URGENT: Venice City Council to weigh in on downtown building heights
Francesco Abbruzzino, The Uncensored Report, LLC
I’m writing to you today on behalf of Concerned Citizens for Historic Venice because you have previously written to city officials about the need to preserve what makes Venice special. Here is an update:
Next Tuesday, Feb. 8, City Council and the Planning Commission will meet for the first time to discuss the draft Land Development Regulations (LDRs, essentially new zoning rules for Venice) that the Planning Commission has been drafting for many months. These LDRs will drive Venice’s growth and the look and feel of our downtown for years to come.
There are two meetings on Feb. 8 where citizens can have their voices heard:
o The regular City Council meeting at City Hall at 9 a.m. The LDRs are not on the agenda but public comments can be made here.
o The special session between City Council and Planning Commission, at 1:30 p.m. at the Venice Community Center. There are just two items on the agenda for this special meeting: the Planning Commission’s proposals to increase building heights downtown and to eliminate Venice’s standalone Historic Preservation Board.
Below is more detail about what is at stake. If you write to City Council, please send your comments to each email address (separately or all together) to ensure that the messages are actually read by each member:
MORE BACKGROUND ON THE ISSUES
Keep the status quo on downtown building heights
The issue: Right now, downtown buildings are limited to 35 feet tall; developers can build up to 10 feet taller only if they get City Council approval after public hearings and variance approvals. (This hasn’t happened since the early 90s.)
The proposed change: The Planning Commission (whose members are unelected) proposes increasing building heights downtown to 39 feet, plus an additional 10 feet for mechanical structures and rooflines. They would eliminate the current ability to appeal building requests over 35 feet to our elected City Council.
The concern: We have a vibrant, small-scale downtown thatis highly appealing and enhances the entire city’s property values. The changes could incentivize destruction of historic buildings to make way for taller structures, with developers changing the look and feel of downtown Venice without any broader consideration of overall impacts. It would take decisions that remake downtown out of the hands of elected officials.
Keep separate Architectural and Historic review boards
The issue: Venice has an advisory board to review architectural plans and designs for homes inside design districts that are meant to preserve the look and feel of historic neighborhoods (the Architectural Review Board, or ARB). It also has an advisory board to oversee the process for participating homeowners to get their homes added to the local historic register (the Historic Preservation Board, or HPB).
The proposal: The Planning Commission has proposed to merge the two boards and eliminate the advisory role of the city’s historic resources manager to the merged board.
The concern: In a town with as much rich history as Venice, both boards are necessary. They each have their own specific areas of expertise and have complementary, rather than overlapping mandates. Venice is lucky to have residents volunteer their time and professional expertise for these advisory boards. Both the ARB and HPB boards are opposed to the merger.