Venice adopts airport master‑plan process as operations surge; FAA approves forecast
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Summary
Consultants presented an FAA‑approved forecast showing recent operations rising to 96,000 (FY2024) and baseline growth to about 131,000 operations by 2044; council heard a schedule for a year‑long master‑plan update, public outreach and steps to translate forecasts into facility needs such as hangars, storm resilience, and noise analysis.
Venice city council received a briefing on the Venice Municipal Airport master‑plan update that consultants and airport management say will guide development, funding requests and public engagement for the next two decades. The consultant team reported the Federal Aviation Administration has approved the plan's aviation activity forecast, which uses recent, local operation counts from the airport's Vertiower tracking system.
The forecast shows total operations at about 96,000 in fiscal 2024, up from roughly 83,000 in 2023. The baseline projection in the master plan assumes about 1.6% annual growth (to roughly 131,000 operations by 2044); a higher sensitivity scenario assumes 2.4% annual growth to capture recent rapid increases. The plan also projects based aircraft increasing from about 195 to about 267 over the same period and identifies the critical aircraft for facility design as a C‑II (medium business jet), while noting the majority of operations remain single‑engine piston aircraft.
Consultants said the forecast is within FAA tolerance and is one of the two FAA‑approved deliverables in the master plan. They described a multi‑firm team that will complete an updated Airport Layout Plan (ALP), noise‑contour analyses, demand/capacity assessments and an updated capital improvement program. The schedule anticipates completing the study later this year, subject to formal FAA and Florida Department of Transportation review.
Airport tenants and aviation groups urged the council and staff to prioritize T‑hangar construction and hurricane hardening. Tenant speakers described long waiting lists for hangars and encouraged the city to consider an expedited hangar program alongside the master plan. Consultant and staff responses said the master plan will assess facility triggers and short‑, mid‑ and long‑term needs so the city can prioritize projects, pursue FAA/FDOT funding where appropriate and prepare for a range of growth outcomes.
City and consultant officials mapped a public‑engagement program of technical and citizen advisory panels, tenant surveys and public workshops and said FAA representatives will be invited to technical briefings. The team said they would produce a 20‑page executive summary for broad public distribution and more technical ALP sheets for grant applications.
Next steps: the city will host advisory‑panel meetings and public workshops this winter and spring, refine facility requirements from the forecast, and prepare an ALP update for FAA review that will underpin federal funding requests.