Originally Posted By Darkbeer <a href="http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1761969.php" target="_blank">http://www.ocregister.com/ocre gister/homepage/abox/article_1761969.php</a> >>A developer-backed group is pushing for a ballot initiative to fight back at a Disney-led coalition that is trying to halt the developer's housing plan. The initiative would require voter approval of any project on 52.9 acres of Disney property, mostly a strawberry field, near the site of SunCal's proposed residential complex, the group announced Wednesday. The pro-housing group plans to ask the City Council to put the item on the ballot, a way to avoid collecting signatures. "It should go on the ballot for everybody, not just the small guy," said Diane Singer, chairwoman of the Coalition to Protect and Defend Anaheim. "It's just about making it even, leveling it all out. Everybody plays by the same rules." A Disney spokesman declined to comment. The Disney-funded group is behind two ballot measures opposing developer SunCal's housing plan. The conflicting ballot proposals are the latest in a yearlong dispute about whether housing should be built in the Anaheim Resort, a 2.2-square-mile area around Disney's theme parks that was reserved for tourism uses, such as hotels. << More at the link....
Originally Posted By Darkbeer PRESS RELEASE Committee to Protect and Defend Anaheim Asks Council To Place Anaheim Resort Initiative On Ballot Initiative would make the Disney Corporation live under the voter-approval requirement they seek to force on other Resort District property owners Anaheim, CA – The Committee to Protect and Defend Anaheim will ask the Anaheim City Council to put before Anaheim voters an initiative requiring the Disney Corporation to abide by the same voter-approval that Disney is trying to impose on other Resort District property owners through its SOAR Initiative. Specifically, this initiative would require Anaheim voters to approve any future development proposal on the property commonly referred to as "the strawberry farm" located in the heart of the Resort area along Harbor Boulevard near Katella Avenue. Disney’s SOAR Initiative imposes additional land-use controls and restrictions on property not owned by the Disney Corporation – but it conveniently allows Disney, as owner of the single largest undeveloped tract in the Anaheim Resort, to circumvent any similar voter approval process. "Disney is pushing an initiative requiring resort district property owners, no matter how small, to ask Anaheim’s 136,000 voters to approve any zoning change," said Anaheim resident Diane Singer. "But they don’t want to put the same requirement on themselves." "Disney ought to play by the same rules they want to impose on everyone else, and this initiative will do that," said Singer. "We’re aren’t thrilled by ballot-box zoning, but if Anaheim voters are asked to impose that on the Resort District, they deserve the option of choosing an initiative that applies equally to all Resort District property owners – including Disney."
Originally Posted By Darkbeer And a related story from the LA Times from July 9th <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-affordable9jul09" target="_blank">http://www.latimes.com/news/lo cal/la-me-affordable9jul09</a>,1,7818496.story?track=rss&ctrack=2&cset=true >>Much of the housing debate in Anaheim has centered on the 2.2-square-mile Resort District. Disney and tourism officials say they are not opposed to the notion of creating more low-cost housing, but they believe the resort should be dedicated to tourism and the enormous tax revenue it yields. "The community needs to address housing for all segments of the community," said Disney spokesman Rob Doughty. "We've never said it's not an important issue. But we also need to protect the resort area as the largest single source of funds for Anaheim." Religious coalition leaders say they are staying out of the high-profile housing fight in the Resort District, partly because some members have sided with Disney and others don't believe the entertainment giant can be beaten in the courts or at the ballot box. Instead, they are concentrating on the Platinum Triangle, a sprouting urban village where about 9,000 homes are planned within five to 10 years. None of those units have been designated as "affordable." But the Platinum Triangle land next to Angel Stadium is in the city's redevelopment zone and developer Archstone-Smith and Hines has plans for up to 1,100 apartments, 20% of which could be available to low-income families. The potential glitch is that under terms of the Angels' 1996 stadium lease, homes must be approved by the team owner, now Arte Moreno. Councilman Harry Sidhu said he was not opposed to building low-cost homes on the stadium property, but sees it as unrealistic.<<
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 It's really amazing the spin this is getting. The developers sure are trying to bend a sympathetic ear and get people to side against "big, bad, Disney". They, of course, are glossing over the fact that the "low income housing" is just a big, red herring.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer OK, here is what I think is going on... FYI, SOAR is the Disney funded group, CDPA is the SunCal builders funded group, both groups do have other supports and donors, but the major funding comes from the two companies) SOAR has already submitted one referendum (cancelling the specific zoning change) and has enough signatures for a general version (Zoning changes must be approved in the current Resort Area). CDPA has taken polls and found out that both SOAR issues will be approved by the voters. The next City Council meeting is the Tuesday, July 17th, in the evening. The Council has to make a decision, whether to rescind the zoning approval and drop the matter, or place the matter on the ballot for the voters to vote on. (The second, or general proposal, if submitted and found to have enough signatures would go straight to the ballot). While just dropping the matter might happen (Ms. Kring is the swing vote), most folks think the council will place it on the ballot. Now, the council has the power to place the referendum to overturn the zoning change on a upcoming ballot (either February or June) or have a special election (there is a time window that the council must follow). Most folks think they will place on the February ballot (Presidential Primary). Now, if either happens as is, more than likely, the SOAR proposals are approved, and SunCal's project is basically cancelled (SunCal doesn't even own the Mobile Home Parks, they have a contract to buy the properties at a specific price with a certain time frame, but they don't have to buy, they might have to pay a cancellation fee to the parks though). But SunCal is looking at a major profit (The land values go up tens of millions if the zoning change happens), so they want to fight on. Solution, have CDPA come up with something to confuse the voters, which is why we have the new proposal regarding the Strawberry Farm zoning. CDPA did a similar tactic during the gathering of signatures for the SOAR proposals, setting up a rival set of tables, and a non-binding petition (which anyone could sign, not just registered voters of Anaheim) and then a card to "rescind" your signature on the SOAR referendum. This time, they want the third proposal to get some voters confused, which ones do I vote on if I want to keep the area for business use?, etc. One problem, and it should be interesting to see how the council handles it. Do you cave in to CDPA and just place the third measure on the ballot (which I don't think will happen, if it does, then SunCal has a LOT of power), if not, then SunCal will have to go to the Secretary of State and go through the approval process to get an approved measure (correct legal wording) and petitions started. Then they have to get the signatures and submit them to the Register of Voters. That will take time, my educated guess, a few months (maybe as long as 8, 2 months to process and then 6 months to get the signatures needed). Then if they get the signatures, it will finally go to the ballot. So if the SOAR proposals get approved for the February ballot, then the CDPA couldn't be on the same ballot if they have to gather signatures. So you might see the council decide that the best time for the vote is June, but all that means is that the council is delaying a vote (the Zoning change is in limbo until a vote is taken) to benefit one side (SunCal). Should be interesting to follow this in the next week or so, a lot of behind the scenes stuff will have to come out in public.....
Originally Posted By jonvn Disney can't pull out. People know it. But...what if they did? If the local government makes it simply impossible to do business there, then at what point does Disney decide that it is no longer feasible to stay? Then Anaheim gets turned into Santa Ana.
Originally Posted By twirlnhurl Why would housing be a more valuable use for the property then high-end hotels, etc? I am not familiar with the housing market in southern California, but is it really that much more lucrative?
Originally Posted By Aussie Obsession From soneone who doesn't even live in the US this is so bizarre. The way Anaheim has evolved purely because of the park over the last 10 years has been incredible, and has obviously helped increase the use of the resort area. I for one wouldn't dream of jumping on a plane for 14 hours to go to Anaheim if it wasn't for the park or resort, and I suggest millions others would be the same. This means that milions and millions of dollars are generated for Anaheim and surrounding areas simply because of one thing. I would think that the council should then realise that if a major decision like this could impact on the economy in such a way, an economy that no doubt helps their own coffers, then it was a no-brainer. I don't know too much of the detail or politics, but obviously the developer is very politically astute and must have photos of the councillors in various unsavoury circumstances or something like that, I don't know. This obviously sounds like it won't go away in a hurry, given that it has dragged on like this already. Perhaps if the developers win and Disney start considering their options, we can lobby the Australian federal and state governments to back a move of the park to a more accepting and the most beautiful part of the world! ;-)
Originally Posted By bean "Why would housing be a more valuable use for the property then high-end hotels, etc? I am not familiar with the housing market in southern California, but is it really that much more lucrative?" the housing market in California is a mess right now. Thousands of homes being abondaned because of forclosures. Many developers with pending projects being cancelled yet Suncal and a couple of city council people are psuhing hard. The one that would benefit is SUNCAL. Not too far from the area right outside the resort distrcit their are already plans to build several thousand homes within the next few years. still this one small plot is creating headaches and wasting money just to please SUNCAL and Galloways pushy attitude
Originally Posted By Darkbeer Let me weigh in here with some information... I attended the full City Council meeting April 25th and got this info. First, back in 1994, the original Resort Zoning did NOT include the 2 Mobile Home Parks on Haster. The owner specifically lobbied to have the property included in the resort area and agreed to the condition that the land could not be resold for residential use. Currently in Anaheim, Residential Land is worth about $5 million per acre, and commercial use is worth about $2 million. The Mobile Home land is about 26 acres, out of which the city will require no building on about 10% of that amount, reserving the land for the extension of Gene Autry Way. That leaves about 22 acres for development, and $66 million in increased value to the land if the rezoning is allowed to happen. While no specific plan has been introduced to the City Council by the SunCal builders, the zoning change would allow the highest density of units in Anaheim, by far, at least 77 units per acre, and maybe up to 100. Currently 60 units per acre is the high limit.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer So that is over $60 million in just the change in zoning, and then the additional profit in building the project and selling it.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer Economic Study of Anaheim Resort Area Concludes That a Large Portion of City Tax Revenue is Derived from the District Resort/Commercial Development Will Produce Far Greater Fiscal Benefits for the City Than Residential Developments in the ARA LOS ANGELES--July 13th, 2007--The Anaheim Resort Area (ARA) is an economic powerhouse that generated a large portion of Anaheim’s total city tax revenues in fiscal year 2006, providing significant tax dollars to fund essential city services, according to a new economic study released today. The study also compared the revenue impacts of resort use versus residential use for a 26-acre parcel in the Resort Area, where a high-density residential housing project is being considered. It concluded that resort uses are likely to produce annual multimillion-dollar revenue surpluses for Anaheim compared to marginal surpluses for residential development. The study was commissioned by the Save Our Anaheim Resort (SOAR) coalition and the Disneyland Resort, and was prepared by CBRE Consulting. Highlights include: In 2006, the ARA contributed $107 million in total revenues to the City’s General Fund, including Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), property tax and sales taxes and indirect taxes. The tax contribution is equivalent to 54 percent of the City’s $195 million total tax revenues from all sources citywide. When adjusted for revenues used for debt service, this percentage may range from 41 to 45 percent. Those ARA General Fund revenues include a $5 million special payment the Disneyland Resort makes annually to the City for police, fire and paramedic services to offset the cost of public safety staffing at the resort. The Anaheim Resort Maintenance District also paid $4 million in special assessments for the cost of maintaining landscaping and other public infrastructure. A resort and commercial development on the 26-acre parcel in the ARA recently rezoned for residential use would generate annual fiscal surpluses far in excess of what would be generated from residential uses. More than 25,000 people work at Resort Area businesses with an estimated payroll of $700 million per year. “The Anaheim Resort Area is the single largest source of revenue for the City of Anaheim and one of the largest in the United States. It is a primary driver of the tourism related economy in the Southern California area,†said Thomas Jirovsky, senior managing director of CBRE Consulting. “This new report also estimates the comparative fiscal impact of alternative development scenarios for a 26-acre parcel in the ARA, which can serve to inform City decision makers of the important fiscal implications of the land use decisions currently under consideration.†About CBRE Consulting Founded in 1978 as Sedway Group, CBRE Consulting is a full service real estate and urban economics firm. Since 1999, it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of CB Richard Ellis, Inc., the world’s largest provider of commercial real estate services (based on 2006 revenues). About SOAR and the Anaheim Resort Area SOAR is a broad coalition of concerned Anaheim businesses, organizations and residents, who want to preserve the Anaheim Resort District and protect the essential city services that it funds. More than 25,000 people work at Anaheim Resort Area businesses, with an estimated 10 percent of them living in the City of Anaheim. These full- and part-time employees of Anaheim Resort Area businesses and franchisees have an estimated payroll of $700 million per year, and with their significant amount of local purchases generate an economic impact of over $1 billion per year. The ARA includes the Anaheim Convention Center, numerous hotels and restaurants, as well as the Disneyland Resort, which encompasses Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure theme parks, three hotels with a total of 2,224 rooms and the 310,000-square-foot Downtown Disney retail, restaurant and entertainment district. With 20,000 employees, the Disneyland Resort is Orange County’s largest employer and a $3.6 billion annual contributor to the local economy.
Originally Posted By SoThisIsLove Being a bear with very little brains, what is the bottom line? What is the best outcome of this entire debate?
Originally Posted By berol Depends on the point of view or what a person considers to be more important. The city should do whatever is best for the city. If that means being for or against Disney, that's the way it goes. Sometimes a city will do something a bit negative to achieve a greater positive.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer >>Being a bear with very little brains, what is the bottom line? What is the best outcome of this entire debate?<< IMHO, that the Anaheim City Council decides to agree with the referendum, and doesn't approve the zoning change. And that EVERYTHING else is halted. Alas, I doubt that it will happen....
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt "A resort and commercial development on the 26-acre parcel in the ARA recently rezoned for residential use would generate annual fiscal surpluses far in excess of what would be generated from residential uses." Well duh. Would someone please tell me what the Anaheim supervisors are smoking.
Originally Posted By bean I doubt they will be pushed into revealing anything. But just for a little hint. The land is in blue sky for a third gate again. A very large budget has been approved for DCA and approvals have been given to go ahead with GC and Dsneyland hotel changes and additions
Originally Posted By Darkbeer The OC Register just placed this story up online... <a href="http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1767972.php" target="_blank">http://www.ocregister.com/ocre gister/homepage/abox/article_1767972.php</a> >>Deal possible on housing near Disney property The Walt Disney Co. and a developer may have reached a compromise on a fight over a housing proposal near Disney property. The two sides met over the weekend and may ask the City Council to postpone a vote on the issue Tuesday, said Frank Elfend, a consultant for developer SunCal. The council is scheduled Tuesday to set the date on a referendum to overturn residential zoning on the plot where SunCal wants to build 1,500 homes in the Anaheim Resort. A Disney-funded group collected enough signatures to put the item on the ballot and has also sued the city over the proposal. The group, called Save Our Anaheim Resort, planned to urge the council to repeal its decision on residential zoning instead of setting an election date. SOAR was set to hold a picnic Saturday to rally its members in preparation for Tuesday's meeting. Chris Lowe, Disney's governmental relations official, said Sunday that he was unaware of a compromise. The housing debate has been among the most contentious and divisive issues that long-time residents can remember, resulting in a lawsuit, three proposed ballot measures and nationwide media attention, including a spoof on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." "I think that all parties agree that a continuance on Tuesday would be good way to initatve positive dialogue," Elfend said. Elfend declined to discuss the nature of the compromise, saying information would come out in the next few days. Councilwoman Lorri Galloway, who supports the housing project, said she had yet to see details of the compromise, so she is unsure if she wants to postpone a vote. "I don’t know how serious how all of this stuff is. I’m ready to go and there are hundreds of people who are scheduleed to speak and scheduled to go. I’m not ready to call the dogs off yet," Galloway said. Disney spokesman Rob Doughty said he had heard of no compromise as of 4:30 p.m. Sunday.<<
