LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – The last remnants of the Reedy Creek Improvement District are being swept away.
Some 10 months after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law to rename Disney’s special taxing district the “Central Florida Tourism Oversight District” and appointed a new board to oversee it, the district has unveiled a new website URL: oversightdistrict.org.
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There is also a new website design and logo.
The changes may seem superficial, but they are significant steps in the CFTOD’s efforts to assert control over Disney World property amid a battle between the governor and the Walt Disney Company that is being fought in two court systems.
The Reedy Creek Improvement District was formed by the Florida Legislature in 1967 as part of the deal to bring Walt Disney World to the state. It was the governing body that oversaw the Disney property that straddled the Orange-Osceola county line.
The district was responsible for infrastructure around the property, including drainage, water and flood control, waste management, electric power, fire protection and emergency services. It also handles building codes and permits. Disney paid taxes to the district (as well as Orange and Osceola counties and the state), and the money was used to fund those systems.
The board that ran the district was elected by the landowners. Disney was the largest of the 19 landowners in the improvement district.
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But in 2022, Walt Disney Company CEO Robert Chapek, bowing to employee pressure, publicly criticized the recently passed Parental Rights in Education law, known by critics as “Don’t Say Gay.”
After that, DeSantis and the legislature passed a law to eliminate the district. Then this year, they passed another law that put the district under more government control, including a board that was appointed by the governor.
However, before the Reedy Creek Improvement District formally dissolved, the board approved a plan to strip much of its power over the property and transfer it to the Walt Disney Company.
In response, the state passed a law that retroactively nullified that deal.
Disney is now suing DeSantis and the CFTOD in federal court, alleging the state’s actions violated the company’s First Amendment rights. A judge will hear arguments over whether to dismiss the lawsuit on Dec. 12.
Meanwhile, the CFTOD is suing Disney in state court over the company’s deal with the former RCID.
Even with these changes, the signs of the old government abound, from big signs like the logo on the Reedy Creek Fire Department building, to small ones like manhole covers.
News 6 has contacted the CFTOD to see if any other changes have been made around the property and we are waiting to hear back.
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