Anaheim hotel workers will now get affordable housing help under new tax breakdown

Anaheim city leaders unanimously approved a plan to allocate some of the revenue generated from a hotel tax to affordable housing programs that will benefit workers.

In 2018, the Anaheim Tourism Improvement District was created to promote and make area improvements to benefit the hotels in the Platinum Triangle and Anaheim Resort area. That district is funded through a hotel tax — in 2025, revenues are estimated to be around $32 million. That pot typically has been divided in a 3:1 ratio toward marketing and transportation improvements.

Now, hotel workers could get a share of the pie, around 9% of the revenue — or roughly $3 million — to create workforce housing programs.

It comes almost two years after state auditors found that some of the millions of dollars generated from the hotel tax was improperly used for political lobbying, particularly to support Disneyland-favorable candidates.

What the audit found 

The 51-page audit found that more than $111 million collected from the hotel tax was funneled to Visit Anaheim since 2010, of which $4.4 million was passed to the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce with little oversight.

That audit came after a federal probe revealed the grip the city’s tourism draws had on local politics. Todd Ament, the former head of the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, eventually pleaded guilty to wire fraud, lying to a mortgage lender, falsifying his tax returns and other crimes. He currently is awaiting sentencing, according to the Department of Justice.

Federal prosecutors called Ament one of the ringleaders of a “cabal” of elected officials, political consultants and business leaders who worked behind the scenes to influence Anaheim politics. They said he laundered money meant for the Chamber of Commerce in order to defraud a mortgage lender for a home in Big Bear. Former Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu served time in federal prison for his role in the corruption scandal.

In a change to how things typically have been run in the city, the current crop of city leaders moved to create affordable housing programs Tuesday night rather than working to benefit the entities that do business in the city.

About the housing programs

• The First-Time Homeowners Program: This would offer a down-payment-assistance loan for low- and moderate-income households to help buy a home within the city. The loan will be for first-time homebuyers who work for facilities in the Anaheim Tourism Improvement District. 

• The Housing Stability Program: This program would provide a one-time emergency assistance payment to very low-income or low-income people to prevent displacement, eviction and homelessness. This program also would be aimed at employees who work for a facility within the Anaheim Tourism Improvement District. 

• The Build More Homes Initiative: To develop affordable rental and for-sale housing for qualified people who work at facilities within the Anaheim Tourism Improvement District.

What’s next 

Now that the City Council has voted to move forward, officials have to:

• First notify facilities within the Anaheim Tourism Improvement District
• Then notify the public and hold a public hearing
• Next, the ordinance will be introduced at a City Council meeting, most likely in November
• Then there will be a second reading of the ordinance before it can be adopted

Officials anticipate being able to start allocating funds toward the housing programs as early as February.