Notice of Preparation of a Draft Subsequent Environmental Impact Report No. 352 and Scoping Meeting for the DisneylandForward Project

[Darkbeer1]

>>Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, U.S., Inc. (Disney), has submitted applications to the City of Anaheim (City) for the proposed DisneylandForward Project (proposed project) to provide for continued, long-term growth of the Disneyland Resort within The Anaheim Resort. The proposed project is a request from Disney for more flexibility as to the location of permitted uses within Disney’s properties in the Disneyland Resort Specific Plan No. 92-1 (DRSP) and the Anaheim Resort Specific Plan No. 92-2 (ARSP) areas and streamlined review of future Disney projects in these areas. The proposed project would also facilitate the use of improved technologies, such as energy efficient lighting and small cellular sites, and more drought-tolerant landscaping that would be applicable to the entire Anaheim Resort.<<

Much more in the report.

Please understand my lack of comments.

https://www.anaheim.net/DocumentCenter/View/40211/Notice-of-Preparation--Initial-Study

 

[TP2000]

Well, well, well.... Look at that.

I've only perused the report, but there's some interesting info in there. I'll need to go back and read more and then report Deep Thoughts. Thank you for the heads up Darkbeer!

It does seem the GardenWalk llamas are safe, at least for now.

 

[Sailor310]

Boy, 82 pages of 'yea, it's a problem, but we'll work it out somehow so it isn't.'

 

[mickEblu]

>>Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, U.S., Inc. (Disney), has submitted applications to the City of Anaheim (City) for the proposed DisneylandForward Project (proposed project) to provide for continued, long-term growth of the Disneyland Resort within The Anaheim Resort. The proposed project is a request from Disney for more flexibility as to the location of permitted uses within Disney’s properties in the Disneyland Resort Specific Plan No. 92-1 (DRSP) and the Anaheim Resort Specific Plan No. 92-2 (ARSP) areas and streamlined review of future Disney projects in these areas. The proposed project would also facilitate the use of improved technologies, such as energy efficient lighting and small cellular sites, and more drought-tolerant landscaping that would be applicable to the entire Anaheim Resort.<<

Much more in the report.

Please understand my lack of comments.

https://www.anaheim.net/DocumentCenter/View/40211/Notice-of-Preparation--Initial-Study

I have mixed feelings about this. The possibilities are exciting but major changes to Disneyland proper under this regime would be downright frightening.

They re losing me with the drought tolerant landscaping too.

 

[Sailor310]

3.4 BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES Question a: Would the project have a substantial adverse effect, either directly or through habitat modifications, on any species identified as a candidate, sensitive, or special status species in local or regional plans, policies, or regulations, or by the California Department of Fish and Game or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service?
b: Would the project have a substantial adverse impact on neon fiberglass llamas (or Alpacas)?

Potentially Significant Impact: Yes, the project would probably result in the immediate removal and destruction of all fiberglass llamas in the Resort District.

 

[Stevek]

So is Disney asking that Anaheim give up the right of way for both Convention/Gene Autry way and Clementine so they can fully utilize the Toy Story lot as part of the expansion?

 

[DrAlice]

Boy, 82 pages of 'yea, it's a problem, but we'll work it out somehow so it isn't.'

To be fair, most EIRs read like that.

 

[SSG]

Theme Park Space.

Maximum Allowable Development Under DRSP: 6,850,000 sf
Existing Development: 3,192,885 sf
Remaining Entitlement: 3,657,115sf

So Disney is using less than half of its allowable Theme Park Space?

 

[Too Many Hats]

I have mixed feelings about this. The possibilities are exciting but major changes to Disneyland proper under this regime would be downright frightening.

100% agreed. I have to admit -- you've been expressing this sentiment on this message board for quite some time (in the context of things like reworking Tomorrowland), and I've found the concern perhaps a bit too overblown. I do not feel that way anymore! In light of all the post-covid changes at Disneyland (and the objectives of the Chapek regime becoming quite clear), I am finding myself wanting to cling to the park as it stands right now. No reimaginings, no expansions, please! Disneyland is not perfect but just imagine the damage that could be done (do we really trust them to build a bridge from Critter Country to the Stitch Lot?).

Imagine one day looking at the Stitch Lot and thinking, "I liked it better as a parking lot."

 

[Mike730]

The Project would require approval of amendments to the Circulation Element of the City’s General Plan and the Orange County Master Plan of Arterial Highways (MPAH). The amendments include the following:
 Removal of the planned future extensions of Clementine Street between Katella Avenue and Orangewood Avenue and Gene Autry Way between Harbor Boulevard and Haster Street, which are planned through the Southeast District of the DRSP and the adjacent Theme Park East Overlay in the ARSP;
 Removal of the portion of Disneyland Drive between Ball Road and Katella Avenue as the Project would privatize the portion of Disneyland Drive between Magic Way and Katella Avenue; and
 Reclassification of Disney Way between Anaheim Boulevard and Harbor Boulevard from a six-lane Major Arterial to a four-lane Primary Arterial (with no change to the width of the ultimate public right-of-way).

If I understand correctly, they want to add the striped orange/red areas to the Disneyland Resort Specific Plan, which (I think) will allow them to be redeveloped as they choose. Of note is that the addition of the Paradise Pier property to this request, which suggests that they want to make sure it does not get in the way of their redevelopment plans. It would (I think) remove one of the road blocks if they wanted to raze it for DCA expansion.

 

[DLR92]

I hope they consider native planting for landscaping and NOT desert plants.

 

[TP2000]

The Project would require approval of amendments to the Circulation Element of the City’s General Plan and the Orange County Master Plan of Arterial Highways (MPAH). The amendments include the following:
 Removal of the planned future extensions of Clementine Street between Katella Avenue and Orangewood Avenue and Gene Autry Way between Harbor Boulevard and Haster Street, which are planned through the Southeast District of the DRSP and the adjacent Theme Park East Overlay in the ARSP;
 Removal of the portion of Disneyland Drive between Ball Road and Katella Avenue as the Project would privatize the portion of Disneyland Drive between Magic Way and Katella Avenue; and
 Reclassification of Disney Way between Anaheim Boulevard and Harbor Boulevard from a six-lane Major Arterial to a four-lane Primary Arterial (with no change to the width of the ultimate public right-of-way).

If I understand correctly, they want to add the striped orange/red areas to the Disneyland Resort Specific Plan, which (I think) will allow them to be redeveloped as they choose. Of note is that the addition of the Paradise Pier property to this request, which suggests that they want to make sure it does not get in the way of their redevelopment plans. It would (I think) remove one of the road blocks if they wanted to raze it for DCA expansion.

View attachment 595694

Basically, Disney wants to finally put a nail in the coffin of Gene Autry Way. That was supposed to connect Angel Stadium to the Convention Center, but it would have to go right through the middle of the Toy Story Parking Lot (AKA future Disney park expansion) to do that.

We've talked about that before here for many years. It's a giant boondoggle already. They overbuilt Gene Autry Way massively and planned for some sort of six lane highway between Angel Stadium and the Convention Center. Why, I have no idea.

The types of multi-facility mega-events that would need that route for giant fleets of cars; like an Olympics, or maybe a Presidential Convention, are once in a lifetime events. But Anaheim was thinking they'd need that major road once or twice per month, for some unknown entertainment concept that didn't yet exist in our society.

I'm glad this Disneyland Forward plan finally kills that dumb idea. But the funny thing is that Anaheim is still stuck with this giant six lane road that absolutely no one uses, between Angel Stadium and Haster Street.

Gene Autry Way - Anaheim's Six Lane Road To Nowhere (Honestly what the traffic looks like daily)

 

[TP2000]

I typed that above and thought "The Anaheim bureaucrats of 2009 couldn't really have been that stupid, could they?" And then I thought of something, and I Googled...

Sure enough, it took me a moment, but I was right. Gene Autry Way was ridiculously overbuilt because Anaheim thought it would be a key route to the ARTIC and the high speed bullet trains that would be arriving hourly from San Francisco by now in this future year of 2021.

Here's a 2009 planning document that laid out the case to overbuild Gene Autry Way as a six lane highway to Haster Street.

https://www.anaheim.net/DocumentCenter/View/858/Gene-Autry-Way-West-Highway--I-5-HOV-Interchange-Project-Application-PDF

ARTIC! High Speed Rail! The laughs never end!

While "high speed rail" was a rational thing for local politicians to say out loud back in 2009, it's now only a bad punchline. No politician who wants to be re-elected ever says the words "high speed rail" out loud in California now. California High Speed Rail is a failure, a waste of Billions of dollars, and will never arrive in the Los Angeles basin, let alone arrive in Anaheim at their massively overbuilt and semi-abandoned ARTIC station. Even from Bakersfield to Merced, the wildly optimistic route the train might make by 2030, the trains will be diesel powered and will go no faster than standard Amtrak trains.

Gene Autry Way! We need it for ARTIC bullet trains! And stuff! Maybe the Pope will visit someday?

 

[TP2000]

By the way, here's what Gene Autry Way near the stadium was supposed to look like by the 2020's, according to Anaheim planners of the late 2000's. This would be a hip neighbhorhood where people would live and work and spend time in before/after their bullet train ride to/from San Francisco.

This is 2008's version of circa 2020 Gene Autry Way east of the 5 freeway, looking eastbound, with Angel Stadium and the OC foothills in the background.

Hip! Urban! Grab lunch before the bullet train!

And here is the reality. Same street, roughly same location east of the 5 freeway, looking eastbound toward Angel Stadium in March, 2021 on Google Earth.

Hip! Urban! Where's the bullet train? Where's the people? Hello?...

 

[unmitigated disaster]

Well, well, well.... Look at that.

I've only perused the report, but there's some interesting info in there. I'll need to go back and read more and then report Deep Thoughts. Thank you for the heads up Darkbeer!

It does seem the GardenWalk llamas are safe, at least for now.

View attachment 595210

I am still not ashamed to say I'd take these llamas home in a heartbeat.

 

[el_super]

If I understand correctly, they want to add the striped orange/red areas to the Disneyland Resort Specific Plan, which (I think) will allow them to be redeveloped as they choose.

It's both/all things all in one. Bring in some of the desperate properties around the resort under one specific plan, and then change that plan to basically allow them to do whatever they want, without having to request permission from the city later on. Let's them play this up as if they were going to use the land for a new theme park, get it approved, and then build a Disney themed mini-golf course instead.

Although actually I might like that.

 

[josh2000]

I hope the pandemic has shown the city that without Disneyland, they have nothing.

Some compromises may need to be made, but overall, they should give Disney the right to do what they want with their property.

 

[TP2000]

I am still not ashamed to say I'd take these llamas home in a heartbeat.

I'm just about to go run an errand over near the stadium. I'm going to go check on them to make sure they're still there after the pandemic. Bless 'em.

 

[TP2000]

I hope the pandemic has shown the city that without Disneyland, they have nothing.

Don't worry. I have been told by friends in commercial real estate that exact message was made loud and clear in Anaheim City Hall during the last 18 months. Painfully clear.

Notice how our favorite Socialist councilman, Dr. Jose Moreno of Anaheim District 3, has been silent on Disney for the past year? Absolutely silent to the media (although he still pontificates and bloviates and talks endlessly at city council meetings, he at least knows that's his only real audience now.)

"It’s as if somehow we should feel fortunate that Walt Disney chose Anaheim.” -Dr. Jose Moreno, Anaheim City Councilman, speaking to the Wall Street Journal, September 17th, 2018

That was three years ago. But now? Absolute media silence from Dr. Moreno.

 

[TP2000]

The other thing about Gene Autry Way in those documents is that it still does extend west a bit past Haster at some future date. But instead of going all the way to the Convention Center as planning documents showed for the past two decades, it now dead-ends at Disney's property that is the current Toy Story lot.

That area of Haster is home to a bunch of small apartment complexes that were built in the 1960's. It's not a glamorous area, and is home to some of Anaheim's gang problem. But to extend Gene Autry Way an additional 100 yards or so past Haster to feed into Disney's property (future theme park? hotels?) you'd need to bulldoze those 1960's apartment complexes.

Here's Gene Autry Way at Haster Street, looking east towards the freeway and the charmless and sterile Platinum Triangle area.

And here is the same view from the same intersection looking westbound. In the distance you can see the hotel towers around the Convention Center. But you'd need to bulldoze these apartment complexes to extend six glorious lanes of Gene Autry Way to Disney's Toy Story Lot property on the other side of these apartments....