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Planning commission approves Casada Oaks plat and three design alternatives, keeps 100‑foot natural buffer
Summary
The commission approved a preliminary plat for 60 single‑family lots (Casada Oaks) on roughly 39.8 acres and granted three design alternatives — retaining invasive species inside a roughly 100‑foot natural buffer, reducing the private road width from 60 to 50 feet, and increasing southern/eastern buffer walls from 6 to 8 feet — by unanimous vote.
VENICE, Fla. — On Aug. 19 the Venice Planning Commission approved two linked actions for Casada Oaks: design alternative petition 24‑64DA and preliminary plat petition 24‑66PP. The two votes (design alternatives and the preliminary plat) passed 7‑0.
The preliminary plat covers about 39.8 acres in the Pine Brook neighborhood and proposes 60 single‑family lots — 50 standard lots and 10 larger “estate” lots along the southern buffer adjacent to Foxley Farm. The three approved design alternatives allow (a) leaving roughly 100 feet of existing vegetation, including invasive species, in place along the southern edge to preserve a dense natural buffer, (b) reducing the private roadway width from 60 feet to 50 feet to enable expanded buffers, and (c) increasing the wall height along the south and east property lines from 6 feet to 8 feet.
Senior planner Nicole Tremblay told the commission that the preliminary plat and the design alternatives are consistent with the binding concept plan adopted with the rezoning and ordinance for the development and that the Technical Review Committee found no outstanding code compliance issues. Tremblay said the project’s density (about 1.5 dwelling units per acre for the parcel) is within the Low Density Residential range on the comprehensive plan and that environmental assessments (Phase I and Phase II) were performed; staff will confirm mitigation during construction plan review.
Agent Mariah Miller (ML Miller Law), representing Auburn Road FC LLC, described the layout: a gated entry off Auburn Road, 50 standard lots in the northern portion around a pond, and 10 estate lots to the south, each with an individual pond. She said the 100‑foot natural buffer to the south — requested to remain intact, including invasive species — “will allow for more dense vegetation there,” a feature the applicant and some neighbors have called important for visual compatibility.
Central Venice Coalition chair Steve Carr spoke in support of the application’s revisions and urged clarity that the increase in wall height applies to both the south and east property lines; staff and the applicant confirmed the orange boundary shown in the plan includes the east side as well as the south. Carr also asked whether a stipulation requiring the applicant to work with Foxley Farm should apply to the entire property rather than only to the southern half; staff replied that earlier ordinance stipulations were outside the scope of the current preliminary‑plat hearing.
Commission members emphasized the degree of prior review on the property and the care taken to balance neighborhood concerns with the binding master plan approved earlier in the process. Commissioner Jasper praised the retained natural buffer, saying the existing vegetation “makes such good sense,” and several commissioners complimented the thoroughness of the stormwater and maintenance language in the draft documents.
The motions before the commission explicitly approved the three design alternatives and then the preliminary plat; each motion passed 7‑0. Staff noted a number of binding stipulations from the rezoning remain part of the project record and that the design alternatives are necessary to implement the binding concept plan approved earlier by ordinance.
Votes at a glance: design alternative petition 24‑64DA — approved 7‑0; preliminary plat petition 24‑66PP — approved 7‑0.
