Outraged Californians slam Disney over construction of 1,900 home community in peaceful desert city: 'Down with Disney!'

Residents of a small California town are fuming over plans by Disney to construct a community of 2,000 homes in their peaceful patch of the desert. 

The Walt Disney Company has announced it will design neighborhoods across the US in deals with property developers, capitalizing on fans' enthusiasm for the brand beyond its theme park and entertainment businesses. 

But its first development, a 618-acre residential community with 1,900 housing units including single-family homes and condominiums in Rancho Mirage, close to Palm Springs, is being met with resistance from some residents.

One local, Carol Tiffin, said she was worried that the development would see the Coachella Valley area turned into 'another Las Vegas'. 

'Living off Gerald Ford I’m concerned about traffic, especially during the winter months when all the snowbirds are in town,' she wrote online. 

Residents of a small California town are fuming over plans by Disney to construct a community of 2,000 homes in their peaceful patch of the desert. (Pictured: the proposed community in a Disney rendering)  

A community of 1,900 housing units named Cotino that will be built in the city of Rancho Mirage in California's Coachella Valley (a location where Walt Disney himself once lived)

One local, Carol Tiffin (pictured), said she was worried that the development would see the Coachella Valley area turned into 'another Las Vegas '.

Disney plans to create a Cotino Bay lagoon beside a promenade with 'striking views of the oasis and the mountains beyond'. 

But Tiffin said she is concerned about 'using so much water with the lake' in the middle of the desert, which may come at a cost to surrounding residents. 

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'On the brighter side, it should increase the value of Rancho Mirage homes, bring more business and additional tax money to the city,' Tiffin conceded.

'Time will tell but I’d hate to see the Coachella Valley turn into another Las Vegas.'

The issue is compounded by the fact residents have been slapped with water use limits in recent years amidst major dry spells. 

When details of the lagoon emerged in 2022, local Mark Wolpa pointed out the region was under 'tight restrictions.'

He told the Los Angeles Times: 'Everyone was ripping out their yard and replacing it with artificial grass. And meanwhile I start seeing signs for a massive lagoon.'

Though restrictions have since lifted thanks to heavy rainfall in the last year, Wolpa added that the lagoon - which will be the size of 18 football fields - 'feels wasteful.'

Meanwhile, Juliette Vos raised concerns about the destruction of local wildlife. 

'Destroying native plants with 20-foot root systems with your deadly green mulch and replacing them with thirsty three-foot root systems is how to recreate the Sahara,' she wrote online. 'Down with Disney.'

Deborah Hager said the development is 'not needed' in the area and would involve 'tearing down this beautiful desert.'  

The Cotino location in Rancho Mirage near Palm Springs will also have a beach created

At each Storyliving by Disney location, Disney cast members trained in the company's guest service standards will operate the community association

The community will be designed by the same 'imagineers' who designed the theme parks but they will not have any such theme park connection

Several locals also pointed out that Rancho Mirage residents were not offered a vote on the development, and that the housing will not be especially affordable.

Figures from Zillow show Ranch Mirage is the second-priciest city in the Coachella Valley, with the median home costing $878.659. The Disney condos are expected to cost anything from $1 million to over $2 million. 

Local Bill Miller, a gardener and environmentalist, told the LA Times: 'Rancho Mirage is already one of the richest cities in Southern California, and this will only add to its wealth, Thomas said. 'But where will the workers live? The housekeepers, landscapers, bartenders and hospitality employees?'

Disney said Cotino will comprise shops and a beachfront hotel encircling a 24-acre lagoon. Some neighborhoods will be reserved for residents aged 55 and older.

In the residential communities, the company aims to create similar magic that it says will expand storytelling to 'storyliving.'

Disney park designers will develop the creative concepts for the communities, drawing inspiration from each region, and employees will run a community association that offers entertainment, activities, beach access and Disney programming.

The community will be designed by the same 'imagineers' who designed the theme parks, but they will not have any such theme park connection.

The owner of Disneyland and Disney World formed a new business unit, Storyliving by Disney, to create the master-planned communities in partnership with landowners, developers and home builders. 

The Cotino project is in conjunction with DMB Development.

Prices and other details have not yet been announced, but the development will include a variety of properties such as condominiums, single-family homes and estates.

This effort by Disney marks the latest chapter in the company's residential efforts, which began in the 1960s when the late Walt Disney announced his plans for the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT), but they were shelved after his death in 1966.

'Walt was trying to build a connected, integrated, story-based community,' Disney parks Chairman Josh D'Amaro said previously.

'While these [Storyliving] communities are not Epcot, they share that same spirit. This is something that Walt would have been all over.'