DeSantis-appointed board outlines ambitious changes to Disney World area, from taxes to utility rates
Lydia Nusbaum contributed to this report.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (FLV) – At a meeting Wednesday, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Board discussed plans for policy proposals and changes to the property around Walt Disney World.
District Chairman Martin Garcia outlined a list of 14 changes the board is looking into, but he noted there will be more.
Garcia reflected on the board’s intentions going into the first couple meetings earlier in 2023, after Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed the board in a desired end to Disney’s self-governing status.
“Before we learned about Disney’s illegal, eleventh-hour agreements, our board was genuinely looking forward to working with Disney in a productive and collaborative manner to improve the functioning of the district,” he said. “In this spirit, before we were formally appointed, our board members met with Disney’s Vice President of External Affairs to launch what we hoped would be a mutually beneficial relationship.”
“Instead, the corporation decided that compromise was out of the question. It was Disney’s way or the highway. This is why we were forced to hire litigation counsel.”
Garcia outlined changes, which include developing affordable housing, creating voting rights for future residents of the district, implementing traffic solutions for the surrounding counties, reducing the district’s carbon footprint, and ensuring Disney pays sufficient taxes on its property.
The chairman also said the district wants to increase funding for Central Florida public schools.
The remaining changes the board is considering, according to Garcia, include:
- Regulating Disney like every other business in Central Florida.
- Charging utility rates that are not controlled by Disney.
- Providing more transparency to the district’s governance.
- Implementing new accounting standards.
- Establishing an independent government that is not exclusively controlled by Disney.
- Increasing the district’s revenues to provide new and improved government services.
- Evaluating how we can monetize some of the assets of the district to pay off debt.
- Providing the governor and the legislature with a report before the next legislative session so that they can make long-term legislative changes to the district to better serve the public good.
“Regardless of your politics, nobody should favor outdated legislation that elevates a corporation above the public good,” Garcia said. “Nothing is off the table for us.
At a press conference Monday, DeSantis announced that legislation would be filed to revoke Disney’s last-minute agreements to increase their authority for decades over the area.
The governor called it a “sham agreement.”
“They negotiated with themselves to give themselves the ability to maintain their self-governing status,” DeSantis said. “Now that’s in direct defiance of the will of the people.”
The previous Reedy Creek district board, hand-picked by Disney, quickly slipped through an agreement to give Disney 30-year vested rights and control over all development rights throughout the entire district – not just on Disney’s property.
