Lawyers for new district call Disney’s ‘overreaching’ agreement ‘unlawful’
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (FLV) – Lawyers for the newly-appointed board to oversee Walt Disney World said the previous board “unlawfully” gave Disney control over all development rights.
The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District recently learned that the previous 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.
The agreement was approved in early February just days before Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill to create a new District and strip Disney of its special privileges.
DeSantis appointed five new board members to oversee the new Central Florida Tourism Oversight District .
However, the Feb. 8 development agreement with Disney requires the new Central Florida Tourism Oversight District to borrow and spend money in future years for road and utility projects for the benefit of Disney projects, according to lawyers for the new district.
The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Wednesday hired lawyers to investigate the previous board’s recent development agreement with Disney.
District to investigate Disney after ‘shocking’ contracts zipped through in 11th hour
Newly-appointed board member, Bridget Ziegler, said on Twitter Wednesday night that the “arrogance of Disney continues.”
“From ignoring parents and allowing radicals to sexualize our children, to now ignoring Florida taxpayers by sneaking in a last minute sweetheart development agreement, Disney has once again overplayed their hand in Florida,” Ziegler said.
“We won’t stand for this and we won’t back down. If unlawful actions were taken, this development agreement will be nullified.”
The lawyers said in a statement that the development agreement “binds the hands” of the new board and “unlawfully” delegates the district’s legislative authority to a private corporation.
Disney would also have veto authority over the district’s public projects through an architectural review process, according to the district’s lawyers.
“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,” lawyers representing the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District said.
Special counsel for the newly-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District found the agreement “highly unusual” and “suspect,” notifying the board the weekend leading up to the March 29 meeting.
“I’m going to outline for you why these are unusual documents and the problems that I have just spotted with them initially,” special counsel said during the meeting. “And I think this warrants additional investigation and evaluation.”
Taryn Fenske, the communications director for the governor’s office, said the office is aware of Disney’s “last-ditch efforts” to execute contracts prior to a 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,” Fenske said. “We are pleased the new Governor-appointed board retained multiple financial and legal firms to conduct audits and investigate Disney’s past behavior.”
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.
Walt Disney World statement to WESH
Newly-appointed board member Brian Aungst told reporters Wednesday that it is “highly likely” that it could be argued that the documents are “void ab initio,” meaning they have no legal effect and should not be terminated because they don’t exist.
“But I’ll leave that for our independent counsel to determine whether that’s an appropriate thing or not,” he said.
Aungst said Wednesday the board is not taking an “adversarial position” to Disney.
“We are defending ourselves and we’re defending the people,” he said. “And we’re going to be prepared for what the next steps are.”
DeSantis signs bill enacting state board for Disney’s Reedy Creek
In late February, DeSantis signed legislation to remake Disney’s Reedy Creek board in an effort to ensure that the company’s debts are not passed down to local taxpayers.
The changes strip Disney of its control over the district, ultimately doing away with many of the company’s self-governing powers.
“The state of Florida is the new sheriff in town,” DeSantis said at the time. “We’ve created a state control board that is going to be responsible for this area.”
In 2022, lawmakers passed legislation to dissolve Disney’s Reedy Creek district.
However, Republican leadership called lawmakers into a special session in February of 2023 in an effort to make sure Disney’s estimated $700 million in debts would not be dropped to the taxpayers once the district dissolved.
The governor’s office said the bill will end Disney’s ability to: build airports, nuclear facilities, toll roads, boundary changes to their property, award noncompetitive construction contracts, and more.
