The new state-appointed board governing Disney World’s property appears to be headed for court with the entertainment conglomerate.
Last year, the state moved to end Disney’s unique self-governing status, called the Reedy Creek Improvement District. This year on Feb. 27, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a new board called the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, with five trustees appointed by the governor.
The state says Disney enjoyed privileges no other business in Florida did for more than half a century, including tax exemptions, taxing authority for the district, the right to issue tax-exempt bonds, and the right to operate its own utility and emergency services.
Now it appears that before the new district went into effect, the old district transferred most of its powers and responsibilities to Disney itself. The new board’s lawyers say the new agreement was unlawful.
Disney has rebutted that. The Walt Disney World Resort told The Epoch Times in an email: “All agreements signed between Disney and the district were appropriate, and were discussed and approved in open, noticed public forums in compliance with Florida’s Government in the Sunshine law.”
Dan Langley, a lawyer speaking for five law firms retained by the new board in the Disney matter, described in detail in an email to The Epoch Times what had taken place:
“Within days of the Florida legislature passing HB-9B creating the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District to level the playing field between Disney and all other theme parks, property owners, developers, and businesses in the State of Florida, the district under the control of Disney’s hand-picked board of supervisors gave Disney 30-year vested rights and control over all development rights throughout the entire district and not just on Disney’s property.
“The Feb. 8, 2023, development agreement requires the district to borrow and spend money in future years for road and utility projects for the benefit of Disney projects and interferes with the district’s authority and ability to make annual ad valorem taxation, budget, and appropriation decisions. The agreement unlawfully delegates the district’s legislative authority to a private corporation, subverts the provisions of the new act, and binds the hands of the new board.
“Further, the restrictive covenant strips away all potential uses of district’s property except for public/government purposes for uses existing on Feb. 8, 2023, and gives Disney veto authority over the district’s public projects through an architectural review process. The covenant expressly states that its purpose is to protect Disney’s business interests.
“The lack of consideration, the delegation of legislative authority to a private corporation, restriction of the board’s ability to make legislative decisions, and giving away public rights without compensation for a private purpose, among other issues, warrant the new board’s actions and direction to evaluate these overreaching documents and determine how best the new board can protect the public’s interest in compliance with Florida law.”
At the new board’s meeting on March 29, trustees spoke out against Disney’s apparent end-run around the new power governing it.
“I cannot tell you the level of my disappointment in Disney,” trustee Ron Peri said at the meeting in Orlando. “I thought so much better of them. This essentially makes Disney the government. This board loses, for practical purposes, the majority of its ability to do anything beyond maintain the roads and maintain basic infrastructure.”
“On the day that the legislation was passed by the Florida House, the former board and Disney entered into a development agreement and deed restrictions that essentially stripped most of the governing authority of the district and also made certain promises and concessions to Disney for many, many years out into the future.”
“I’m surprised that they didn’t have this development agreement on their website. I’m surprised that they didn’t tell us about it,” Aungst said.
Taryn Fenske, communications director for DeSantis’s office, told The Epoch Times in an email, “The Executive Office of the Governor is aware of Disney’s last-ditch efforts to execute contracts just before ratifying the new law that transfers rights and authorities from the former Reedy Creek Improvement District to Disney.
“An initial review suggests these agreements may have significant legal infirmities that would render the contracts void as a matter of law. We are pleased the new governor-appointed board retained multiple financial and legal firms to conduct audits and investigate Disney’s past behavior.”
The board didn’t elaborate on what those changes might be, but Aungst said, “This district is going to be about oversight, transparency, and accountability for all the citizens of Florida.”
Garcia said the point of the board was to represent not just one company but also its employees and surrounding communities.
The push to take over the Disney district began in March 2022 after Disney came out aggressively against Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” bill, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay Bill” by its opponents.
The legislation bans classroom instruction about gender identity, sexual orientation, or age or developmentally inappropriate topics for children in kindergarten through third grade.
DeSantis later said that the company’s statement was “only a mild annoyance.” He said the company had a movement within it “that said it’s their job or it’s their goal to inject a lot of this sexuality into the programming for young kids.”
Disney, he said, should face the same regulation that Universal Studios and Sea World do.
The law firms representing the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board in the Disney matter are Langley’s firm, Fishback Dominick LLP, as acting general counsel and four other firms listed as special counsel: Cooper & Kirk PLLC, Lawson Huck Gonzalez PLLC, Waugh Grant PLLC, and Nardella & Nardella PLLC, Langley said in the letter.
