At their 8/26/25 meeting, the Venice City Council, in a 4-to-3 vote, rejected a settlement that was sought by developer Pat Neal to increase the allowable residential density for the Vistera development in North Venice (see image below). The proposed settlement sought exactly the same density increase that was denied by the Council in 2023, and would have, if approved, increased the number of units that could be built from 1,300 to 1,617.

Venice Thrives spokesperson, Joan Iacono, spoke at the City Council meeting on behalf of Venice residents who were opposed to this settlement. Ms. Iacono urged the Council to reject the settlement since nothing had changed since they last denied the density exception and that the settlement offered nothing of benefit to the community.

We applaud and thank the four City Council Members who voted against the settlement: Mayor Nick Pachota, as well as Council Members Rick Howard, Ron Smith and Lloyd Weed. Controlling over-development helps protect what makes Venice special, and today’s vote by the City Council was a victory for Venice residents!

The video of the Council meeting can we viewed here.