COCOA BEACH, Fla. – Concerned residents will hold a protest Tuesday over the proposed plan to give a new 4-star hotel exclusive use of a public beach park in Cocoa Beach.
When finished, the Westin will be Brevard County’s only 4-star hotel when it opens in 2027, and it’s already on the largest hotel property in Cocoa Beach.
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News 6 recently reported that Brevard County commissioners decided to withdraw consideration of a plan to give the hotel exclusive access to the south half of the park, saying the proposal needed some work before consideration.
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A Facebook group called “WAVESaction” posted on social media that they plan to protest the plan Tuesday afternoon at Lori Wilson North Park.
“Driftwood Hilton (north) and Westin (south) want to use Lori Wilson as an extension of their amenities with golf cart road connecting their resorts to the park - which will use parking,” the post read in part.
The original plan would have given the Westin exclusive access to the south half of Lori Wilson Park for up to 100 days a year, including renting all of the park for up to 12 days a year for Westin events.
It would include closing the park’s dog park on the south side by the construction site, so long as Westin builds a new dog park on the north side of Lori Wilson.
Organizer Sandra Sullivan said the protest will start at 4 p.m., one hour before a public meeting over the proposal begins at the Cocoa Beach Hilton.
Driftwood Capital owns both the Hilton and Westin, with the Hilton bordering the northern half of Lori Wilson and construction of the Westin taking place just to the south of the park.
“There’s a lot of public interest because this is a public park,” Sullivan told News 6 reporter James Sparvero. “They are a private company having private events. These parks were funded with state and federal grants that require public use in perpetuity,” she said.
Driftwood has responded to public criticism by saying it’s not taking over the park.”
It’s not a privatization of the park,” project engineer Hector Arechiga told Sparvero at the October 22 county commission meeting.
Sullivan disagreed.
”It looks like it’s an open-ended agreement that allows for additional amenities which are unspecified,” she said.
It’s not known whether the commission will revisit the plan in the future.
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