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| The '''Reedy Creek Improvement District''' is a public corporation of the state of Florida created in 1967 by an act of the Florida legislature. Its primary purpose is to allow ] to exercise powers normally reserved for ]s (including ] authority and ] authority) over the land that constitutes ]. | |||
| On March 11, 1966, several landowners, all fully-owned subsidiaries of the ], petitioned the Circuit Court of the Ninth Judicial Circuit, which served ], for the creation of the '''Reedy Creek Drainage District''' under Chapter 298 of the Florida Statutes. After a period during which some minor landowners within the boundaries opted out, the Drainage District was incorporated on May 13, 1966, as a public corporation. Among the powers of a Drainage District were the power to condemn and acquire property outside its boundaries 'for the public use'. It used this power at least once to obtain land for Canal C-1 (Bonnet Creek) through land that is now being developed as the ], a non-Disney resort. | |||
| Formally, the ] is governed by a five member board of supervisors who are elected by the landowners within the district on the basis of one acre, one vote. Since the Disney company owns almost all of the land in the district, the district effectively serves as an instrument of Disney. Within the district, there are two incorporated cities, the cities of ] (pop. 23 per the 2000 census) and ] (pop. 16). These two bodies politic are instrumentalities of the Disney company as all the residents of the cities are Disney employees. Curiously the city of ], which is an experimental community sponsored by Disney and which has actual residents, is on land which was de-annexed from the district. | |||
| However, the limited power given the District by Chapter 298 was not enough for the ], and they petitioned the Florida State Legislature for the creation of the '''Reedy Creek Improvement District''', which would have almost total autonomy within its borders. Chapter 67-764 of the Laws of Florida was signed into law by Governor ] on May 12, 1967, creating the Improvement District. On the same day, Governor Kirk also signed the incorporation acts for the ] (Chapter 67-1104) and the ] (Chapter 67-1965). ] was renamed to the ] around 1970.] | |||
| The district has its seat in Lake Buena Vista and its executive organs (serving primarily the WDW parks and resorts) include a building inspectorate, a fire brigade with an ambulance service, a planning division, and a comprehensive utilities service covering trash collection, energy, and all in-ground systems except telephony and broadband. | |||
| According to a press conference held in ] on February 2, 1967 by ], Vice President of the ], the Improvement District and Cities were created to serve "the needs of those residing there", and the company needed its own government to "clarify the District's authority to within the District's limits" and because of the public nature of the planned development. The original city boundaries did not cover the whole Improvement District; they may have been intended as the areas where communities would be built for people to live. | |||
| In his book, ''Married to the Mouse: Walt Disney World and Orlando'', ] argues that the Florida legislature created the RCID under the belief that Disney would create an actual community in the area as part of its ] project. However, once the Disney Company was granted governmental powers, it did not follow through on its promise of permanent residents in order to maintain control over the RCID. | |||
| The Improvement District had far-reaching powers. Through the District, the ] could construct almost anything within its borders, including a nuclear power plant (which it never built, opting instead for a more traditional plant that supplements power from outside the District). The District, as with any municipal corporation, can issue tax-free bonds for internal improvements. This became a point of contention when a 1985 law limited the amount of tax-free bonds in Florida. The eligible bonds were chosen randomly, causing the District to beat out ], which had planned to build low-income housing, in 1989. In addition to the power of eminent domain outside the District, the one other power that the District was given that it would not have had if it were simply the two Cities was the power to ignore any laws, including state laws, about zoning and land use. When the state later established the ] process, the ], through the District, was able to avoid the paperwork and streamline the process to build theme parks and other attractions. Strangely, county taxes, including property and sales taxes, still apply within the District. | |||
| The planned residential areas never came (though part of the plans for ] did come through), due in part to the fear of losing control of the District, causing some to cry foul. Most notably, ] argues in his book, ''Married to the Mouse: Walt Disney World and Orlando'', that the ] has abused its powers. On a related note, the Disney-controlled town of ], which was built with many of ]'s original ideas, which have evolved into a form of ], was deannexed from the ] and the District to keep the residents from having power over the ]. ] lies on unincorporated land within ], with a thin strip of still-incorporated land separating it from the rest of the county. This strip of land contains canals maintained by the District, but may have a secondary use of preventing other municipalities from annexing ]. | |||
| A five-member Board of Supervisors governs the District, elected by the landowners of the District. These members, high-up employees in the ], each own undeveloped five-acre lots of land within the District, the only land in the District not technically controlled by the ] or used for public road purposes. The only residents of the District, also ] employees, live in two trailer parks, one in each city. In the 2000 census, the ] had 23 residents, all in the trailer park on the north shore of Bay Lake, and the ] had 16 residents, all in the trailer park about a mile north of ]. These residents elect the officials of the cities, but since they don't actually own any land, they don't have any power in electing the District Board of Supervisors. | |||
| The District headquarters are in a building in the ], east of ]. Everything publicly run is run by the District; the cities are a formality. This is reflected in recent land acquisitions by the ] towards the west; these were added to the District but not the ]. The District runs the following services, primarily serving the ]: | |||
| * Fire Protection and Emergency Medical Services, through four fire stations | |||
| * Environmental Protection - many pieces of land have been donated to the State of Florida as conservation easements, and the District collects data and ensures that nothing goes wrong | |||
| * Building Codes and Land-Use Planning | |||
| * Utilities - wastewater treatment and collection, water reclamation, electric generation and districution, solid waste disposal, potable water, natural gas districution, and hot and chilled water distribution, through ], a fully-owned subsidiary of the ] | |||
| * Roads - many of the main roads in the District are public roads maintained by the District, while minor roads and roads dead-ending at attractions are private roads maintained by the ]; in addition, state-maintained ] and ] pass through the District, as does one side of County Road 535 (formerly State Road 535) | |||
| The ] provides transportation for guests and employees in the form of buses, ferries, and monorails, under the name ]. In addition, several ] public bus routes enter the District, with half-hour service between the ] (and backstage areas at the ]) and Downtown ] and ], and once-a-day service to more points, intended mainly for cleaning staff. | |||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
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Revision as of 01:07, 1 November 2004
The Reedy Creek Improvement District is a public corporation of the state of Florida created in 1967 by an act of the Florida legislature. Its primary purpose is to allow The Walt Disney Company to exercise powers normally reserved for municipal governments (including taxing authority and zoning authority) over the land that constitutes Walt Disney World.
Formally, the district is governed by a five member board of supervisors who are elected by the landowners within the district on the basis of one acre, one vote. Since the Disney company owns almost all of the land in the district, the district effectively serves as an instrument of Disney. Within the district, there are two incorporated cities, the cities of Bay Lake, Florida (pop. 23 per the 2000 census) and Lake Buena Vista, Florida (pop. 16). These two bodies politic are instrumentalities of the Disney company as all the residents of the cities are Disney employees. Curiously the city of Celebration, Florida, which is an experimental community sponsored by Disney and which has actual residents, is on land which was de-annexed from the district.
The district has its seat in Lake Buena Vista and its executive organs (serving primarily the WDW parks and resorts) include a building inspectorate, a fire brigade with an ambulance service, a planning division, and a comprehensive utilities service covering trash collection, energy, and all in-ground systems except telephony and broadband.
In his book, Married to the Mouse: Walt Disney World and Orlando, Richard Foglesong argues that the Florida legislature created the RCID under the belief that Disney would create an actual community in the area as part of its EPCOT project. However, once the Disney Company was granted governmental powers, it did not follow through on its promise of permanent residents in order to maintain control over the RCID.