Wednesday, July 19 2006
COCOA BEACH, FL - Mayor Skip Beeler, who once voted against banning smoking in the Cocoa Beach County Club, won't stop trying to prevent cigarette smokers from using the beach as a giant ashtray.
Beeler lost the first battle when the City Commission, in a 3-2 vote, rejected his proposal to keep smokers from lighting up on the beach. But the persistent mayor formed a committee that will bring up the proposed ban again tonight.
If the measure fails, then the citizen's committee would try to gather at least 924 signatures -- 10 percent of the voters who participated in the last election -- to place a referendum to the Nov. 7 ballot.
Others said they have joined Beeler to support the ban because of the litter caused by the butts and the harm it poses to the environment and animals. Beeler, a physician, said he worries about secondhand smoke.
"It's terrible," said Donna Pfleuger, who is part of the citizens committee supporting the ban. "I think something definitely needs to be done."
Some residents, however, believe that enforcing litter laws already in place and conducting more cleanups of the beach
would be enough.
"I still think there are enough rules already," said Gail Bari, who takes daily walks on the beach. "Why don't you send somebody out there to pick up what's out there? I think smoking is the least of the beach's problem."
Some commissioners suggested enforcing litter laws, voting to increase fines from $100 to $250.
Beeler, Vice Mayor Kevin Pruett and Commissioner Tony Sasso voted for the fine increase.
However, they later learned the city does not have a litter law. Tonight, the commission will consider a proposed litter ordinance that would prohibit littering, including cigarette butts, on the beach and in other public places.
In addition to a litter law and regular cleanups, Beeler believes the ban is necessary.
"I'll keep doing what I need to do," he said. "This is about citizens being able to decide an issue in their community."
The stance is a change for Beeler, according to minutes of a commission meeting Feb. 15, 2001. At that time Beeler voted against a ban on smoking in the Cocoa Beach Country Club's bar and restaurant. He said that as a physician he would advise people not to smoke but that legislation would not make people stop smoking, according to the 2001 records.
Beeler said now he would vote for a ban. It wasn't illegal to smoke in bars at the time.
"It was a different time," he said. "We know so much more about secondhand smoke."
A ban on smoking on the beach now would likely be a first in Florida, though not a first in the nation. San Diego recently banned smoking on its beaches and parks, joining about 35 communities in California that have enacted a prohibition in the last two years.
About 2,300 other municipalities around the nation have barred smoking from a variety public places.
Beeler said it's time to do it here.
Though he doesn't want to come across as an enemy to smokers, he does want to put a stop to cigarette butts littering the beach.
"It was never intended to be a punitive thing against smokers," Beeler said. "It's a combination of changing the tone and changing behavior."
Trash, including cigarette butts, is picked up from the beach in Indialantic daily, town Manager Christopher Chinault said. The town gets its share of discarded cups and cans, broken chairs and umbrellas, but cigarette butts on the beach have not been a problem.
"I don't know that it's any worse that any other trash," Chinault said. "I have not heard that as a major issue."
Cape Canaveral has a worker who picks up trash on the beach three days a week.
In addition, it has a program called Adopt-A-Crossover in which volunteers regularly maintain specific sections of beach.
Cocoa Beach has a part-time worker who picks up trash five hours a day, five days a week. In addition, Keep Brevard Beautiful helps the city with beach cleanups.
Keep Brevard Beautiful volunteers collected about four tons of trash, including thousands of cigarette butts, from Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach during a recent cleanup, officials said.
Source: R. Norman Moody (
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) of Florida Today
