Venice City Council Regular Meeting – November 18, 2025
Venice City Council Regular Meeting – November 18, 2025
The Venice City Council met on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, beginning at 9:00 AM in Council Chambers. The meeting included a recognition award, consent agenda, public hearings on zoning and comprehensive plan updates, new business, and multiple resolutions. Key decisions included approval of a zoning map amendment for a car wash (4-3), a charter amendment referendum for annual vice mayor selection (5-2), adoption of the annual Capital Improvement Schedule, and a comprehensive plan update. The council also formalized a city-sponsored Halloween parade and approved renaming the Centennial Park Gazebo.
Consent Calendar
- Approved items: Settlement Agreement for unsafe building at 287 Outer Drive, Minutes of October 28, 2025 meeting, Real Estate Donation Agreement with Warfield Grove LLC, Utility Easement from Waterford Master Owners Association, and other routine items.
- Item 25-0405 (Army Corps cooperation agreement for shore protection) was pulled at the mayor’s request. The council approved only the certification of lands portion after the city manager reported a last-minute update from the Corps required further review of the cooperation agreement. Vote: 6-0.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Steve Carr (Central Venice Coalition) spoke during the quasi-judicial hearing on the 2001 Laurel Road zoning amendment. He opposed the rezoning, arguing it was not a unique special use, noting six other car washes within five miles, and requested denial. He also urged the city to seek a master plan for the entire Venice Crossing development.
- Jim Collins (planner, Boone Law Firm) during audience participation clarified that Venice Crossing already has detailed master plan elements (access, circulation, landscaping, utilities) approved, contrary to perceptions. He compared it favorably to the Plaza Venezia shopping center and the city’s Seaboard Master Plan.
- Jeff Boone (attorney, city resident) spoke during audience participation, supporting the Vetter gazebo renaming and correcting public misconceptions about Venice Crossing. He emphasized that multiple zonings within a large commercial center are normal, that the free market determines the number of car washes, and that past property owners opted to keep CG zoning due to uncertainty during the 2022 LDR update. The mayor limited his comments to avoid discussing pending applications.
Discussion Items
- Zoning Map Amendment (Ord. 2025-36) – 2001 Laurel Road: A request to rezone a 1.15-acre parcel from Commercial General (CG) to Laurel West (LW) to permit a car wash (conditional use). Staff recommended approval; the Planning Commission had voted 7-0 with a stipulation linking rezoning to the conditional use. Applicant Jackson Boone argued the rezoning is separate from the car wash use. Council debated: Mr. Smith opposed piecemeal zoning, calling it poor planning and noting the state’s criticism of the mixed-use corridor standards. Ms. Frank expressed concern about resident feedback on too many car washes but was torn. Mr. Engelke emphasized voting only on zoning. Vote: 4-3 (passed first reading).
- Charter Amendment (Ord. 2025-40) – Annual Vice Mayor Selection: A proposed referendum for the November 2026 ballot to change the vice mayor term from two years back to one year. The city attorney explained the change was needed after the switch to four-year council terms and even-year elections. Council debated: Mr. Smith opposed council-initiated charter amendments, preferring a charter review board. Mr. Weed echoed caution. Ms. Frank supported direct voter input, noting historical practice. Mayor and Mr. Engelke supported giving voters the choice. Vote: 5-2 (passed first reading).
- Capital Improvement Schedule (Ord. 2025-43): Annual update of the Five-Year Capital Improvement Schedule (FY2026-2030) and long-range schedule (2031-2035). Staff presented minor amendments to funding amounts in Table 8. Council questioned level-of-service standards (transportation at D, pedestrian/bike at D). Staff explained D is appropriate for roads (consistent with county) and that most city roads are actually at Level C. Mr. Smith praised park service levels (7 acres per 1,000 functional population) and urged revisit of the jetty parking lot repaving. The schedule was approved unanimously with staff changes.
- Comprehensive Plan Update (Ord. 2025-14) – 7-Year Evaluation and Appraisal: Final reading and adoption after state review. Staff summarized changes: added coastal resilience section, updated maps, clarified mixed-use corridor uses as “commercial and institutional professional.” The state required minor edits. Council adopted unanimously.
- Milestone Inspections Ordinance (Ord. 2025-41): Final reading to add milestone inspections for condos/cooperatives three stories or more, per Florida HB 913. Adopted unanimously.
- Police Pension Share Plan (Ord. 2025-42): First reading to allow use of Chapter 185 premium tax revenues for the police pension share plan. Actuary Doug Lozon explained it is a win-win: excess state monies go to members to avoid overfunding and potential loss of state funds. Council confirmed no risk to the city. Passed unanimously.
- Budget Amendment (Ord. 2025-44): First reading to increase FY2025-26 budget by $935,168 in revenue and expenditures. Adopted unanimously.
- Resolutions: R2025-28 (airport PAPI grant amendment) – approved 6-0 (Vice Mayor absent); R2025-29 (airport master plan advisory panels) – approved 6-0; R2025-30 (Hawthorn Hollows utility acceptance) – approved 6-0; R2025-31 (revised mobile home park prospectus) – approved unanimously (Vice Mayor returned). Council praised staff for resident engagement on the mobile home park.
- 2026 Council Liaison Appointments: Approved as presented with no changes. Vote unanimous.
- 2026 Meeting Schedule: Approved with two changes: remove January 27 meeting due to Florida League of Cities Legislative Action Days, and move April CIP budget workshop from April 2 to April 8. Vote unanimous.
- Renaming Centennial Park Gazebo: Councilmember Weed proposed renaming to “Robert and Susan Vedder Gazebo.” The city manager noted a future public hearing will be required. Approved unanimously.
- City-Sponsored Halloween Parade: Mayor introduced motion to formalize the annual Halloween parade as a city-sponsored event (previously organized by Lions Club and Venice Main Street). Cost estimated under $5,000. Approved unanimously.
- Charter Officer Reports: City attorney and clerk had nothing. City manager reported on police “Boats and Badges” event, Lord Heigel House opening Nov. 22, Veterans Day recognition (48 staff veterans), and holiday parade details (90+ units, centennial kickoff).
- Council Reports: Councilmember Howard described joint fire training at airport; Councilmember Frank represented city at Veterans Day ceremony and Sarasota County delegation meeting, requesting state funding for potable water infrastructure.
- Mayor’s Remarks: Upcoming centennial events, community celebrations (Blue Santa, Cops & Cones, holiday parade, tree lighting, boat parade, etc.).
Key Outcomes
- Ord. 2025-36 (Rezone 2001 Laurel Road) approved on first reading 4-3; final reading pending.
- Ord. 2025-40 (Vice Mayor charter amendment) approved on first reading 5-2; will appear on November 2026 ballot if final reading passes.
- Ord. 2025-43 (Capital Improvement Schedule) adopted unanimously.
- Ord. 2025-14 (Comprehensive Plan update) adopted unanimously.
- Ord. 2025-41 (Milestone inspections) adopted unanimously.
- Ord. 2025-42 (Police pension share plan) approved on first reading unanimously; final reading pending.
- Ord. 2025-44 (Budget amendment) approved on first reading unanimously.
- All four resolutions (R2025-28, R2025-29, R2025-30, R2025-31) adopted.
- Council liaison appointments, 2026 meeting schedule, gazebo renaming, and Halloween parade formalization all approved unanimously.
- Item 25-0405: Only certification of lands approved; cooperation agreement deferred.
- Note: Vice Mayor Bolt participated via video but experienced intermittent connection issues; his votes were recorded when possible.
Meeting Transcript
All right. Good morning, and let's call this meeting to order and start with a roll call, Madam Clerk. Mr. Engle Key. Mrs. Frank. Here. Mr. Howard. Here. Mr. Smith. Mr. Weed. Here. Vice Mayor Bolt will be joining us virtually shortly. Mayor Pichoda. Here. All right. We can stand for the invocation, and today's pledge can be led by Mr. Weed. Lord Father. We pray for our mayor, city council, and all who serve our community. Lord, strengthen us with wisdom and grace for the work we do every day. May our duties be carried out with respect and care, keeping our hearts pure as we work towards the best interest of all residents. Amen. All right. And that's going to be the mayor's pillar of the community award. If I can invite Mr. Campbell to join me up front, and I'll be right down. All right. So the mayor's pillar of the community awards a totally apolitical award. Basically, the design is that those folks who are pillars of our community that hold this community up get recognized for that significant contribution. There's so many wonderful things I could say about Mr. Campbell. Besides being a veteran of the U.S. Army, having a very generous and and contributing family, him being a contributor himself, but the time and energy that they put into this community and make it such a wonderful place to live through their work with Habitat for Humanity, the SCF Foundation, there's just so many I could list that they have been a part of, and what that does inside of this community to make sure that our students have the ability to go to school, become better people, that our community has the ability to participate in different programs, events. But I know Mr. Campbell, it was it was actually kind of I was waiting for the fight because he doesn't like the recognition in public. So he was very generous to show up today to receive the award. Thank you. But um, but anyway, you know, it's just an honor and a pleasure again to be able to present this to him. He's more than deserving, and um thank you for everything that you do for us. I don't know whether you heard his last words, but he said politely, don't talk too long. But the truth is it's been my pleasure to help this community in the ways we can, and uh my family is participated in this because of course when I give away money, it's less for them when I'm gone, and so in that way it's sort of a secondary participation. But the truth of the matter is the organizations in this town that we have supported, have all had really excellent CEOs, very excellent staff members, and very conscientious uh people who run those various organizations. The principal ones were the music department of the state college of Florida, which is now arguably one of the finest music schools in the entire state. We have students from the major colleges and universities coming down to study music in the music department of the State College of Florida. The Venice Symphony is arguably the finest symphony orchestra in the entire state of Florida, led by a director who is nationally recognized as one of the up-and-coming young directors in the entire country. The Venice Theater is well known because it's been here a long time.
openpublica.com