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

[LAKid53]

We'll have to wait and see if anyone can pony up the receipts. Generally, notices as crucial as these are sent via Certified Mail so there is court-accepted proof of mailing. Otherwise, a sworn statement from the person/people responsible for the mailing, affirming they mailed them, would likely be the next best thing.

It was noticed in the Orlando Sentinel.

Is the governor and OCTOD Board alleging that the meeting in February wasn't properly noticed?

Chapter 120.565, F.S., requires that notices be published in the FAR & on the agency's website no less than 7 days prior to the meeting. Copies of the agenda and related materials will be provided upon request and a reasonable fee may be charged.

Many agencies keep a list of individuals to send documents to during rule making. We did at DEP. But nothing in state law REQUIRED us to send such documents if not requested in advance.

 

[Stripes]

It was noticed in the Orlando Sentinel.

Is the governor and OCTOD Board alleging that the meeting in February wasn't properly noticed?

Chapter 120.565, F.S., requires that notices be published in the FAR & on the agency's website no less than 7 days prior to the meeting. Copies of the agenda and related materials will be provided upon request and a reasonable fee may be charged.

Many agencies keep a list of individuals to send documents to during rule making. We did at DEP. But nothing in state law REQUIRED us to send such documents if not requested in advance.

“(2)(a) Notice of intent to consider a development agreement shall be advertised approximately 7 days before each public hearing in a newspaper of general circulation and readership in the county where the local government is located. Notice of intent to consider a development agreement shall also be mailed to all affected property owners before the first public hearing. The day, time, and place at which the second public hearing will be held shall be announced at the first public hearing.”

Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine

It sounds like the lawyers for the board are alleging that the bolded portion was not done appropriately, if at all.

 

[LAKid53]

The state shouldn't stop because right now you have one company that operates under a special setup which gives it an advantage over the other companies. If I were Universal or Seaworld I would hate to see Florida back off and allow Disney to maintain their advantage. Would you like it if the state you lived in gave your neighbor a lower tax rate for life?

Other than expedited permitting, what advantage does Disney have over Uni & SeaWorld? It is PAYING RCID for the services the District provides in the form of an assessment, i.e., tax. That's on top of what it pays Orange and Osceola Counties in property taxes. It is also paying OCSO to provide LE support. So whatever "advantage" you think TWDC is getting, it certainly isn't financial.

 

[lazyboy97o]

The state shouldn't stop because right now you have one company that operates under a special setup which gives it an advantage over the other companies. If I were Universal or Seaworld I would hate to see Florida back off and allow Disney to maintain their advantage. Would you like it if the state you lived in gave your neighbor a lower tax rate for life?

Could try using an example that is not a lie?

 

[lazyboy97o]

I actually strongly object to the very idea of County government in the first place. I favor municipal control of most local functions except in extremely rural areas where the population isn't dense enough to support robust municipal government. That's what we do in New England, and it's why we have the best public schools in the country.

Rural like a bunch of almost completely uninhabited swampland miles away from things like electrical service? Which municipality should have been so greatly expanded and why should those few residents have been forced to pay?

 

[mkt]

whatever "advantage" you think TWDC is getting, it certainly isn't financial.

The advantages were:

1- Set your own zoning rules
2- Expedited permitting.
3- Access to debt at municipal rates

All that Disney had to do was pay taxes to two entities: the counties and the district.

Oh, and Disney even pays separately for the police presence at WDW, even though it's within the relative counties.

 

[lazyboy97o]

The advantages were:

1- Set your own zoning rules
2- Expedited permitting.
3- Access to debt at municipal rates

All that Disney had to do was pay taxes to two entities: the counties and the district.

Oh, and Disney even pays separately for the police presence at WDW, even though it's within the relative counties.

Large properties can be designated as planned developments and get development agreements to allow for control over zoning.

There is nothing expedited about permitting.

 

[LAKid53]

“(2)(a) Notice of intent to consider a development agreement shall be advertised approximately 7 days before each public hearing in a newspaper of general circulation and readership in the county where the local government is located. Notice of intent to consider a development agreement shall also be mailed to all affected property owners before the first public hearing. The day, time, and place at which the second public hearing will be held shall be announced at the first public hearing.”

Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine

It sounds like the lawyers for the board are alleging that the bolded portion was not done appropriately, if at all.

The Orlando Sentinel would meet the requirement for public notice. And the Board will have to prove RCID did not comply with mailing out notices to the property owners within the District.

I really doubt RCID didn't comply.

 

[LAKid53]

The advantages were:

1- Set your own zoning rules
2- Expedited permitting.
3- Access to debt at municipal rates

All that Disney had to do was pay taxes to two entities: the counties and the district.

Oh, and Disney even pays separately for the police presence at WDW, even though it's within the relative counties.

The debt is carried by RCID...which is eligible for debt at municipal rates. The assessment paid by TWDC was going towards the retirement of the bond issue.

Corporations cannot issue municipal bonds.

 

[LAKid53]

Large properties can be designated as planned developments and get development agreements to allow for control over zoning.

There is nothing expedited about permitting.

Correct.

 

[Figgy1]

One thing that stuck out to me was expedited payment of bonds. How much can the new district raise payments at a time? Would this fall under any statues in Florida? Would this now be considered taxation as the state is now running the board?

 

[mkt]

I think Central FL ( toll happy ) loves getting money from locals and tourists
FL turnpike, 417 greenway, 528 Bee Line Expressway , Osceola Parkway , could be other roads ,

Every large metro area in Florida is toll happy, Central Florida is not alone in this.

Also, the Turnpike is state owned, and the 518, 417, and 429 are partly state owned.

 

[Stripes]

This was part of the amendments to the LDRs on January 25, 2023. To be clear, it has nothing to do with the development agreement. But, it is interesting to see a certain requirement included.

And another section:

 

[mkt]

The debt is carried by RCID...which is eligible for debt at municipal rates. The assessment paid by TWDC was going towards the retirement of the bond issue.

Corporations cannot issue municipal bonds.

Let's use the Disney Springs garages as an example. They're owned by RCID because they were financed with municipal debt. Disney couldn't have financed them for close to those rates.

 

[LAKid53]

No direct comments from Disney so far, but it seems Disney has sent few bits of information to outlets for context to some of the statements made today. This is from a thread, so there are 2 Tweets in each box below.

For Disney to appraise its own property would require an amendment to the Florida Constitution.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

But Disney was planning to build a huge entertainment complex that required infrastructure local governments couldn’t handle or pay for with taxes.

They could have once they gained Disney as a taxpayer.

If developing the resort infrastructure cost $X and RCID paid for it by taxing Disney $X, then Orange County could have built the exact same infrastructure, also by taxing Disney $X.

 

[Tha Realest]

The Orlando Sentinel would meet the requirement for public notice. And the Board will have to prove RCID did not comply with mailing out notices to the property owners within the District.

I really doubt RCID didn't comply.

Seems like it would be pretty easy to determine, one way or another.

In fact, wouldn’t confirmation of that mailing be disclosable under Sunshine laws upon request if it exists?

 

[Stripes]

I really doubt RCID didn't comply.

I’d be shocked as well. But clearly the board’s lawyers seem to think they have found something to indicate otherwise.

 

[peter11435]

They could have once they gained Disney as a taxpayer.

If developing the resort infrastructure cost $X and RCID paid for it by taxing Disney $X, then Orange County could have built the exact same infrastructure, also by taxing Disney $X.

But the county couldn’t have taxed Disney and only Disney.

 

[Chi84]

They could have once they gained Disney as a taxpayer.

If developing the resort infrastructure cost $X and RCID paid for it by taxing Disney $X, then Orange County could have built the exact same infrastructure, also by taxing Disney $X.

I don't really understand that, but sometimes ideas can be pretty unique. In any event, the district that was created accomplished the purpose intended by both parties at the time. It's not possible to say that other plans that required tax consequences to Disney would not have been rejected, right?