading to California Adventure and Downtown Disney.
“I want to see that continue to grow not because I am on Disney’s side, I’m on Anaheim’s side,” she said.
In 2020, SOAR spent over $430,000 on Councilman Stephen Faessel’s campaign and over $160,000 on Councilman Jose Diaz’s campaign, according to city campaign finance disclosures.
Faessel also pointed to revenue spikes after the previous expansion.
“Every time that there’s been Disney investment, the city benefits,” he said.
Pros & Cons of Disneyland’s Expansion
For about three and a half hours on Tuesday night, residents, laborers and business interests voiced their opinions on the expansion.
Supporters of the project included a host of Disney employees and residents, the OC Business Council, OC Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, California Chamber of Commerce, labor union representatives and the local hotel association.
They said the process included extensive outreach to residents and the expansion will create jobs and bring in millions more in tax revenue for the city.
“Disneyland forward will contribute significantly to the overall well being of Anaheim residents by strengthening city services and generating employment opportunities,” said Jeff Ball, the CEO and president of the Orange County Business Council.
“This not only enhances the immediate economic landscape, but also fosters a sense of pride and prosperity within the community,” Ball said.
Gloria Alvarado, the executive director of the Orange County Labor Federation, said it will create good job opportunities for workers across the region.
“We believe in the good union jobs this initiative will create,” Alvarado said. “It will not only uplift Anaheim, but it will uplift Orange County.”
On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom also praised the expansion, saying that California will always be home to Disneyland.
“We look forward to cultivating more Disney magic and building opportunities for all as this investment drives billions of dollars in revenue for our state and local communities,” he said in a Wednesday morning news release.
But a host of residents, activists and community groups like Chispa and Orange County Communities for Organized Responsible Development say the process was rushed, lacked transparency and will negatively impact the quality of life of nearby residents.
“Our thoughts are that we want the council to delay this vote and have a more community oriented process where they’re taking input from the community and where they get as much community benefits that they can,” said Bulmaro Vicente, policy and political director for Chispa, in an interview Tuesday.
“Disney is a billion dollar company, and so we want the city and its residents to get as much benefit as possible if this project is moving forward.”
Penelope Lopez, an Anaheim resident and Chispa member, said at Tuesday’s meeting that the outreach by city officials and staff was not as robust as they made it out to be and urged council members to delay the vote.
“We deserve honesty and integrity from you,” she said. “Our concerns are not imaginary … we’ve experienced the consequences of corruption – we’ve experienced the consequences of rushed votes.”
How Will Disneyland Forward Impact Anaheim?
A Cal State Fullerton economic study commissioned by Disney touts the project will bring $30 million in new annual revenue to the city for police, fire and transportation improvements.
Residents have raised concerns that the full study has not been made public nor seen by city officials themselves – with City Spokesman Mike Lyster previously telling the Voice of OC that its “self-evident” the project would have a significant economic impact on the city.
They got a 9-page executive summary instead.
“We haven’t seen it. What you’re looking at is a nine-page executive summary. You’re not looking about how the sausage is made,” said Randy Lewis, a resident who lives near the expansion.
Suzi Brown, Disneyland Resort Vice President of Communications, said in an email last week that the study has proprietary and competitive information when asked about making it public.
That isn’t the only concern.
But perhaps one of the biggest concerns among residents is the $40 million sale of public streets, including Magic Way – a street that they say they use to cut through traffic and get to the 5 freeway – and abandoning planned street expansions Disney promised to extend.
[Read: Anaheim Moves to Sell Public Streets to Disney, Residents Question Move]
Disney representatives argue that 99% of the commuters on Magic Way are using it to get to the amusement park – pointing to a commissioned traffic count they did during an atmospheric storm.
With the expansion approval, future developments on Disneyland property wouldn’t be subject to the city’s typical planning process and would instead go through an administrative review by city staff – meaning they would not go up before officials for a debate at public meetings
Ted White, the city’s planning director, said it’s already happening all the time with Disney properties.
Meanwhile, Trangdai Glassey, a resident living near the proposed expansion, said while people come to have fun at Disneyland, nearby residents have to deal with traffic and pollution.
She called on council members to study the project more.
“We voted for you to represent us,” Glassey said. “Disneyland claims to be the happiest place on earth. We ask that you do not make our neighborhood the unhappiest place on earth.”
Editor’s note: Ashleigh Aitken’s father, Wylie Aitken, chairs Voice of OC’s board of directors.
Voice of OC’s Tracy Wood fellow Erika Taylor contributed to the reporting in this article.
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.
•••
Can you support Voice of OC with a donation?
You obviously care about local news and value good journalism here in Orange County. With your support, we can bring you more stories like these.