DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Beachside residents and business owners in Daytona Beach are pushing for a big change. They want to break away from the city and be annexed into Ormond Beach.
The group said the beachside has been neglected for too long, and members believe Ormond Beach could do a better job addressing blight and improving the area.
This would have to be approved by both cities, but the group said it wants Ormond Beach to take over the beachside from Daytona Beach Shores to the Ormond Beach line along A1A.
If residents get their way, Daytona Beach would essentially no longer have a beach.
“We’re done waiting for great moments. We’re just done,” said Louie Louizes, owner of Ocean Avenue Gallery.
“We want to leave. We don’t want to be Daytona, that part of Daytona. We would rather be Daytona beachside in Ormond,” Daytona Beach resident Sonja Sailor said.
Outgoing Ormond Beach Mayor Jason Leslie said he passed the residents’ plan along to city staff for review.
“We are always looking for ways to bring people to our community, and the biggest driver to your community is having a beach,” Leslie said.
The group said beachside issues range from drug use and homelessness to vacant properties, graffiti and trash.
In January, 9 Investigates exposed concerns about millions of dollars in unspent Daytona Beach community redevelopment agency, or CRA, funds intended to address blight.
We found the Main Street district had $11 million budgeted for projects, but only one had been approved. In another district, $279,000 went toward staff salaries, leaving only $21,000 for improvement projects.
“You have to almost rage on social media to get them to do anything. And all of a sudden, they may show up and paint a curb or put lights up around something, but it’s just a Band-Aid,” Louizes said.
We asked the City of Daytona Beach whether it would ever give up its beachside but have not received a response.
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