News Reedy Creek Improvement District and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District

[el_super]

Governor Newsom does not appoint members of the Anaheim city council. They are elected by the voters and the local political pendulum has shifted on the council multiple times both in favor and against Disney/SOAR based on local issues with Disney and not cultural firestorms.

It is a little different now, again, in part because of the FBI investigation, but the amount of money and influence that had flowed into Anaheim's City Hall has always been a problem. Disney has wielded their power and purse to influence politics even when the majority of residents have disagreed with them. I'm not a fan of it at all.

 

[mmascari]

Do you think they should? So let's change this up a bit. Let's say that Disney was instead a toxic waste site (and yes, I know some would argue it already is).

Do you think that the citizens of Orange or Osceloa or even the broader citizens of Florida should not have a say on whether that business continued in their state?

Exactly which county (or state) law around being a toxic waste site do you think RCID lets them ignore?

Hint, they're still subject to those county laws and it was a problem, the counties could still enforce those laws. Beyond that, the changes being done to RCID wouldn't change any of that relationship at all.

You're just making up fake scenarios that are not actual impacts of RCID existing at this point.

 

[lazyboy97o]

You know. I think it’s fine to be against RCID.

I don’t think the reason why it was dissolved is okay, and anyone who defends it is a silly goose.

You can say that RCID should have been changed long ago, but you should also admit the reason it’s changing is sketch, corrupt, and political.

Being against the Reedy Creek Improvement District is fine. What isn’t fine is lying about it, especially after the correct information has been presented.

It was not the only special district in Florida.
It was not the only special district offered to a company.
It did not allow Disney to avoid taxes.
It did not allow Disney to avoid this new idea of extra-jurisdiction taxes.
It did not allow Disney to avoid regulation.
It did not allow Disney to own a nuclear power plant.

 

[mmascari]

You know. I think it’s fine to be against RCID.

I don’t think the reason why it was dissolved is okay, and anyone who defends it is a silly goose.

You can say that RCID should have been changed long ago, but you should also admit the reason it’s changing is sketch, corrupt, and political.

I agree with this, on one condition. The reason to be against RCID has to be an actual true thing about RCID.

Being against RCID because of a false assumption about the way RCID functions is just stupid. It's like being against cats because they bark.

 

[el_super]

You know. I think it’s fine to be against RCID.

I don’t think the reason why it was dissolved is okay, and anyone who defends it is a silly goose.

You can say that RCID should have been changed long ago, but you should also admit the reason it’s changing is sketch, corrupt, and political.

And this is pretty much where I am at. Disney should have worked with the government and counties to dissolve RCID (or hand over control) decades ago when it first started causing problems. They didn't because they wanted the unfair advantage. As a Disney fan, I think it was a huge mistake for the company to let that go as long as they did.

Around 2018, Josh D'Amaro came out and asked the City of Anaheim to drop the subsidies they had pushed through the city council (mostly against the will of the people) because of the controversy and derision it had caused. I think Disney choosing not to fight for RCID is in that same vein. Disney trying to get out of local politics is a good thing.

If Disney actually wants to make a difference in Florida, and change perceptions, they will need to shed their greedy corporate image, and ditching RCID is the first step toward that.

 

[lazyboy97o]

And this is pretty much where I am at. Disney should have worked with the government and counties to dissolve RCID (or hand over control) decades ago when it first started causing problems. They didn't because they wanted the unfair advantage. As a Disney fan, I think it was a huge mistake for the company to let that go as long as they did.

Why don’t you cite for us these moments when the counties sought the dissolution of the district?

 

[lazyboy97o]

Liquor licenses are controlled by the Florida Division Of Alcoholic Beverages And Tobacco.

The district manages land use, environmental issues, the roads and bridges, and public services (fire, flood channels, utilities, waste management)… but they don’t have any say in the vast majority of the regulations and permitting Disney operates under.

The new district has the potential to make things difficult for Disney but they don’t have the powers many people think they do.

Many of the retaliatory scenarios people are coming up with are impossible because the district doesn’t have that type of power. The state could threaten their liquor license but they already had that power previous to the district changing.

Not disagreeing about the potential to meddle and abuse influence, just trying to keep it in the context of what they can actually do.

The state is already going after the liquor licenses of venues engaging in conduct they don’t like. This isn’t a hypothetical. The ways the state is going after perceived enemies extend beyond just CFLTOD.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

The state is already going after the liquor licenses of venues engaging in conduct they don’t like. This isn’t a hypothetical. The ways the state is going after perceived enemies extend beyond just CFLTOD.

Deleted my post because I thought you were talking about the district, this thread is getting hard to follow with all the deleted posts.

 

[Disstevefan1]

In this country, we shouldn't have to "think twice" about exercising our freedom to speak out or work against laws with which we disagree, even if they are enacted by wildly popular governors.

Sometimes when I exercise my freedom of speech on these boards, my post gets deleted

This post will be deleted by the moderator in 3, 2, 1

NOTE TO MODERATOR AND EVERYONE ELSE.... Just joking

 

[lazyboy97o]

Deleted my post because I thought you were talking about the district, this thread is getting hard to follow with all the deleted posts.

The district is now controlled by the state. It is effectively no different. It is now one of several state level tools that can be used to pressure Disney to shape their behavior, as has been publicly stated. The fact is that this is not just about or limited to the District.

 

[CaptainMickey]

Companies and governments constantly make all kinds of agreements to help each other out, but as a Floridian and an American, what rights do I have today that Disney does not? Did they lose a right or did they lose a special privilege? Any company can lose a special privilege in any state or county they operate in. I'm guessing that's why companies spend so much money on lobbying.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Companies and governments constantly make all kinds of agreements to help each other out, but as a Floridian and an American, what rights do I have today that Disney does not? Did they lose a right or did they lose a special privilege? Any company can lose a special privilege in any state or county they operate in. I'm guessing that's why companies spend so much money on lobbying.

Home rule is not a special privilege. It is required by the state constitution.

 

[el_super]

Why don’t you cite for us these moments when the counties sought the dissolution of the district?

I never said that the counties sought dissolution.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I never said that the counties sought dissolution.

So they didn’t like it, but never outright stated this and never tried to change it.

They don’t like it, but opposed dissolution.

They don’t like it, but one is working to establish a new special district for an another theme park complex.

That’s a very strong display of disapproval.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Fair point, could argue that. I wonder if that could be used as a way to find the district unconstitutional and thus being dissolved.

Argue what? The home rule clause is there.

The state already sued to have Reedy Creek Improvement District dissolved and lost. Special districts are allowed in Florida.

 

[CaptainMickey]

@lazyboy97o They could argue because they did not elect the CDD board members to represent them, the CDD board is unconstitutional due to home rule. I definitely see that argument. I would think someone in the legislature looked at the legality?

I know special districts are allowed in Florida, I've been on one

 

[peter11435]

But the entire population was Disney. So they alone had a say on what happened in the district.

Why does this matter. If you purchased all of the property in your city and became the only resident and landowner should you suddenly be forced to give up your vote in how’s its run?

 

[lazyboy97o]

Don't confuse freedom of speech with freedom of consequences.

They’re the same thing! Freedom of speech is freedom of government consequences.

 

[el_super]

So they didn’t like it, but never outright stated this and never tried to change it.

In the 1980s, county officials threatened to sue Disney over the constitutionality of its Reedy Creek charter.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

Companies and governments constantly make all kinds of agreements to help each other out, but as a Floridian and an American, what rights do I have today that Disney does not? Did they lose a right or did they lose a special privilege? Any company can lose a special privilege in any state or county they operate in. I'm guessing that's why companies spend so much money on lobbying.

You have the right to vote for the people who set your taxes. With RCID being taken over, Disney, the RCID, and the other landowners ilwithin RCID now have no say in who sets their taxes (the RCID portion, anyway).