Anaheim weighs resort overhaul as councilwoman urges Disney to help pay

Anaheim officials are considering an overhaul of the city’s resort district without a settled funding plan, as Councilwoman Natalie Rubalcava urges Disney to contribute rather than shift costs to nearby residents and hotel operators, according to Voice of OC.

The proposal would add public amenities and improve pedestrian connections in the Orange County city’s tourism district. The funding debate comes as Anaheim faces budget pressures, including rising labor costs that are not reflected in projected surpluses.

Council members discussed the proposal Tuesday. Planned improvements include public art, water filling stations, a small park, playgrounds, wider sidewalks and pedestrian bridges, along with a connection to the Platinum Triangle, Voice of OC reported.

Rubalcava said Disney had benefited from city investment and should help finance the overhaul without placing the burden on surrounding residents. Councilwoman Kristen Maahs said investment in the resort district also supports neighborhood quality of life. Rubalcava’s proposed 3% gate tax on venues such as Disneyland did not win approval last year.

Anaheim balanced its budget earlier this year by using proceeds from a parking structure sale and reserves to cover a spending gap of about $45 million. Officials said the deficit would absorb roughly half of the $120 million in new revenue expected to become available after bonds for the 1997 Disneyland Resort expansion are paid off later this year, according to Voice of OC.

Projected surpluses do not account for higher labor costs or contracts expiring this year and next, the publication reported. An approved police contract includes pay raises totaling 16% over the next three years and will cost $45 million over that period.

Officials also approved a consulting contract worth up to about $2.4 million to plan and organize a public-private partnership for a connector between the resort district and a transit center. City staff said tourism tax revenue, rather than general fund money, would cover the consultant’s work. That funding decision does not settle how the broader Resort 2.0 overhaul would be financed.

The overhaul is being considered alongside Disneyland’s approved $2 billion expansion and other nearby development. Those projects provide a backdrop for Anaheim’s tourism ambitions, but the city has yet to resolve who will pay for Resort 2.0.