Blog: Fashion & Lifestyle

City to Ban Alcohol on Cocoa Beach?

01/17/2012 • By: BrevardNightLife.com Staff Writer

We received this email yesterday to our inbox and want to know what you think about the proposed change in laws banning alcohol on the beach in Cocoa Beach. Do you think it will hurt our economy? Will it affect tourism to our beaches? Let us know by hitting the "comment" button below and posting your thoughts on our Facebook wall or contact Dave Netterstrom - City of Cocoa Beach Vice Mayor - at DNetterstrom@CityOfCocoaBeach.com or (321) 868-3206.

From: XXXXXXXXXXX@aol.com
Date: January 15, 2012 15:02:28 EST
To: XXXXXXXXXXX@aol.com
Subject: Message from Cocoa Beach Vice Mayor

Hello all,

Before I jump into the deep end of the pool, I thought I'd test the waters with a bunch of friends, people I respect, wise people and others whose input I value.

As you are aware, the Cocoa Beach community has spoken loud and clear and wants a better downtown. The Vision and CRA plans are widely accepted and the community wants to move toward these directions.

To encourage positive changes that will help transform our city into the cool "In" place to be, we are going to have to deal with some issues that I strongly believe will prevent the transformation.

What goes on at the beach end of Minutemen is a problem. During the peak weekends in spring and summer, thousands of people come here with an attitude of anything goes. The beach is standing room only in some areas. These people don't spend any money, disrespect our beach community and require a lot of resources to manage. As other communities have banned alcohol on the beach, more and more people end up coming to our beach to get wasted.

Before any redevelopment will occur, we must deal with the end of Minutemen problem. Banning alcohol on the beach is always a highly controversial and emotional topic. Drinking on the beach is part of Cocoa Beach's culture. The problem is how do we fix the problem without punishing the residents like many of you who enjoy drinking on the beach and don't cause problems?

I'm thinking about proposing a trial ban of alcohol on the beach in certain areas where mass amounts of parking are available (at the end of Minutemen, maybe the parks and Pier). I'm sure we will have to modify/adjust this as we learn more, but I think we must try something. By making it temporary, it will become an election issue (3 seats open).  Whether the ban expires or is made permanent will be decided by the candidates who the voters elect.

Proposing this (or some form of it) is very difficult as I will be upsetting many people (including some of you) but I think if we truly want to make something better in our downtown we have to face the Minutemen problem and attempt a solution.

Please tell me your thoughts and while I hope to get some encouraging support, It's ok to tell me I'm nuts and you don't agree. (Your email response could become public record so please call or stop by if you'd prefer)

Dave Netterstrom
City of Cocoa Beach Vice Mayor
DNetterstrom@CityOfCocoaBeach.com
(321) 868-3206
xxx-xxxx (c)
xxx-xxxx (h)

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