Disney officers are hoping to clear one of many ultimate hurdles Monday for its theme park enlargement plan, which they are saying would jump-start no less than $1.9 billion of recent growth on the Anaheim resort over the subsequent 10 years.
The DisneylandForward challenge will face a vote Monday evening from the Anaheim Planning Fee, after virtually three years of evaluations and evaluation.
The requested modifications to the park’s zoning would enable Disney — a dominant determine in Anaheim politics — extra flexibility to reimagine its present 490-acre footprint in Anaheim over the subsequent few a long time, mixing new points of interest, theme parks, retailers, eating places and parking to “present for continued, long-term development of The Disneyland Resort,” the newest metropolis report mentioned.
“Within the Nineteen Nineties, the Metropolis of Anaheim accepted particular plans that will information the expansion of Disneyland Resort and companies within the newly fashioned Anaheim Resort space,” the DisneylandForward web site mentioned. “And whereas these plans resulted in main enhancements to your entire Anaheim Resort, their ‘conventional’ district/zone strategy doesn’t enable for the various, built-in experiences theme park guests now search, severely limiting Disney’s capability to proceed investing in Anaheim.”
The challenge doesn’t embody particular plans for brand spanking new points of interest, however Disney officers have supplied a imaginative and prescient for potential additions, akin to immersive Frozen, Zootopia, Tron or Peter Pan experiences much like these at Disney’s places in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo. The challenge, if accepted, does promise a minimal $1.9 billion funding within the theme park, lodging, leisure, procuring and eating inside a decade, in keeping with metropolis officers.
Town of Anaheim’s employees report on the challenge recommends the planning fee’s approval. If the fee agrees, the proposal would then require ultimate approval from the Metropolis Council, possible in mid-April. Even when the brand new zoning is accepted, particular person tasks would nonetheless be topic to metropolis planning approval.
The proposal outlines a rise of 4,376 theme park-related parking areas, in addition to quite a lot of site visitors enhancements, together with including bike lanes and pedestrian bridges and absorbing some native roadways into Disney’s oversight.
The anticipated growth by Anaheim’s largest employer would generate considerably extra financial output and tax income, in keeping with an evaluation commissioned by the Walt Disney Co. The brand new settlement, if accepted, would even have Disney pony up $30 million for reasonably priced housing inside 5 years, $40 million for road and transportation enhancements and $10 million for sewer upgrades.
“The DisneylandForward Undertaking is predicted to generate extra income to town that may improve town’s normal fund for use for all kinds of public advantages, together with funding police and hearth personnel and assets, native college districts, parks, libraries, and capital enhancements,” in keeping with the metropolis’s employees report.
The challenge’s environmental affect report discovered the development part would have important, unavoidable results on noise air pollution, air high quality and greenhouse fuel emissions within the surrounding neighborhood, however Disney officers cited mitigation measures, together with putting in 12-foot-tall noise limitations.
It wasn’t instantly clear how a lot opposition the challenge would see Monday evening. Many close by residents and companies have expressed issues all through the prolonged evaluation course of about noise, site visitors, elevated crime or air pollution — however there was additionally a lot assist for the challenge at a metropolis workshop final month.
Some have additionally known as on Disney to take a position extra locally, given the dimensions of this challenge and the way lots of the firm’s low-wage staff wrestle to make ends meet.
Duane Roberts, the editor and writer of web site Anaheim Investigator, pointed to the large Walt Disney Co.-funded 1,400 unit reasonably priced housing challenge close to Disney World in Central Florida, calling the promised $30 million for reasonably priced housing in Anaheim “puny.” He mentioned he wasn’t essentially against the DisneylandForward challenge, however wished metropolis officers to push for extra native assist from Disney.
“Why are we getting so little as in comparison with Florida?” Roberts requested metropolis officers final month. “Will we not, like them, have a housing disaster on this state?”
