since then the number of park visitors has increased continuously. with the absence of large paved roads, the area of prainha remained mostly unaffected by the urban development of the rest of the city, and because of the lack of housing infrastructure, such as electricity and potable water, it was mostly a surfers beach.

in 1989, a construction company presented a proposal to build a hotel and a condominium in the area, but the project was rejected by the surfers association that saw this as a threat to the preservation of prainha's natural environment - that same year, the local town hall introduced a bill to transform prainha into a protected natural area.