Defending its resort zone, Disney sues to block housing planAP
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - The Walt Disney Co. sued the city of Anaheim this week over a residential project that would add low-cost housing in the city's resort district.
The entertainment company has long opposed the proposal to build 1,500 condominiums and apartments, including 225 units for lower income residents, near Disney 's amusement parks. Disney says residents would be out of place in a district designed for tourists.
"This lawsuit speaks to how important we view this Anaheim resort area and that we make sure the vision sticks," said Disneyland spokesman Rob Doughty.
The Anaheim City Council is considering whether to reopen debate on the residential project after rejecting the proposal earlier this month with a split council vote.
The project's developer appealed the council split and argued that Councilwoman Lucille Kring, who may have been the swing vote, should have been able to vote. She was told to abstain over of a possible conflict of interest because she planned to open a wine bar nearby.
The lawsuit filed Monday is the first ever filed by Disney against the city and asks that Anaheim nullify the environmental analysis it approved for the project.
"The process to review and analyze environmental impacts of this proposed development was legally flawed from the start and does not meet even the most basic requirements," said Ed Grier, president of Disneyland Resort.
The resort area, which increasingly has given way to hotels, restaurants and the tourist-friendly retail district called Downtown Disney, has long been a source of frustration to Disney officials.
Walt Disney himself complained that soon after he opened Disneyland in 1955 the area outside the park became filled with fast-food restaurants, cheap hotels, ugly neon signs and ticky-tack tourist attractions. The area now also includes California Adventure.
Disney officials want the 26-acre parcel at issue to be developed as an upscale hotel-condominium project, but housing advocates say the apartment-condo proposal would be convenient for entertainment workers making modest wages.
Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle said he wasn't surprised Disney went to court.
"There's no question this is a very significant issue to them and they are using all the means by which they can express that concern," he said.
http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/defending-its-resort-zone-disney-sues-to/n20070227120909990002
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - The Walt Disney Co. sued the city of Anaheim this week over a residential project that would add low-cost housing in the city's resort district.
The entertainment company has long opposed the proposal to build 1,500 condominiums and apartments, including 225 units for lower income residents, near Disney 's amusement parks. Disney says residents would be out of place in a district designed for tourists.
"This lawsuit speaks to how important we view this Anaheim resort area and that we make sure the vision sticks," said Disneyland spokesman Rob Doughty.
The Anaheim City Council is considering whether to reopen debate on the residential project after rejecting the proposal earlier this month with a split council vote.
The project's developer appealed the council split and argued that Councilwoman Lucille Kring, who may have been the swing vote, should have been able to vote. She was told to abstain over of a possible conflict of interest because she planned to open a wine bar nearby.
The lawsuit filed Monday is the first ever filed by Disney against the city and asks that Anaheim nullify the environmental analysis it approved for the project.
"The process to review and analyze environmental impacts of this proposed development was legally flawed from the start and does not meet even the most basic requirements," said Ed Grier, president of Disneyland Resort.
The resort area, which increasingly has given way to hotels, restaurants and the tourist-friendly retail district called Downtown Disney, has long been a source of frustration to Disney officials.
Walt Disney himself complained that soon after he opened Disneyland in 1955 the area outside the park became filled with fast-food restaurants, cheap hotels, ugly neon signs and ticky-tack tourist attractions. The area now also includes California Adventure.
Disney officials want the 26-acre parcel at issue to be developed as an upscale hotel-condominium project, but housing advocates say the apartment-condo proposal would be convenient for entertainment workers making modest wages.
Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle said he wasn't surprised Disney went to court.
"There's no question this is a very significant issue to them and they are using all the means by which they can express that concern," he said.
http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/defending-its-resort-zone-disney-sues-to/n20070227120909990002
