ORLANDO, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ new tourism oversight board is looking to exert its authority over development in Disney World’s special district and the two cities controlled by the theme park giant, according to a proposal obtained by the Orlando Sentinel.
The board’s resolution states that the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District’s Board of Supervisors is the “superior authority” over planning, zoning and land development regulations for the entire special district, including within the city limits of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista.
The proposal is expected to be reviewed during the board’s April 19 meeting.
The board and Disney have been in a power struggle over who will have authority over future growth in the special district that provides government services to Disney World.
The two cities within the district, Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, have a combined population of only 53 people, all of whom are believed to have close ties to Disney. The cities have elected city councils and mayors.
Some Disney experts have speculated the entertainment giant could use the two cities it controls to maintain autonomy over its resorts and theme parks. The Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and the Animal Kingdom are inside the city limits of Bay Lake, while Disney Springs is in Lake Buena Vista.
Central Florida Tourism Oversight officials and Disney did not respond to requests for comment. Efforts to reach the mayors of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista also were unsuccessful.
But the resolution proclaims that the new state law gives the power to the five members of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District’s Board of Supervisors — not the two Disney-run cities.
The tourism oversight board is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Florida Senate as part of a DeSantis-backed law giving control of the district to the state.
“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.
Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista shall not issue any development orders or permits or execute development agreements, the resolution continues.
The resolution doesn’t mention agreements approved by the previous district board, which was called the Reedy Creek Improvement District. Under the previous arrangement, Reedy Creek’s landowners elected board members, allowing Disney to effectively self-govern its resort properties.
Ahead of a state takeover earlier this year, the old board approved measures that new board members say could tie their hands for years.
A development agreement allows Disney to build projects at the highest density and the right to sell or assign those development rights to other district landowners without the board having any say, according to a presentation by the district’s new special legal counsel.
A “declaration of restrictive covenants” spells out that the district is barred from using the Disney name without the corporation’s approval or “fanciful characters such as Mickey Mouse.”
DeSantis has vowed to undo those agreements, while Disney issued a statement they were “appropriate” and done in accordance with state law.
The governor also has said he and Legislature would consider toll roads and hotel taxes for Disney in the wake of its defiance of the state takeover.
Jeremy Redfern, a DeSantis spokesman, said the governor’s office is aware of the resolution but referred questions to the oversight board.
The governor’s feud with Disney started over what critics call the “don’t say gay” law that limits instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools.
The latest proposal could set the stage for yet another battle between the DeSantis-appointed board and Disney, said Richard Foglesong, a Rollins College professor who wrote “Married to the Mouse,” a book on Disney World’s origin story.
“These two cities are, in fact, general-purpose local governments with the same status in law as the city of Orlando. ... As this legal matter moves forward, a key question will be whether a board created by the Legislature and appointed by the governor can rescind the constitutionally granted authority of democratically elected local governments,” Foglesong said in an email.
In the past, the Reedy Creek Improvement District and the cities shared authority over development, he said.
At the new board’s first meeting on March 8, board member Brian Aungst Jr. said he wanted the board to discuss taking over the “essentially fictitious” cities of Lake Buena Vista and Bay Lake, including assuming their oversight of law enforcement contracts and eventually eliminating the cities.
Reached on Tuesday, Aungst declined to comment about the resolution, saying he had not yet seen the proposal.
Another public notice shows the Board of Supervisors will meet with outside labor counsel to discuss ongoing contract negotiations with the Reedy Creek Fire Department’s union during the meeting.
Reedy Creek Professional Firefighters has been negotiating a new contract with the district for more than four years, union president Jon Shirey said. The most recent contract expired Dec. 31, 2018.
But bargaining is starting to pick up under the new board and after the union declared an impasse in negotiations in December.
At the first Central Florida Tourism Oversight District meeting March 9, board members said they looked forward to “getting involved personally in the contract negotiations.”
“Things are definitely moving in a much more positive direction,” Shirey said Tuesday.
Union members met with district leadership, headed by administrator John Classe, Monday and were able to reach tentative agreements on 22 of the union’s 44 contract articles, Shirey said.
If negotiations continue at this pace, members could vote on a full deal by the end of the month, he said.
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