Governor Ron DeSantis and Disney Continue to Butt Heads Over Control of Reedy Creek District
The Reedy Creek saga continues. Governor Ron DeSantis has appointed a new Tourism Oversight Board to control Disney’s World’s Reedy Creek Improvement District which was previously run as a municipality governed by Disney.
According to a piece that appeared this evening in the Orlando Sentinel, the DeSantis’ Tourism Oversight Board is jockeying for control by passing a resolution stating that the Board of Supervisors is the “superior authority” over planning, zoning and land development and not Disney. This would affect Disney World districts including Bay Lake and Lake Beuna Vista.
The proposal, which we will share in its entirety below will be reviewed during the Oversight Board’s April 19th meeting.
If you’ve been following along with MickeyBlog, you’ve no doubt seen our coverage of the current power struggle over who will have control of the district that provides services to Disney World. The two neighborhoods mentioned above, Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista only have 53 residents, many of which have a tie to Disney. However, these areas do have their own local governments and mayors. Previously, through Reedy Creek, Disney maintained control when it comes to the development of its resorts and theme parks all of which fall within the Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista areas.
In the new Central Florida Tourism Oversight Board’s proposal, the power to make decisions related to Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista would go to the five board members appointed by DeSantis and not Disney. “The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District’s authority over comprehensive planning, zoning, land development regulations, environmental protection regulations, and platting and subdivision regulations shall control within the entire District, including within the jurisdictional limits of the City of Lake Buena Vista and the City of Bay Lake,” the resolution states.
This proposal would bar Disney from issuing any development orders or permits for development. The previous arrangement via the Reedy Creek Improvement District enabled Disney to build projects without interference.
In order to protect its intellectual property, Disney has a declaration of restrictive covenants in place. This bars DeSantis’ new board from using the Disney name or characters without consent. In retaliation, DeSantis has vowed that he will implement measures including toll roads and increased hotel taxes on Disney properties.
The back and forth over control of the former Reedy Creek District started when tensions mounted between Disney and DeSantis over Florida’s “don’t say gay” bill which limits discussion of sexual orientation and gender in the public school system. During Bob Chapek’s administration, Disney spoke out in support of its cast members and against the bill.
You can check out the new proposal below:
Central Florida Tourism Ove… by Skyler Swisher
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Going forward Governor should be called Dictator as he is acting like a juvenile.