ANAHEIM : Three Suits Challenge Revitalization Plans

Two school districts and a local homeowners group filed lawsuits Friday seeking to derail Anaheim’s highly touted $172.5-million revitalization plan for the Disneyland area.

The Anaheim City School District, the Anaheim Union High School District and a local community group called HOME all filed separate lawsuits in Orange County Superior Court charging that Anaheim’s environmental impact report fails to comply with state environmental guidelines. On Thursday, the city of Garden Grove filed a similar suit.

The four suits claim the massive overhaul of the 550 acres around Disneyland--which will allow up to 16,000 new hotel rooms--will overburden schools and street capacity, diminish nearby property values and erode air quality.

Anaheim officials, who have been expecting the litigation, said the lawsuits were without merit.

“I’m confident we followed all the necessary legal procedures,” said Anaheim City Atty. Jack White.

The project is expected to generate 18,000 new jobs and will likely attract thousands of new families to Anaheim and surrounding communities. The new project will create a flood of new students at the two school districts, leaving them unable to provide suitable classroom space or enough teachers, the districts claim.

“Our beef is that they chose to really put a greater premium on high-rise hotels than schools,” said John Brown, a Riverside attorney representing both school districts.

Anaheim city officials have acknowledged most of the adverse impacts including those on local schools, but argued during the resort plan’s approval process that the financial benefits outweighed environmental concerns. Upon completion, the area is expected to produce an extra $4 million to $6 million in annual city revenues.