Disney spends $1.7 million on campaign for Theme Parks

The Walt Disney Co. has poured $1.7 million into a campaign to fight housing near its theme parks, eight months before the issue is due to hit the ballot box.

Its latest campaign finance statement, which was due Wednesday, shows how much money is going into campaigns for two ballot measures meant to deter housing in the Anaheim Resort area – in particular, developer SunCal's plan to build 1,500 homes across from Disney property. The measures are set for the June 3 ballot.

The statement from the SunCal-funded group, called the Committee to Defend and Protect Anaheim, didn't show up at the City Clerk's office by 5 p.m. Wednesday. The group sent its statement by FedEx on Wednesday, said Frank Elfend, a SunCal consultant. Two other committee representatives said they didn't know why the document wasn't in.

As of the July 31 filing, the committee had about $402,000 to combat the measures.

Except for a few small donations, Disney has bankrolled the campaign by the Save Our Anaheim Resort group, putting in $131,250 between July 1 and Sept. 30. One other $100 donation to SOAR came in during that time.

"I don't think it's early. It's been a continuous issue that has been going on for months. Each month that goes by, the costs continue to rise and it's important for the coalition to have enough funds," said Todd Ament, SOAR co-chairman.

The bulk of the money appeared in the previous statement, which covered the time when most signatures were collected for two ballot measures: a referendum to overturn residential zoning in the resort area and an initiative that would require voter approval of housing there.

The statements came due just about a week after SunCal sued the owner of the property to be used for the housing.

Source: ocregister.com