ANAHEIM : Anti-Blight Ruling to Be Appealed

Trustees of the Anaheim Union High School District said this week that they will appeal a court ruling on a $174-million revitalization plan for the area around Disneyland.

“The plan will have unmitigated impacts on the schools,” said Michelle Ouellette, an attorney with Best, Best & Krieger, a Riverside firm representing the district.

Ouellette said the city’s environmental impact report on the so-called Anaheim Resort proposal does not adequately address that burden.

The Anaheim Union and Anaheim City school districts were among parties in a lawsuit that challenged the revitalization proposal. The case was decided in the city’s favor last month when Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert M. O’Brien ruled that the environmental impact plan had met all requirements.

The Anaheim City School District has yet to decide if it will join Anaheim Union, which voted Wednesday to file an appeal.

The Anaheim Resort plan is designed to eliminate urban blight in the tourism area near Disneyland over a five-year period. Improvements would include adding landscaping, burying overhead utility lines, widening streets and establishing uniform signage.

City officials maintain that the face lift is needed if Anaheim is to remain a magnet for visitors and convention business.