Last Foe of Disney Resort Settles With City

An agreement to settle the last remaining lawsuit opposing the proposed Disneyland Resort project was unanimously approved Tuesday by the City Council.

The owners of Tiffy’s Family Restaurant agreed to drop their lawsuit in exchange for assurances from the city that it will pay the fair market value for any land it takes to widen the streets to accommodate the massive $3-billion project. The restaurant is on Katella Avenue at West Street.

Benjamin and Mary Lou Hathaway, owners of the restaurant, sued the city and the Walt Disney Co. last July, contending that they didn’t fully examine the environmental impacts of the project.

The settlement marks an end to all opposition over the environmental impacts of the Disney project.

As proposed, the resort will include 5,000 new hotel rooms, an open-air amphitheater, a shopping district and a second theme park next to Disneyland called Westcot. The project also contains plans for two of the nation’s largest parking structures.

“We are very pleased that the validity of the project’s Environmental Impact Report and Specific Plan has been confirmed,” said Kenneth Wong, senior vice president for Disney Development Co. “From the beginning, we were confident that the Disneyland Resort’s EIR was one of the most comprehensive environmental studies ever completed in this state.”

Although there are no remaining challenges to the environmental and planning documents, Disney and city officials said the project faces possible legal battles over a development agreement currently being negotiated by Disney and the city.