Planning Commission recommends rezoning, narrowly approves conditional use for Venice Crossings car wash

The City of Venice Planning Commission on Oct. 7 recommended City Council approve a zoning map amendment to change a 1.15-acre parcel at 2001 Laurel Road from Commercial General (CG) to Laurel West and also approved a conditional use allowing a car wash on the parcel. The commission's rezoning recommendation passed 7-0; the conditional-use approval passed 6-1. The conditional-use approval included a stipulation that it would not become effective unless and until City Council approves the rezoning.

Britney Smith, planner for the City of Venice, said the parcel is part of the larger 83-acre Venice Crossings commercial-center preliminary plat and is located in the Laurel Road mixed-use corridor. Smith said the requested rezoning to Laurel West, the city's implementing district for that corridor, would allow the conditional-use application for a modern car wash; under the existing CG zoning a car wash was not an allowed use.

Jackson Boone, attorney and agent for the applicant, told the commission the rezoning and conditional use are consistent with the comprehensive plan and the project will be implemented as an outparcel of the larger commercial center. Boone noted the parcel would be served from the center's internal circulation roads rather than directly from Laurel Road and said transportation impacts were studied as part of the preliminary plat review for the entire 83-acre site. Boone said: "We respectfully request your recommendation of approval." He also said the parcel is part of the preliminary-plat transportation umbrella and that specific site-development plans would be evaluated against the approved transportation study and access points.

A representative of the Central Venice Coalition, Steve Carr, asked the commission to deny the rezoning and conditional use and to uphold the comprehensive plan and prior zoning. Carr said car washes are common in the area and that the site's current CG zoning reflected the property owner's decision in 2022 to keep the existing CG designation rather than adopt the new zoning at that time. In public comment Carr argued there was nothing unusual about the proposed car wash to warrant a change and urged the commission to "vote with the comprehensive plan and leave the zoning designation as is." His comment described existing car washes within five miles and urged the commission to treat rezoning as reserved for special or exceptional circumstances.

Commissioners asked staff and the applicant about traffic and safety; staff representatives and the applicant said a transportation study accompanying the preliminary plat had evaluated access and traffic for the full commercial center and that Laurel Road improvements and access permitting are coordinated with Sarasota County. Staff also confirmed a continuous fronting buffer for the preliminary plat has been approved as part of the larger development and that individual outparcels will be subject to site-development plan review.

The commission voted to recommend approval of rezoning petition 25-46RZ to Laurel West (7-0). For the conditional use (petition 25-47CU), the commission approved the car wash with a stipulation tying the conditional use's effectiveness to City Council's approval of the rezoning; that motion passed 6-1.

The matters now move to City Council for final decision on the rezoning and for consideration of the conditional use; if the Council approves the rezoning, the conditional-use approval from the Planning Commission will be forwarded as a recommendation with the recorded stipulation.