Keeping cars on the beach is an on-going battle. Now Volusia County is considering an ordinance that will change driving on the beach near certain hotels.

And if those hotels lose their luxury status, the county wants to be able to reopen driving in front of those hotels.

Giving a hotel a piece of the beach that's free of drivers is not unheard of. In fact, county council did just that several decades ago for the Adams Mark Hotel, which is now the Hilton. The beach in front of that hotel is still vehicle-free.

Right now there are approximately 17 miles of beach where driving is allowed.

The proposed law would change that and break it up.

Hotels like the Hard Rock and the renovated Desert Inn meet the criteria Volusia County leaders are looking for to keep cars off the beach in front of their hotels. They will both be higher-end hotels.

"You want a car removed from the beach, you're gonna have to have fine dining, entertainment, you're gonna have to have 500 rooms or better, you're gonna have to have 320 count sheets on the beds," said County Chairman Jason Davis.

Davis said the hotel or business has to prove it will have a positive economic impact on the community.

But the group "Let Volusia Decide" is trying to get enough signatures on a petition to let voters decide whether to keep beach driving or do away with it.

"For us the only criteria that should be met to give away our beach access should [be] a vote of the people," said Greg Gimbert, spokesman for the group.

Under state law, once cars are banned from a section of the beach, the ban cannot be reversed.

And members of ‘Let Volusia Decide’ said that could backfire if Volusia County or the nation goes through another recession.

"And then what happens to the property afterwards like the other hotels that have bankrupted and left us time and time again when they got a traffic-free beach?" asked Gimbert.

But Davis wants to make an exception that if a hotel loses its five-star designation, the beach would reopen to driving.

"I want a put a temporary event permit on this thing for years at a time, you know every year, renew it every year. That'll keep the cars off that section of the beach," responded Davis.

The Chairman knows this is such a contentious issue, they have set aside an entire morning to discuss the matter during their next council meeting May 7.

Davis and Gimbert believe that meeting will be standing room only inside Volusia County Council chambers.