THE NEW MATH

and showing up to county commission meetings to advocate for direct action.

On the county side, county commissioner Emily Bonilla championed the measure. In a presentation to the board, Bonilla pointed out that Blue Rock Residential’s yearover-year profits were up 1,295%, Camden Property Trust up 526% and the Preferred Apartment Communities up 425%. She proposed to cap year-over-year rent increases at 5% for landlords who own more than four properties. At the time, Florida law required that any form of rent stabilization proposal must first go to voters to decide, provided the county could show evidence of a housing emergency “so grave as to constitute a serious menace to the general public.”

And that was the heart of the lawsuit. The industry groups Florida Realtors and the Florida Apartment Association — both mega donors to state politicians — organized a $2 million dollar opposition campaign against rent stabilization. They claimed the county didn’t prove a housing state of emergency, in violation of procedures required under state law.

The industry groups also now want the Orange County government (and thereby, taxpayers) to foot their attorney fees. This is still a subject of ongoing litigation, according to a county spokesperson.

Five of seven Florida Supreme Court justices take part in decisions whether to hear cases, and four out of five justices

DeSantis’ fit of pique over Reedy Creek rendered moot as Disney bites back with numbers and facts

BY CHLOE GREENBERG

In a press conference last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis heightened his attacks on the Walt Disney Co. as he announced plans to further his takeover of Reedy Creek Improvement District.

So Disney fought back.

While the entertainment giant has yet to comment on the press conference, a release on the Walt Disney World news forum provided “numbers and facts to refute Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ rationale for his attempted hostile takeover.”

Speaking at the Reedy Creek Improvement District headquarters, DeSantis announced plans to revoke the development agreement and to increase state oversight of the Disney Co.’s theme park rides.

He said his hand-picked board, meant to replace the former Reedy Creek leaders, will consider how undeveloped Disney land can be used. He laughed as he suggested putting a state prison there.

“They thought that they could create some type of development agreements that would essentially render everything that we did null and void and put them in control in perpetuity for this,” DeSantis said. “Well, that’s not going to work. That’s not going to fly.”

1: DeSantis talked about Disney failing to pay its fair share of taxes. He said that would change under his new district management. In its release, Disney refuted this: “Disney points out that in 2022, it paid $1.146 billion in state and local taxes, making the Walt Disney Company the largest single taxpayer in Central Florida,” the release says.

2: The governor claimed that Disney appraises its own property. Disney says, “All property in the district, including all Disney property is assessed annually by the Orange County tax assessor or the Osceola County tax assessor, as applicable.”

3: DeSantis said that his new board would consider adding affordable housing within Reedy Creek.

(three of them DeSantis appointees) agreed not to take up the case. Justice Jorge Labarga, appointed in 2009 by thenRepublican Gov. Charlie Crist, was the sole justice in favor of hearing oral arguments.

As it is, rent control for Orange County, or any other city or county in Florida, won’t be coming any time soon.

Last month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a massive housing bill that prohibits local governments in Florida from pursuing any kind of rent stabilization or rent control, now or in the future.

Dubbed the “Live Local Act,” that legislation — supported by the very industry groups that sued Orange County — was fast-tracked through the Florida Legislature. It garnered bipartisan support, mostly for the tax incentives it’ll throw at developers to build more ostensibly “affordable” housing.

Local rent stabilization advocates are disappointed with this outcome. They saw skyrocketing rent harming their communities last year — resulting in eviction and homelessness, and forcing residents to move away for someplace cheaper.

But they say the fight to keep folks housed and foster a community that’s hospitable for everyone isn’t over.

“We will be working diligently in our communities to make sure Floridian residents can indeed stay in their homes and have the resources they need to support themselves as our Legislature works around the clock with corporations to take that away for millions of families,” said Jonathan Alingu, executive director of Central Florida Jobs with Justice, which advocated for the measure. “The fight for justice, quite literally, will start from our homes.”

Laurent, with Florida Rising, added, “While the outcome is disappointing, Florida Rising and our members are committed to continuing to organize on every block and work alongside local elected leaders at the Orange County Commission and beyond, to develop community-led solutions to the housing emergency despite state judicial and legislative interventions to undermine the people.” mschueler@orlandoweekly.com

“Disney is already heavily invested in an Affordable and Attainable Housing Initiative, announcing last year that it would build more than 1300 affordable housing units on 80 acres of land near Walt Disney World,” the release says.

The statement also says DeSantis’ decision to nullify the development deal sounds “more like a political rally and an appeal to his base to support his presidential bid.”

The power battle between Gov. DeSantis and Disney stems from the company last year opposing Florida’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” education law that restricts instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. Initially, DeSantis and Republican lawmakers moved to entirely dissolve Reedy Creek Improvement District, which the state created in the 1960s to give Disney control over land use, fire protection and sewer services.

More recently, lawmakers passed a bill that shifts control away from Disney, allowing DeSantis to appoint a handpicked Board of Supervisors and rename the district the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. (Though a more factual name would be “Central Florida Tourism, but Only Some Tourism — Well, OK, Only Disney-Centric Tourism — Oversight District.”)

The fight was reignited, however, after the former Reedy Creek board signed an agreement that turned over most of its power to Disney World, giving the park control over its territory for the next 30 years. Your move, Gov. cgreenberg@orlandoweekly.com