Giant slide causes controversy in Cocoa Beach

COCOA BEACH, Fla. – A splashy and tall new addition to a popular park has many children smiling and sliding, but some neighboring condo owners are not amused with it.

The temporary super-slide is at Fischer Park on Atlantic Avenue near S.R. 520 in Cocoa Beach.

"It's great. The kids saw it coming off the road and that's the first thing they wanted to do," said Canadian Michelle Leafloor. "This will probably be the one thing they remember the most."

And that's exactly what the city of Cocoa Beach had in mind when they decided to open the 30-foot tall inflatable water slide. The city told Local 6 they wanted to provide an added incentive for tourists to stay and enjoy Cocoa Beach and to hopefully convince visitors to stay longer than a night before taking a cruise.

But not everybody is on board with the city's new attraction.

"We have an amusement center attraction here that is not only not per character, but it is not particularly attractive," said Al Haraway, president of 2100 Towers Condominium Association.

Haraway's condo sits adjacent to Fischer Park and the water slide. He says the new attraction could potentially ruin the condo's property value because since the slide was put in condo owners, who have a balcony facing the park, have been complaining about their new view.

"If the mayor came home one afternoon and his trusted and respected neighbor had erected that in his front yard, he would talk to a code person," Haraway said.

And he isn't the only condo president who is concerned. Local 6 talked to several others who share the same fear.

Others added that they didn't know anything about the slide until it showed up at the park.

"We weren't consulted and when we did complain we were disparaged. That isn't the way it should work as far as I'm concerned," said Haraway.

City leaders tell Local 6 they have no intentions of removing the slide from Fischer Park even with the concerns shared by neighboring condo owners, but those same owners say they're remaining hopeful.

The slide's operator runs the slide's day-to-day operations and they have a 6-month contract with the city.


About the Author:

Justin Warmoth joined News 6 in 2013 and is now a morning news anchor.

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