I used to live in Cocoa Beach. I had a place 200 yards from the ocean. We used to have some hurricanes. I would evacuate everytime. I would come back and my car that I parked in a multi-story carpark was covered in salt. The hurricane winds would blow ocean water all over everything. Approx. a 1/8 inch to a 1/4 inch of salt crystals covered the car. I would get a bucket of tap water and a sponge and clean the windows of salt. If the salt kills all the plants, why does the grass and trees seem fine?
Cocoa Beach city should be a barren wasteland. They still have plenty of foliage. So does Cape Canaveral! Merritt Island is mostly subtropical jungle. Plenty of plants and wildlife.

All the talk of saltwater destroying the land is bullshit. When it rains, the water washes away the salt. And it rains alot in Florida. Same with Hawaii and tropical cyclones.

Admittedly corrosion of metal is greater when exposed to seawater. It is a real bitch to back flush all the residue salt out of the pipes. It is still uses less resources than having to rebuild a whole city!