VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Voters will not get to decide the future of beach driving in Volusia County after a ruling by an appeals court Tuesday.
The court said the proposal to put beach driving issues on the ballot is unconstitutional, which could mean beachgoers will not be able to drive on some parts of the beach.
Eventually, the county wants to eliminate beach driving in front of two future beachfront properties, the Westin and the Hard Rock Hotel, however the Hard Rock project has been put on hold.
Related Story: Volusia County approves beach driving ban ordinance
Related Story: Judge to decide in Volusia County beach driving vote battle
In Tuesday’s ruling, the Fifth District Court of Appeals agreed with a judge that voters should not be able to vote on whether they would like to ban beach driving.
Greg Gimbert filed the lawsuit on behalf of Let Volusia Vote, a political committee in Volusia County.
"The fact is, they passed laws to prevent us from voting on issues,” he said.
But beach driving has become a big issue in Daytona Beach, where multimillion-dollar deals with the county to bring future development is driving the issue, such as a Hard Rock Hotel, which is currently on hold.
The other is to convert the old Desert Inn into a four-star Westin resort.
One-and-a-half miles would be blocked off to beach traffic for those projects.
“It's clear they don't want the public on what they feel is their beach, and we want voters to make that ultimate decision instead of politicians,” said Gimbert.
Volusia County Council Member Josh Wagner said in a text message, "Hopefully we can move forward as a community and work towards a better Daytona Beach and Volusia County."
Tourists had mixed reactions on the issue.
"It’s something we don't have at home, so for us we find it fascinating,” said Robert Whitton, who is on vacation from Canada.
“I think they should ban it completely. I think it takes away the whole beach life society,” said resident Ross Paterson.
Another group, Sons of the Beach, recently lost its fight in court to keep beach driving, however, the judge ruled that the hotel developers must replace the parking being taken away.
Cox Media Group
