Anaheim Officials Ecstatic About Disney Plans

City Council members Friday raved about the long-anticipated, billion-dollar companion theme park to Disneyland after private briefings on the designs of the new attraction, set to be publicly unveiled next week.

Council members met with Disneyland President Paul Pressler individually, but declined to disclose in detail what they were told or answer questions about how the millions of dollars in public works improvements necessary for the expansion would be financed.

Disney and city officials are expected to elaborate on those matters next week when the Disneyland addition and a related project to expand the Anaheim Convention Center are formally announced.

“It’s awesome,” said Councilman Lou Lopez shortly after viewing the Disney project, which together with the convention center renovation is seen as a boon for the regional tourism industry. “It is state-of-the-art and ahead of its time. It is something that will be admired across the world.”

Councilman Bob Zemel called the proposed project “very inviting and unique.”

“I’m looking forward to this project being a successful one,” Zemel said. “I think the tourism industry will be boosted if this project is built and Orange County will be much better off.”

The new park, which has the working title of “Disney’s California Adventure,” would include a ramp linking it to the nearby Anaheim Convention Center, scheduled to undergo a multimillion-dollar expansion, sources said.

The new theme park would replace the $3-billion Westcot resort Disney announced with great fanfare in 1991 and abandoned last year as too ambitious. Announcement of a scaled-down version has been expected for more than a year.

Disney officials have been mum about the details for the companion theme park, to be constructed on the Disneyland parking lot. But sources familiar with the project say the California-themed development will celebrate the distinct architecture, culture and food of the Golden State.

The park will combine some elements of existing Disney properties such as the Hollywood movie-themed Disney-MGM Studios near Orlando. But it also will include new attractions and a restaurant and night-life component.

Details of the convention center expansion will be unveiled during a council workshop on Tuesday. The facility was last expanded in 1993 and now ranks as the seventh largest in the country.

“A lot of it is connected, so in a way we are partners as far as moving people from the convention center to the Disneyland area and we will have to share some costs,” Lopez said. “Everything complements each other. It all goes together and it will be a destination where people can spend a lot of time.”

During next week’s announcements, both the city and Disney are expected to underscore how financing for landscaping, streets and sewers will be imperiled if voters approve a statewide anti-tax initiative on the November ballot.

Sponsored by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., the measure calls for voters to retroactively approve all new taxes and tax increases implemented after January 1995, including last year’s 2% hike in the hotel bed tax in Anaheim. Proceeds from that hike have been set aside to pay for the convention center expansion and improvements around Disneyland.

“The city’s obligation from day one is to take care of the landscaping, the streets, the sewers and traffic signals,” Lopez said. “We have to do those things anyway because of the first phase of the expansion of the convention center. We just tweaked a couple of things to accommodate Disney.”

The City Council on Tuesday is expected to adopt a measure that will be placed on the November ballot asking Anaheim residents to reaffirm the bed tax increase and counter the Jarvis initiative.

The bed tax, imposed upon people occupying hotel or motel rooms in Anaheim, was increased to 15% from 13% in 1995, making it the third highest in the nation.

Council members were briefed on the financial aspects of the projects earlier this week but details were not revealed.

“I’m satisfied with all of the details and how our money will be recouped,” said Lopez, who declined to elaborate. “The city is going to make money, the county is going to make money and the state is going to make money. It is a win-win situation.”

But Zemel said his briefing with city staff on Thursday left him with more questions than answers and was angry that he he was not provided with a written copy of the deal to study further.

“My concern is not with what Disney is building, my concern is the financing plan for the infrastructure,” Zemel said. “I don’t have any understanding of the financing. I’m appalled that an elected official can’t get a copy of something that has been presented to them and that they will be addressing soon.”

Councilman Frank Feldhaus said he was scheduled to be shown the project late Friday. Neither he nor Mayor Tom Daly could be reached for comment. Councilman Tom Tait is on vacation this week.