Pat Neal’s desire to build a shopping mall in wetlands reshaped city elections.
By Ramon Lopez
Original Air Date: Jan. 8, 2024
Host: Developer Pat Neal’s plans for a controversial commercial development in Venice changed election outcomes in this still-quaint but fast-growing city. Yesterday, Neal’s project got a step closer to groundbreaking. But he still expects pushback, as Neal told WSLR News reporter Ramon Lopez.
Ramon Lopez: The site development plan for The Village of Laurel and Jacaranda proposed by wealthy local developer Pat Neal…was approved by the Venice Planning Commission on Tuesday. This keep the shopping center planned for the southwest corner of Laurel Road and Jacaranda Blvd on track. But local opponents of the building project who packed the hearing room to capacity are expected to keep up their fight to block the construction. By a vote of six to one, with Commissioner Robert Young casting the dissenting vote, the planning commission said Neal’s project adhered to the town’s requirements. But on the thorny issue of traffic safety, they said they hoped Sarasota County would step in to appease concerned local residents. The plan calls for two commercial buildings. The larger structure is for a 50,000 square foot grocery store, a 2,100 square foot liquor store and 1,750 square feet of retail space. The smaller 7,000 square foot building would house six additional stores.
Developer Pat Neal
Opposition to the shopping center is extensive, vocal and long standing. The opponents include the Venetian Golf & River Club Property Owners Association and the North Venice Neighborhood Alliance. They were angered by the Venice City Council’s 5 to 2 vote in July 2023 to change the land-use designation of 10 acres in the Neal-built community of Milano from open-space and wetland to commercial. The Venice Planning Commission had previously rejected the zoning change in a tight 4 to 3 vote. A legal challenge followed, but a circuit court judge in June 2024 denied the appeal, leaving the opponents no choice but to try and get the planning commission to reject Neal’s site development plan. Local residents claim Neal promised that the open space and wetland, visited by endangered birds and other wildlife, would never be bulldozed for commercial development.
They also fear noise, traffic congestion and pedestrian safety issues that often come with shopping centers. They said Neal used a “bait-and-switch” scheme to sell houses. Neal says he is well within his rights to move ahead with his plans. While both sides compromised on a number of issues, they hit a roadblock on traffic safety. The entrance to the commercial center would be directly opposite the primary entrance to the Venetian Golf and River Club, creating traffic problems. Opponents demand a traffic light to slow down cars. But Sarasota County decides on such matters, and Neal says he’s simply following county policy. We hear from VGRC’s Ruth Cordner and Dan Lobeck:
Ruth Cordner: The principal entrance and exit of The Venetian is directly across the street from the entrance and exit. [According to the] plan for the shopping center, we will share an intersection which has traffic movement and already has issues. The site and development plan, if it continues without adequate stipulations to protect the reasonable interests of the Venetian homeowners and residents, poses adverse impacts upon them in regard to the intersection function and safety. On behalf of the Venetian POA board members, we respectfully request your support to require critical stipulations that will make living in the Venetian safe and enjoyable for our residents and our neighboring community.
Dan Lobeck: You’re creating a problem that reduces safety. This might sound a little bit over the top, but it’s important enough to my clients to put this to you: Do you want blood on your hands when this gets built, and this obvious traffic hazard causes somebody to die at that intersetion? We are pleading with you to include the stipulation that we’ve offered. Just limit it to traffic, a traffic light. Let Mr. Neal use his powers of charm and persuasion on the county to get this done.
RL: Planning Commission member Barry Snyder had a lot to say at the end of the hearing before voting to approve the site development plan with some reservations.
Barry Snyder: I think it’s a concern, but Mr. Lobeck, it won’t be blood on our hands, and that was a kind of a cheap shot that you put out there. From my opinion, it will be blood on the county’s hands for not approving a stoplight. An attempt was made by the applicant to get that. To the extent that more attempts can be made, they should be made in terms of what’s out there.
RL: Meanwhile, the NVNA raised a new concern: drainage, citing the rainfall impact from Hurricanes Ian and Debby. Ken Baron:
Neal’s plan has mobilized protesters and voters.
Ken Baron: Our independent evaluation revealed several issues with stormwater modeling. The residents in this community want assurances that our property and lives will not be adversely impacted after existing floodplain storage is filled in and paved over for an unwanted grocery store. This commission has an obligation to protect the lives and property of the residents of Venice. At a minimum, we request the City of Venice investigate our consultant’s findings via an independent stormwater evaluation. People’s lives and property are at stake, and nobody should object to this. In this age, stormwater standards need to be definitively met, using the best available data and as accurate a model as can be achieved with current resources.
RL: The planning board technically has the final say on site development plans. But an appeal can be made to the Venice City Council and, if need be, it could go back to circuit court.
Opponents will decide on what to do next. The Venice City Council has two new members who ran on controlled development platforms. They both voiced opposition to the proposed shopping center, so there’s no guarantee for approval of the shopping center site development plan.
WSLR News spoke with Pat Neal after the five-hour hearing concluded. He’s elated by Tuesday’s vote, but said the matter remains unsettled. And he’s not opposed to stoplights.
Pat Neal: The planning commission has to make the decision based on the facts. I was pleased that they’ve found, on the facts, by a vote of six to one, that this project should go forward. So I was pleased. I also believe that the competent and substantial evidence was ours, and that the opponents didn’t really have much. There’s people who have strong feelings. So I do not think it’s over. I think we’ll go to the city council, could go to the courts. This is part of development in Florida. We have projects that take seven, eight, nine 10 years for approval. We stick with it. We think we’ll prevail. We do agree with dealing with the safety concerns. So if we can acquire the trust of the folks that we’re dealing with, we can go forward, hand in hand and probably solve this problem, but it requires working together and trust. We think there’s a solution to that, and we’re happy to pursue it. I think we’ll go through the land-use matters, and then we’ll have to work together. The stoplight is a matter of good public policy, and I think we’ll work on a safe entrance to this property.
RL: This is Ramon Lopez for WSLR News
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