Joan Farrell says she is frustrated with the ‘Neal-loving city council majority’.
By Ramon Lopez
Original Air Date: April 11, 2025
Host: Developer heavyweight Pat Neal got his way again, this time in Venice. That prompted one council member to resign in frustration. WSLR News reporter Ramon Lopez fills us in.
Ramon Lopez: Venice City Council members late Wednesday approved a shopping center site plan that vocal opponents say raises serious concerns about traffic safety and stormwater drainage.
The council voted to deny an opponent’s appeal challenging the Venice Planning Commission’s January approval of the site plan for The Village at Laurel and Jacaranda proposed by real estate mogul Pat Neal.
Council members Joan Farrell and Ron Smith voted against the controversial grocery store-anchored shopping center to be constructed at the intersection of Laurel Road and Jacaranda Blvd in North Venice.
We hear from Joan Farrell and Ron Smith.
Joan Farrell
Joan Farrell: Residents have been disserviced for so long. I call for an outright denial. If they want to send it in again, then they need to get their act together. It is not our job to coddle them. Mr. Neal said this morning that he’s happy to work with us—after we approve it, then he’ll work with us. No.
Ron Smith: Fellow members of the council, this is our last chance—our final chance—to do right by the neighbors of this future shopping center. The council disappointed legions of residents by allowing property that was once promised as a preserve to be converted to commercial use in a residential neighborhood.
RL: Friday morning, Joan Farrell—effective close of business today—resigned her council seat, saying she was frustrated by “the city council’s failure to perform its basic duties…and ignore critical neighborhood concerns.”
Farrell is angry over the city council’s final approval of the Pat Neal project to pave over the 10-acre parcel, including significant wetlands that were promised to remain a nature preserve.
She said the city council showed no interest in updating stormwater benchmarks despite expert testimony that raised red flags over the water drainage.
Furthermore, Farrell said, a majority of the city council members endorsed a traffic plan for the commercial development that Pat Neal’s own traffic consultant said will create a dangerous intersection.
Back in 2023, area residents sued Pat Neal to challenge the rezoning of his project site. A judge sided with Neal.
The first-term Venice City Council member said, “the hard-hearted, Neal-loving city council majority” voted to ignore both problems.
“This week’s malfeasance is piled on top of the council’s failures to address other critical concerns of local residents,” she stated.
Ending her resignation letter, Farrell said, “I can’t be a part of this travesty, and I hope that the citizens of this city will turn out in unprecedented fashion next year when six city council seats will be up for election. It’s time to clean house.”
The building plan calls for two commercial buildings. The larger structure is for a 50,000 square foot grocery store, believed to be a Publix, a liquor store, and other retail space. The smaller building will house six additional stores.
This past January, the Planning Commission recommended approval of the site plan for the new shopping center, saying Neal’s project adhered to the town’s zoning requirements.
But on the thorny issues of noise, traffic congestion and pedestrian safety the commission planners said they hoped Sarasota County would step in to appease concerned local residents by installing a stoplight there.
And a new concern was raised: stormwater drainage. An independent evaluation revealed issues with stormwater modeling there. Critics begged the City of Venice to investigate the independent consultant’s findings via a thorough stormwater evaluation. Stormwater standards need to be definitively met, they said, using the best available data.
The appeal was brought by local neighbor Gary Scott. His application says the Planning Commission misapplied the city’s land development regs. He also believes access to the shopping center would be unsafe without a new traffic signal or a different design layout. And Scott says the planning commissioners did not address the aforementioned stormwater drainage issues.
But the City of Venice planning people say the compatibility of the shopping center was decided when the city council approved the rezoning. Furthermore, the city has no control over stoplights. And the city says there’s no traffic issues and drainage issues, based on current standards.
An ever confident Pat Neal, who was recently listed by Sarasota Magazine as one of the 25 most powerful people in Sarasota, testified at the beginning of the eight-hour long hearing. He predicted, rightly so, that his new multi-million dollar shopping center would move ahead.
Pat Neal
Pat Neal: It is my hope to bring this application in for a landing today. We think this should be a successful conclusion for all of us.
RL: This is Ramon Lopez for WSLR News.
WSLR News aims to keep the local community informed with our 1/2 hour local news show, quarterly newspaper and social media feeds. The local news broadcast airs on Wednesdays and Fridays at 6pm.