To: Mayor Hammett and Council Members
From: Sue Lang, President, Venice Neighborhoods Coalition, Inc.
Re: 2007 Comprehensive Plan (6/26/07 Council Agenda for Approval of Submission
to DCA)
Date: Tue, June 26, 2007, 12:52 PM
Please be advised that Venice Neighborhoods Coalition is
opposed to the 2007 Comp Plan as drafted. We will submit to you and to State DCA
within the next 60 days the full details of our objections.
We are especially alarmed that the Plan does
not reflect the overwhelming sentiment at the Envision Venice Comp Plan public
workshops held in 2005- 06, which clearly indicated
opposition to growth and especially greater density and height.
As you know, we already have significantly greater height and
density within the older, developed areas/core of Venice.
The increases suggested in the 2007 Comp Plan not only are
contrary to what the community clearly indicated to you and completely out of
character, but are simply not remotely sustainable in terms of our resources
such water and roads, other infrastructure, and especially hurricane shelters
and evacuation. No where in the entire county of Sarasota, save perhaps downtown
Sarasota is there development at 25 units per acre. And while the County Comp
Plan has a provision in limited circumstances for development of Major
Employment Centers that could include up to 25 units per acre in order to
provide affordable workforce housing, as you know, not one of these developments
has been built to date.
Furthermore, no where in the Venice Comp Plan does it state
that the increase to 25 units per acre and also additional heights, are only for
affordable/workforce housing, which at any rate, does not require anywhere near
25 units per acre to produce.
We strongly recommend that you not approve this Plan as
submitted to you. We are especially objecting to the absence of community input
into the creation of "Infill-Redevelopment Community Villages" with provisions
for increased density and height which were never presented to our community for
comment. The current Comp Plan, as you know, calls for
discouraging of tall buildings along the Gulf.
Many of us who bought homes here during the past several years
were told that there would be no more tall buildings on the beach. This policy
should have been retained in the current Plan because it had overwhelming
community support and was the reason many people purchased on the island. We
believed that Venice would not become Ft. Lauderdale
or Ft. Myers Beach, etc. Indeed, we expected
additional height reductions and density reductions on the island.
We hope you respect the sentiment of most residents of Venice
and keep Venice the charming small town for which we moved here. Please reject
this 2007 Comp Plan until more discussion and revision takes place.
Thank you.
Sue Lang, Venice Neighborhoods Coalition
