Venice Historic and Architectural Preservation Board Meeting Summary – March 12, 2026

The Historic and Architectural Preservation Board (HAPB) met in the Venice City Hall Council Chambers at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, March 12, 2026. The board approved the prior month's minutes, acted on two Certificate of Architectural Compliance (CAC) applications, set direction for the Local Register Forum, and selected a historic-resources survey project for the next state small matching grant cycle.

Consent Calendar

• The February 12, 2026 meeting minutes were approved without corrections by voice vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No general audience participation was offered. One speaker signed up during the carport hearing but indicated he had nothing to add; no public comment was made on the new-residence application.

Public Hearing – 326 Pedro Street Carport (PLAR26-0001)

• This continued quasi-judicial hearing was advertised on January 24, 2026. The board confirmed no ex parte communications and no conflicts of interest.
• Staff showed a new site plan for an approximately 18-foot by 18-foot open carport, nearly the same size as the existing detached garage, plus revised elevations with stucco-finished posts.
• The applicant, for the Charlotte Melcher and Tooger Smith Revocable Trust, said the carport would help preserve the house and provide sheltered vehicle entry for his wife, who has mobility limitations; he noted they stay in Florida about seven months a year. He cited early covered-entry structures from 1926 on nearby properties; board members responded that those examples were port cocheres, a different building type from a carport.
• A board member noted several carports already exist on the block. Discussion also covered the lack of specific carport design guidelines; staff said the code does not prohibit carports and the board could consider future guidance outside this hearing.
• Board members objected to visible structural framing, beams, and diagonal bracing from the street. They suggested stuccoing the entire front gable end to match the house, in addition to the posts, while retaining the tile roof trim. The applicant agreed. Staff said the revised condition could be approved administratively.
• The Historical Resources Manager gave recommendations, not requirements, under the Secretary of the Interior Standards, advising that the addition should be distinguishable from the original house and should be removable without damaging the original structure.
• Motion to approve PLAR26-0001 with the stipulation that the front facade be stuccoed to match the house, and that staff may administratively approve that revised plan, carried by roll call vote. Mr. Barrick voted no.

Public Hearing – 249 S Harbor Blvd New Residence (PLAR26-0002)

• This quasi-judicial hearing was advertised on February 21, 2026. The board again confirmed no ex parte communications and no conflicts.
• Staff summarized a proposal for a one-story, 1,948-square-foot single-family home on a vacant, irregular 7,700-square-foot lot. The VHP-style design uses terracotta S-profile roof tile, stucco walls, an approved Sherwin-Williams Crescent Moon body color, wood front door/garage door/privacy fence, and single-hung windows with arched transoms.
• Agent Jeff Gates of Beechwood Builders, with designer Zeke Lee, presented the design and explained that lot constraints led to a front-facing garage/cart-storage door. They said materials and colors were drawn from the ARB handbook and described a custom black ironwork vent feature.
• Board concerns included the prominent front-facing garage door on the 80-foot street frontage, compliance with the 75% primary/20% secondary approved-color rule, the need for an ironwork detail cut sheet, the proposed front door style, and adding more substantial landscaping.
• Staff acknowledged an ambiguity in the code language about garages on lots wider than 50 feet; the lot has an 80-foot street frontage and 50-foot rear line, and the garage was not required to be side- or rear-loaded. Staff offered to revisit the interpretation.
• Motion to approve PLAR26-0002 without stipulations carried by roll call vote. Mr. Barrick voted no.

New Business – Local Register Forum

• Staff set the Local Register Forum for Thursday, May 14, 2026, from about 5:30 to 7:00 p.m., and proposed inviting the historical society and other preservation groups.
• Board members suggested the forum should help the public understand which bodies have jurisdiction over design decisions and that city guidelines and limitations exist. They also asked that the forum address how historic preservation supports economic development.
• The board deferred designation of an HAPB representative to the forum until its April meeting because a member who had shown interest was absent.

New Business – Florida Small Matching Grants

• Historical Resources Manager Harry Klinkhamer described the state small matching grant program. As a certified local government, Venice's match would be waived. Grants are capped at about $50,000 and surveys typically cost no more than about $200 per resource.
• Staff noted the next application cycle opens April 1 and closes in early June; a successful application would fund a fiscal year 2027 project. Existing survey work in Seaboard/Edgewood is underway, and a Gulf Shores/Golden Beach survey has been ranked and is awaiting state funding.
• The board reached consensus to direct staff to prepare an application for a resurvey of Venetia Park, which had last been surveyed in the 1980s and could benefit from updated documentation and photos. Board members said the survey could provide evidence if district boundaries need future review.

Board Discussion and Staff Comments

• Staff reported that Venice City Council had decided to continue the Legacy Award program. The program is annual but need not be awarded in a year with no qualifying nomination. Because the normal nomination timetable had slipped, board discussion leaned toward waiting for the next full cycle rather than holding a late 2026 award; the normal cycle would open public nominations in December or January, close in March, and award in May.
• Staff previewed two applications that may come before the board in April: 205 Harbor, a Catholic Foundation administration building, and 417 Nassau Street, a family-compound single-family residence.

Key Outcomes

• Approved the February 12, 2026 minutes.
• Approved PLAR26-0001 for a new carport at 326 Pedro Street with a condition that the front facade be stuccoed to match the house; Mr. Barrick dissented.
• Approved PLAR26-0002 for a new residence at 249 S Harbor Blvd without conditions; Mr. Barrick dissented.
• Scheduled the Local Register Forum for May 14, 2026, and requested staff to prepare public-education content.
• Directed staff to pursue a state small matching grant for a Venetia Park historic-resources resurvey.
• Board discussion leaned toward deferring the Legacy Award to the normal cycle; a board representative to the Local Register Forum will be taken up in April.

Note: The raw transcript contains minor application-number variants, but this summary uses the printed agenda numbers PLAR26-0001 and PLAR26-0002.