Query Clouds Disney Request for U.S. Funds

Disneyland’s request for $395 million in federal tax dollars to finance two space-age public parking garages and other transportation projects near the Magic Kingdom has hit a snag in Congress as a powerful representative expressed doubts Thursday about a central part of the proposal.

At the moment, Disney’s request is not included in a $153-billion transportation bill unveiled Thursday by leaders of the House Committee on Public Works and Transportation, said Rep. Norman Y. Mineta (D-San Jose), who chairs one of the panel’s key subcommittees. But Mineta did not rule out the possibility that some money will be added for the project as the bill moves through the House.

The Disney proposal, forwarded to the public works committee by five House Democrats whose districts are outside of Orange County, has raised concerns about the extent to which the federal government is being asked to finance a project that would directly benefit a private business.

Mineta, one of the principal authors of the new highway and mass transit legislation, said Thursday that at least one segment of the Disney plan gave him pause. He cited the $66-million “people mover” that would run from the parking garages to Disneyland, largely over Disney property.

“What I don’t want to do is to be building a prototype of some kind of ‘people mover’ on Disneyland property using federal urban mass transit money,” Mineta said. “If it’s on private property, even though it’s a nice ‘people mover,’ then it’s not my bag.”

Disney officials have defended the project, which would include construction of the high-tech parking garages, on- and off-ramps linking the garages with the Santa Ana Freeway, and a “people mover” connecting the garages with Disneyland, and, potentially, other Anaheim attractions.

“We think its merits are outstanding,” said Joe Shapiro, senior vice president of the Burbank-based Walt Disney Co. “We think it’s efficient, environmentally sound, and we really think it does provide a good model of how to deal with congestion elsewhere.”

The garages and freeway ramps would serve all of Anaheim’s major attractions, including Anaheim Stadium and the Anaheim Convention Center, Disney officials said.

However, officials said the project would not include funds to widen portions of the freeway through Anaheim, as the letter signed by the House Democrats states. The Disney project is by far the largest request for special funding submitted by any congressman or group of congressmen from California, according to a list of projects obtained by The Times.

Anaheim city officials, working through Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), have proposed a similar, but not identical, transportation project with a price tag of $175 million. The fate of that request also was uncertain Thursday.

Although Mineta said the proposal to use taxpayer money to build a “people mover” over private property caused concern, the subcommittee chairman said he might endorse other aspects of the project, including construction of the freeway ramps leading to the parking structures.

“To me, that’s a legitimate thing we can do,” Mineta said.

Shapiro said he welcomed Mineta’s comments. “I’m pleased that he is still considering the project on its merits,” the Disney official said. “It sounds to me like he did see some merit in the Anaheim project.”

The sentiment was echoed by Stanley T. Oftelie, chief executive officer of the Orange County Transportation Authority. “Clearly, (Mineta) believes that some portions of the project are attractive and have merit. . . . They are the same ones that we find attractive,” Oftelie said. “We will be working with Mineta and other congressmen to find the right mix of projects to make the (congressmen) comfortable.”

Shapiro said the Disney plan would create some type of public easement for the “people mover” over Disney property, and that such a public right of way might ease Mineta’s concerns.

Disney officials on Thursday for the first time made public a detailed cost analysis of their project, which differs significantly from the figures used by the city of Anaheim in making its request to Congress. In addition, details of the project offered by Disney are at odds with a project description being circulated among members of the House public works committee.

The total cost of the Disney plan, spread over six years, is $765 million, Shapiro said. However, only $522 million would be spent over the life of the new, five-year transportation bill.

During that five-year period, construction of the two parking garages would cost $403 million, Shapiro said. The “people mover” linking the garages with Disneyland--and potentially other sites in Anaheim--would cost $66 million. And the freeway ramps would cost $25 million--not the $80 million that sources earlier had reported to The Times, Shapiro said. A fourth component of the project, a new monorail system, would cost $28 million. But no federal funds are being requested for the monorail, Shapiro said, because it is “Disneyland specific.”

Subtracting the funds for the monorail, and acting on the expectation of an 80% federal share of construction costs, Disney officials requested $395 million.

The Disney request does not include any funds to widen a section of the Santa Ana Freeway through Anaheim or put car-pool lanes on it, Disney officials said Thursday.

“That is the subject for other funding methodologies,” Shapiro said.

However, in their letter to Rep. Robert A. Roe (D-N.J.), chairman of the public works committee, the five House Democrats wrote: “The plan provides for new (car-pool) lanes on the Santa Ana Freeway. . . . “ A list of California requests being circulated among committee members describes the Disney-backed project as: “New (car-pool) lanes on Santa Ana Freeway/New ramps into Commercial Area/2 park & rides.”

Anaheim officials, through Dornan, have asked the federal government for only $175 million. A city official told The Times that $10 million would pay for off-ramps included in the Disney proposal, while another $15 million would build an additional ramp that is not part of the Disney project.

The city is asking for $25 million for acquiring a satellite parking site for the downtown Amtrak station in the Anaheim Stadium area, and $100 million for parking structures in the area next to Disneyland. The final $25 million in the city proposal would pay for design and other work on a full-scale “people-mover” system that would serve all downtown attractions.

The five Democrats backing the Disneyland project--Reps. Mel Levine of Santa Monica, Howard L. Berman of Panorama City, Henry A. Waxman of Los Angeles, Don Edwards of San Jose, and Vic Fazio of Sacramento--have all received contributions from the Disney Political Action Committee during the past three years, according to Federal Election Commission records. The PAC gave $7,000 to Levine, $2,000 each to Berman, Fazio and Waxman, and $500 to Edwards, the records state.

In another development affecting Orange County, Mineta, citing environmental concerns, said he has not included language in the bill that would make it easier for the Orange County Transportation Corridor Agencies to proceed with construction of three toll road projects. Such language could be added later, however.

Robert W. Stewart reported from Washington, Jeffrey A. Perlman reported from Orange County.