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Planning board to review site plan for proposed northeast Venice Publix shopping center

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Planning board to review site plan for proposed northeast Venice Publix shopping center

The planning commission technically has final approval of the site plan for The Village at Laurel and Jacaranda, though that can be appealed to the Venice City Council

VENICE – Plans for The Village at Laurel and Jacaranda, a controversial shopping center in northeast Venice proposed by developer Pat Neal, will be the focus of the city’s development board Tuesday.

The plan initially calls for two commercial buildings, 61,374 square feet for a grocery store, liquor store and a retail outlet and a 7,200-square-feet building for six retail spaces.

The larger structure would include a 50,325-square-foot grocery store, 2,100-square foot liquor store and a 1,750-square-foot retail space. That is located near the western side of the property – closest to currently undeveloped land – and direct access to Laurel Road.

The 7,200-square-foot building would be closest to the eastern side of the property, just north of an entrance off of Jacaranda Boulevard.

The site and development plan for the proposed shopping center is the only topic in the agenda for the Venice Planning Commission, set to meet at 1:30 p.m., Jan. 7 in community hall at Venice City Hall, 401 W. Venice Ave.

Angst generated by Neal’s Publix-anchored shopping center on the southwest corner of that intersection proposal over traffic, safety and other concerns united many residents of the Venetian Golf & River Club, Neal’s large Milano planned-unit development and other subdivisions in opposition.

The North Venice Neighborhood Alliance and members of the grassroots group Venice Thrives in 2023 helped unseat two-term Seat 1 incumbent Mitzie Fiedler in favor of current Council member Joan Farrell, as well as elect Seat 2 council member Ron Smith.

Both Farrell and Smith voiced opposition to the proposed shopping center. Farrell decided to run in response to a July 11, 2023 decision by the Venice City Council to change the proposed land use for 10.4 acres earmarked as as “preserve” in both plans for the Cielo subdivision in Milano and marketing materials used to sell homes in Cielo.

In June 2024, 12th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Danielle Brewer rejected an appeal of the decision to allow Border and Jacaranda Holdings, LLC, the company controlled by Neal, to develop the center.

Because of limited seating, people who do not plan to speak during the court-like hearing are urged to monitor it online via https://venice.legistar.com/Calendar.aspxn and click on the video for the Planning Commission Meeting.

What concerns are being raised by residents?

Both the Venetian Golf & River Club Property Owners Association, represented by attorney Dan Lobeck, and Venetian Golf & River Club resident Gary Scott are seeking “affected party status” in the court-like proceeding.

If granted, Lobeck and Scott would have more time to comment and the right to cross-examine Neal’s representatives.

Lobeck’s has raised a concern that the primary entrance to the Venetian Golf & River Club, via Veneto Boulevard, is directly opposite the main entrance to the commercial center, exacerbating an existing problematic traffic situation for the community.

Because that entrance is within 650 feet of a planned traffic signal at Laurel Road and Jacaranda Boulevard, a second traffic signal could not be placed there.

Lobeck is concerned that the proposed site and development plan does not adequately protect residents of the Venetian, especially after Laurel Road is widened to four lanes from Jacaranda Boulevard to Knights Trail Boulevard.

Scott, a retired attorney who splits his time between Venice and Wyoming, filed separately from the property owners association. His application raised a concern that the development would spoil the view he and his wife enjoy of  the existing wetland and vegetation from their lanai.

He referenced the parking lot lights, which would diminish their view of starry skies, and that they live close enough to the Laurel Road and Jacaranda Boulevard that they will hear significantly more traffic noise.

The North Venice Neighborhood Alliance is not seeking separate affected party status but submitted a 56-page document opposing the site plan petition.

Much of that document addresses previously covered compatibility issues, such as introducing  a commercial venture into a planned-unit development that – when many residents purchased their homes – had been portrayed as exclusively residential; increased traffic and the lack of a traffic light at Veneto Boulevard and the entrance to the shopping center.

That configuration, however, is not uncommon. It already exists in Osprey, where the entrance off of U.S. 41 to The Shoppes at Casey Key is opposite Habitat Boulevard, which serves as an entry point to Willowbend Phase One.

In that instance, the entrance is too close to a traffic light at the intersection of U.S. 41 and Blackburn Point Road/Old Venice Avenue.

The North Venice Neighborhood Alliance also raises concerns over drainage, since roughly 6.6 acres of the 10.4-acre site are currently wetlands, and references the impact rainfall on the system both in 2022 after Hurricane Ian and in 2024 after Tropical Storm Debbie.

What else could be built on the site?

Besides the initial two buildings, another 8,865 square feet of commercial development could someday be built on a 1.41-acre portion of the parcel – in the northeastern part of the site – that is primarily wetlands.

That additional development would require a separate site and development plan application and a second approval by the Planning Commission.

The planning board technically has the final decision on site and development plans though a dissatisfied party could then appeal that decision to the City Council and – if need be – challenge a ruling in circuit court.

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