Planning Commission approves Home Depot at Venice Crossing, including outdoor sales and three design alternatives
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Summary
The commission approved a 106,651 sq ft Home Depot with a 28,156 sq ft garden center at Venice Crossing (site plan 2551 SP), along with conditional‑use approval for outdoor sales (2552 CU) and design alternatives (2553 DA) for signage, parking medians and lighting. Commissioners and engineers described off‑site traffic mitigation and signal coordination with county and school officials; community speakers urged further county coordination on cumulative traffic.
The City of Venice Planning Commission on Jan. 6 approved three petitions from the Home Depot USA Inc. project at Venice Crossing: conditional use petition 2552 CU (outdoor sales and display), design alternative petition 2553 DA (signage, parking median layout and perimeter lighting height), and site and development plan petition 2551 SP (106,651 sq ft retail building with a 28,156 sq ft garden center). Each approval passed on unanimous 7–0 votes.
City planner Brittany Smith summarized staff findings that the project, located at 204 Chillingham Ave within the Laurel Road/Laurel Road neighborhood mixed‑use corridor, meets comprehensive‑plan strategies and the land development code where applicable. Smith said the parcel’s proposed floor‑area ratio (FAR) is 0.27 (below a 1.0 per‑property maximum), setback and building‑height standards are met (building at about 34 ft where 35 ft is allowed), and proposed parking (401 spaces) falls within the code range (320–640).
The applicant’s agent, Jackson Boone, and Kimley‑Horn engineers emphasized the project’s multi‑use parking design to accommodate seasonal sales, shed display, truck and trailer rental, and equipment rental typical of large home‑improvement stores. Boone said the requested design alternatives reflect operational needs and the building’s scale — for example allowing signage up to 579 sq ft rather than the 400 sq ft limit. For lighting, the applicant sought 20‑ft perimeter poles in some locations instead of the 15‑ft maximum to reduce the total number of poles while maintaining a step‑down from 30‑ft center poles.
Commissioners asked detailed questions about traffic and school‑zone safety. Transportation engineer Bassett Ali said most project traffic is PM peak hour and that signal coordination, turn‑lane geometry and a planned second signal at Chillingham were part of coordination with Sarasota County, FDOT and the school district. Engineer Andrew Pluta described off‑site mitigation plans — including turn‑lane extensions, a raised median to prevent illegal left turns and a second approved signal that is under design review.
Public commenters, including Steve Caron (Central Venice Coalition) and Bill Cantrell (Nokomis Area Civic Association), urged postponement or stronger, binding intergovernmental coordination to address cumulative traffic impacts at Laurel Road and nearby intersections, especially during school drop‑off/pick‑up. The applicant and staff responded that county and school staff reviewed the transportation analyses, that the developer will fund a signal at Chillingham, and that mobility fees will support broader improvements prioritized by the county.
After public comment and rebuttal, the commission moved and voted to approve the conditional use (2552 CU), then the design alternatives (2553 DA) and finally the site and development plan (2551 SP), each by 7–0.