Planning commission approves conditional use for indoor self storage at 3480 East Laurel Road

The City of Venice Planning Commission voted 6-0 on March 4, 2025, to approve conditional use petition 2415CU to allow an indoor-only self storage facility at 3480 East Laurel Road.

Staff said the 2.26-acre parcel, in the Laurel Road neighborhood and zoned Laurel East with a Mixed Use Corridor (MUC) future land use designation, may host indoor self storage as a conditional use under the City of Venice Land Development Code. Britney Smith, planner for the City of Venice, told the commission the petition had been processed under Chapter 87 and decision criteria in section 87.183 and that technical review committee comments did not identify LDR compliance issues.

The applicant presented a conceptual plan and elevations but emphasized that final design, location and engineering will be settled at site and development plan review. Jackson Boone, agent for the applicant and attorney with Boone Law Firm, described the conceptual layout and said the proposal would use the stormwater footprint and access pattern approved previously for a hotel on the site. Boone said the plan shows about 35,000 square feet per floor and noted the facility would be ‘‘indoor self storage only.’’ He added on the record, ‘‘I am saying here on the record, it’s a 3-story building.’’

Boone and staff explained background approvals: the property previously received a 2022 approval for a five-story, 106-room hotel that included conditional use approval for additional building height and a special exception for reduced parking stalls. The applicants and staff told the commission those existing approvals would remain available but that only one site plan can be implemented — if a site and development plan for the storage facility is later approved, the previously approved hotel site plan and associated exceptions would be extinguished.

Commission discussion focused on compatibility with adjacent uses, trip generation and building scale. One commissioner said the storage use would likely generate fewer traffic trips than a hotel and could be more compatible given the property’s proximity to I-75. Commission members confirmed the conditional use action covered only land use; the specific setbacks, architecture, landscaping, drainage and other development details will be reviewed and decided at the later site and development plan stage.

There were no public speakers. Mr. McKeon moved to approve the petition and the motion passed by a 6-0 vote.

Next steps: the applicant must submit a formal site and development plan and obtain building and other permits before any construction; staff reminded the commission that the site would be reviewed under current LDRs at that future submittal.