Betting on Southern California : A bullish Disney selects Anaheim for $3-billion Westcot Center

The Walt Disney Co., in a long-awaited decision, has turned away from its troubled concept for a “DisneySea” theme park in the Long Beach Port area and instead will focus its efforts on a $3-billion Epcot-style project adjacent to Disneyland.

Long Beach’s loss is Anaheim’s gain, but a new Disney project, almost wherever it is built, is reason enough for Southern California to celebrate in this recession-plagued economy.

Disney has promised that its new Westcot Center will generate millions of dollars in added sales tax revenue in Anaheim and the surrounding area.

The project is also expected to bring 18,000 new jobs to Orange County, including thousands required during the six years of construction, which could begin as early as 1993.

Still, elation must give way rather quickly to down-to-earth negotiating designed to protect Orange County residents and Anaheim taxpayers. During the last year, Disney has been anything but shy about laying out what it wanted from either Long Beach or Anaheim if it moved ahead with a major expansion.

Now that Disney has eliminated Long Beach, the focus will turn to what Anaheim can bring to the table in the way of public improvements.

Disneyland, built in 1955, is so identified with Orange County that it is no longer possible to separate the two. However, professional distance is just what is called for in Anaheim City Hall in the months ahead.

There is no question that the project would provide economic benefit to the entire region. For that reason, the city and Disney should try to deal speedily and intelligently with the specifics of Anaheim’s contribution to expansion. And they should both ensure that the environmental impact and other issues are squarely met. City officials need only look at the impact of Disney World in Orlando, Fla., to see how crucial this process is.

With those as parameters, we can all applaud Disney’s continued commitment to Southern California, particularly at a time when this region is sorely in need of development signposts that reinforce our future economic potential.