ANAHEIM : Construction Freeze Extended by 90 Days

The Anaheim City Council voted Tuesday to extend the freeze on construction around the Convention Center and Disneyland for an additional 90 days.

Council members voted unanimously to extend the moratorium, but they excluded a dozen projects that were either approved or in the final stages of approval when the first 45-day ban was imposed.

Developers of those 12 projects initially estimated their losses because of the delays at about $1 million, but now say they are probably somewhat less.

“Every time you talk about delay, it’s going to cost money,” said Thomas Kieviet, an attorney whose firm represents four of the 12 projects.

Others, like Phillip R. Schwartze, who is representing the Coral Reef time-share development, said the timing of the ban did not affect that project as much as it did others, but it could have adverse financial impact if the projects were not excluded from the 90-day extension.

The 45-day moratorium, which expires Friday, was initiated by city planners last month to complete a yearlong study of the area that planners say will enable it to grow as a “world-class resort,” rather than its current mish-mash of dozens of developments crowding one another for attention.

The 1,040-acre zone, bound roughly by the Santa Ana Freeway, Walnut Street, Ball Road and Orangewood Avenue, contains the Convention Center, Disneyland and hotels, motels and entertainment facilities that make up the so-called commercial-recreation area.

City planners have scheduled a meeting with local business people this morning to discuss the first phase of the study and the recommended changes.

The council legally could extend the moratorium 22 months.