Town Fights Growth To Preserve '50s Character

During the past two years, Cocoa Beach residents have approved referendums on four separate occasions, either limiting population density, restricting building heights, or both. They have also elected the only Green Party member to office in Florida. "The citizens have spoken," said Skip Fowler, Cocoa Beach's attorney. "You would have to be deaf and blind not to know what the citizens want." But it hasn't been without a struggle. At each stage, developers challenged the referendum. Vacation Beach, Inc. with plans to build a condominium, challenged last year's referendum and a judge ruled in their favor. The city has appealed.