Residents challenge Venice City Council ruling on Milano PUD in circuit court

Earle Kimel, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·2 min read
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VENICE – The North Venice Neighborhood Alliance filed a circuit court challenge to the Venice City Council’s July 11 decision favoring a change for the Milano planned-unit development that would allow for a commercial shopping center at the intersection of Laurel Road and Jacaranda Boulevard.

The court petition names both the city of Venice and Border and Jacaranda Holdings, LLC, the company controlled by developer Pat Neal that owns the 10.4 area property, which is part of the Cielo subdivision of the overall Milano development.

Related: Venice citizens group raising money to challenge City Council decision on shopping center

Here’s what you need to know about the latest in the residents’ push to keep the acreage a preserve instead of a Publix-anchored shopping center.

What the petition asks

In the petition, filed Aug. 10 by attorney Ralf Brookes, who now represents the NVNA, as well as plaintiffs Gary Scott Kenneth Baron and Seth Thompson will as, 12th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Danielle Brewer to direct the City Council to review its decision.

Brookes argues that the July 11 council ruling failed to meet the requirements of the city’s Land Development Code.

As noted by Brookes, Brewer must determine whether the council followed due process, whether essential requirements of the law were followed and whether the findings are supported by enough evidence.

In addition to the land use map change already approved, Neal must apply for a plat amendment, and a site plan must be approved prior to construction.

Both the city and Border Jacaranda Holdings can file responses prior to any ruling by Brewer.

The site in debate

The 10.4-acres on the southwest corner of Laurel Road and Jacaranda Boulevard includes 6.6 acres of wetlands – a remnant of a larger wetland long disturbed by construction in Northeast Venice, dating back to the annexation of the former Henry Ranch and development of the Venetian Golf & River Club.

People who purchased homes in the Cielo subdivision point to the fact that the preserve was shown on the map when they bought the lot for their homes.

Attorney Dan Lobeck argued to the City Council that, as those people bought their homes, they technically also should have acquired a stake in the development's common property.

During those same hearings, Ed Vogler II, general counsel for Neal Communities, pointed to documents signed when residents purchased their property that specifically stated that the developer has the sole discretion to change common property until it is turned over to the homeowners' association.

He also noted that the deed to that acreage was still held by the developer.

Neal wants to build The Village at Laurel and Jacaranda, a shopping center anchored by a 47,240-square-foot Publix.

While many residents point to a January 2022 neighborhood workshop hosted by Neal at the Venetian Golf & River Club as the starting point for their opposition, Neal had previously floated the idea of developing the parcel with a Sprouts Farmers Market.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Resident files court challenge to Venice council map change for Milano