- Lawyers for Governor Ron DeSantis’ Central Florida Tourism Oversight Board found that Disney’s agreements with the former Reedy Creek Improvement District were null and void as they did not follow state law requirements. The Oversight Board plans to consider a resolution voiding the agreements on April 26.
- Disney failed to comply with statutory notice requirements, such as notifying affected property owners by mail of the new development agreement and attempting to confer governmental powers to a private business.
- The new Oversight Board exerted their control by firing the planning and zoning board, appointing themselves in its place, and approving a resolution declaring themselves the “superior authority” over development matters.
- They also discussed raising property taxes on Disney and other district landowners, building affordable workforce housing on District land, exploring the sale of district-owned utilities, and seeking back-pay of taxes.
Lawyers for Governor Ron DeSantis’ Central Florida Tourism Oversight Board, the new governing body overseeing the former Reedy Creek Improvement District, unveiled a legal salvo of their findings at a board meeting this week. During a presentation, the attorneys deemed Disney’s agreements to maintain control over the former Reedy Creek Improvement District in Central Florida null and void, stating they did not follow state law requirements.
“Disney engaged in a caper worthy of Scrooge McDuck to try to evade Florida law,” said David H. Thompson, a lawyer with the Cooper & Kirk law firm. “It’s efforts are illegal, and they will not stand.”
The presentations sought to illuminate the ways Disney’s agreements with the previous Reedy Creek board were out of compliance with state law, but zeroed in specifically on the Reedy Creek Improvement District board failed to properly notify affected property owners by mail of the new development agreement and attempting to confer governmental powers to a private business.
A presentation to the board by former Florida Supreme Court justice Alan Lawson laid out the specific statute on the required mailing. One slide showed Florida Statute 163.3225(2)(a) highlighted in green, where Lawson says Disney complied with the law, but a yellow highlighter calls out where they allegedly did not:
“That second notice, that mailed notice, never happened,” Lawson said. “Those most directly affected by and that would have seen and taken note of what Reedy Creek and Disney were about to do together, never had that opportunity because that notice was never sent.”
Lawson explained that the agreements substantially affect Central Florida and affect other property owners in the area. But more importantly, Lawson said, reading from a slide, “Florida requires strict compliance by local governments with statutory notice requirements, and the failure to comply with them means that the governmental action is null and void.”
Based on the findings, the new Oversight Board plans to consider a resolution voiding the agreements on April 26.
Board members also exerted their control by firing the planning and zoning board, appointing themselves in its place, and approving a resolution declaring themselves the “superior authority” over development matters, including within the borders of the Disney-controlled cities of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista.
Board Chairman Martin Garcia said the district will need to consider raising property taxes on Disney and other district landowners to shore up reserves and pay for expenses related to undoing the entertainment giant’s agreements with the previous board.
Governor-appointed Board members also discussed topics like building affordable workforce housing on District land, exploring the sale of district-owned utilities, seeking back-pay of taxes where Disney has fought accurate property appraisals, and raising revenue to cover legal expenses incurred by Disney’s legally deficient development agreement.
Disney’s agreements were approved on February 8 by the Reedy Creek Improvement District’s Board of Supervisors ahead of a state takeover. State lawmakers voted to put DeSantis in charge of appointing the five members of Reedy Creek’s board, replacing an arrangement that essentially allowed Disney to self-govern its theme parks and resorts.
The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District will continue its work of “balancing the scales” when it comes to Disney and the district, said board member Bridget Ziegler. “No corporation, no organization, no individual has a right to have special privileges.”