Anaheim City Council on Tuesday approved a resolution of intent to modify the Anaheim Tourism Improvement District (ATID), opening a public-notice and hearing process to direct 9% of ATID assessments to workforce housing programs aimed at hotel employees and other resort-area workers.

The change would dedicate a new subaccount inside the Anaheim Housing Trust for ATID-funded workforce housing, expand the ATID boundary to include the Viv hotel and a small triangle of properties along Anaheim Way and Claudina Way, require newly built or converted timeshare/vacation-ownership units inside the boundary to pay the assessment and set a timeline for public meetings and a final hearing this fall.

City staff say the ATID generates roughly $32 million annually; 9% of that is approximately $3 million today. City Manager (Staff member) described the proposal as “an effort that has been years in the making.” Council Member Norma Campos Kurtz, who led the measure, told the council that hoteliers had repeatedly told city leaders they wanted to help their workforce: “There has not been not a 1 hotel, large, small, medium, who has not said, I support housing for our workforce.”

Why it matters: The ATID is a self-assessment paid by hotels in the Anaheim Resort and Platinum Triangle. The revenue has historically funded marketing, promotion and transportation services that benefit the tourism economy. The council’s action starts the formal process to add housing as a permitted use of ATID funds and to create a new governance structure that will steer how that money is spent.

Key facts and next steps
- Allocation: The staff proposal designates 9% of ATID receipts for workforce housing (about $3 million annually in current estimates). The city will continue to collect a 1% administration fee and retain the existing split of the remaining funds for marketing and transportation unless council chooses otherwise.
- Governance: The council voted to create a housing committee made up of assessed hoteliers that will oversee the ATID housing subaccount and be given authority to develop and approve an annual budget for those funds, similar to the existing transportation committee model. The committee must include representation from a smaller hotel (300 rooms or fewer), and will operate in public under the Brown Act.
- Boundary changes: The revised ATID boundary would explicitly include the Viv hotel (north of the 5 Freeway) and the small industrial triangle along Anaheim Way and the Edison easement; the latter was added to avoid excluding land that could be redeveloped as hotel use in the future.
- Timeshare units: Current exemptions for vacation-ownership/timeshare units would be removed for any future timeshare projects inside the ATID boundary; conversions or new timeshare developments would be assessed going forward.
- Process and timeline: The council approved a resolution of intent and staff will mail notices to assessed properties. A public meeting is scheduled for Oct. 28 and a public hearing and ordinance introduction for Nov. 18 (second reading Dec. 9). If adopted, staff estimated the workforce housing allocation could begin as early as Feb. 1.

What council debated: Council members asked staff to clarify oversight, reporting and whether council would retain final authority. Several members stressed transparency and the need for staff to audit allocations. Council Member Kurtz argued the hotel industry’s direct role in deciding disbursement would create a nimble, responsive decision-making body because hoteliers know their employees’ needs. Some council members expressed concern about reducing transportation funding and the effect on planned projects; Kurtz withdrew an amendment to alter the marketing/transportation split and accepted the staff proposal on that point.

Public input and stakeholders: The item followed months of meetings with hoteliers and staff. Dozens of in-person speakers during the public comment period — including hotel industry representatives and workers’ advocates — urged the council to adopt workforce housing measures. Hotel-industry representatives said they prefer using ATID funds rather than raising new assessments; several speakers urged a large share of the housing funds be directed to down-payment assistance and first-time homebuyer programs to help resort workers build wealth.

Formal action: Council Member Norma Campos Kurtz moved to approve the staff recommendation with two revisions—adding the small triangle of properties to the boundary and granting the new housing committee authority to adopt and approve an annual budget for the workforce housing account. Mayor Pro Tem Meeks seconded. The motion passed unanimously, 7-0.

What the vote does and does not do: The council’s action tonight declared intent and authorized the required notices and hearings; it does not yet change ATID assessments or move money. Hotels and other assessed properties will have the opportunity to submit written protests during the process; final legal adoption would occur after the Nov. 18 hearing and any statutorily required tabulation of protests.

Implementation notes and limits: The housing funds must be used within constraints the council set and consistent with the Anaheim Housing Trust’s three funding “buckets” (housing stability, first-time homebuying assistance and construction gap financing). Staff will administer the committee’s work and will provide annual reports to the council. The new committee’s authority is subject to the same public-meeting rules and auditing practices that govern other ATID committees.

Context: Anaheim created the ATID in 2010 to fund tourism promotion and transportation; the district is a self-imposed assessment paid by hotels in the resort and Platinum Triangle. The council’s action responds to several years of requests from hoteliers and follows staff-led stakeholder meetings on June 26 and Aug. 26.

Next steps for reporters and residents: Staff will mail notices to all assessed properties and publish the proposed management plan and ordinance attachments online. The council will hold an informational meeting Oct. 28 and the public hearing is scheduled for Nov. 18. The council set the record to reconvene the ordinance process with a second reading on Dec. 9.