Gov. Ron DeSantis and Board Members Comment on Reedy Creek Controversy

It appears that the new board overseeing Disney World’s special district (whose members were chosen by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis) may not have the power it thought it had.

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Although Gov. DeSantis is now able to appoint members of the board and has limited some rights and abilities within the district, a recent development shows that Disney may have thwarted the Governor’s efforts to take control. Now, DeSantis and one of the new Board members have responded to the news.

Disney has been locked in a feud with the Florida governor for several months now. The latest move involved DeSantis taking over the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which had essentially allowed Disney World to function as its own government for over 50 years. The change means that DeSantis is able to appoint all five members of the Board of Supervisors for the District (but his selection must be confirmed by the Senate). DeSantis clearly expected this to hand the power back to the government, even going so far as to say, “There’s a new sheriff in town.”

DeSantis signing the new bill

The new Board has been appointed and already started discussing changes that could come to the District. But not long after the new Board met for the first time, they ran into a snag — the previous Board made several agreements with Disney that apparently gave Disney “wide reign over [the district’s] land for the next 30 years.”

One of the agreements is called the Developer Agreement, which seems to set in stone Disney’s rights over the next three decades, regardless of what the new Board says or does. This was a kind of “insurance policy” that ensures Disney is able to function as they expect to even if the new Board wants to make changes. The Orlando Sentinel reported that this agreement was unanimously approved by the old Board on February 8th of this year.

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The agreement also bars the District from “using the Disney name without the corporation’s approval or ‘fanciful characters’ such as Mickey Mouse” and bars the Board from regulating the height of buildings. This particular agreement is set to be valid until “21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, king of England.”

Cinderella Castle for the 50th Anniversary

The new Board is not happy with this and other agreements, stating that they are “unusual” and “suspect.” One member went so far as to call them “unlawful.” A member said, “This essentially makes Disney the government…This board loses, for practical purposes, the majority of its ability to do anything beyond maintaining the roads and maintaining basic infrastructure.” The chairman of the Board said that the District may need to adopt “an adversarial position” against Disney in light of the agreements. In fact, they suggested that they may need to go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in “protracted litigation” against Disney.

One of the new Board members, Bridget Ziegler, tweeted a response as well: “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. We won’t stand for this and we won’t back down. If unlawful actions were taken, this development agreement will be nullified.”

Disney responded to the accusations made by the new Board and stated that all of the agreements between Disney and the District were appropriate and were discussed in open, noticed public forums.

Reedy Creek

Now, the office of Governor Ron DeSantis has commented on the situation as well. Spokeswoman Taryn Fenske said that the board on Wednesday retained “multiple financial and legal firms to conduct audits and investigate Disney’s past behavior.” She went on to say, “The Executive Office of the Governor is aware of Disney’s last-ditch efforts to execute contracts just before ratifying the 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” (CNN).

The District’s acting counsel and legal counsel have released a statement claiming that “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.” The statement was from Fishback Dominick LLP, Cooper & Kirk PLLC, Lawson Huck Gonzalez PLLC, Waugh Grant PLLC, and Nardella & Nardella PLLC.

We’ll continue to watch for more updates on the latest Disney news, so stay tuned to DFB.