ANAHEIM : Public to Air Opinions on Fees to Aid Revitalization

The City Council will conduct a public hearing tonight to impose storm drain and sewer fees on new developments around Disneyland.

The onetime fees will help fund an ambitious $172.5-million revitalization program around the theme park.

The plan to eliminate urban blight in the city’s major tourist area was approved in concept by the City Council last fall and is viewed as critical to keeping Anaheim a magnet for tourist and convention business.

City officials estimate the proposed fees will raise $1.25 million over the next five years, and about $11.5 million by 2010.

The city hopes to complete most of its planned improvements over a five-year period.

These include landscaping, buried utility lines, widened streets and more attractive signs for businesses.

Proposed sewer fees include: $800 per unit for a single-family residence, $900 per unit for multiple-family dwellings and $400 per unit for a hotel or motel.

Proposed storm drain fees per net acre include: $11,000 for single-family residences, $14,000 for multiple-family dwellings and $20,000 for hotel or motel.

In addition to the proposed fee increases, the city will pay for the face-lift package with a 2% increase in the hotel bed tax, which takes effect in July, and by using Measure M, state and federal funds.

That will bring the bed tax to 15%, which makes it among the highest in the nation.

The city also expects to borrow millions of dollars by issuing revenue bonds to maintain a positive cash flow throughout the construction period.