Venice council to consider changes to public comment at meetings

VENICE — The City Council will consider some suggested changes to audience participation next week that could reduce public comment opportunities.

The Council currently allows up to an hour of general public comment at the beginning and end of its regular meetings, with city residents and city property and business owners given five minutes and everyone else getting two minutes.

Public comment is also permitted on specific issues up for Council action when that item is being addressed.

But the minimum requirement for public participation under state law is “a reasonable opportunity to be heard” that “need not occur at the same meeting at which the board or commission takes official action,” an April 15 memo from City Attorney Kelly Fernandez says.

It’s enough, it says, “if the opportunity occurs at a meeting that is during the decision-making process and is within reasonable proximity in time before the meeting at which the board or commission takes the official action.”

That means, Fernandez writes, that one opportunity to be heard at any point during the process is sufficient.

The memo goes on to suggest changes from her and the city clerk for the Council to consider:

Allowing public comment only during general audience participation and during public hearings. “This would eliminate public comment during agenda items that are not public hearings and resolve an inconsistency in the City Code,” the memo says

.

Public hearings are required for ordinances, some land-use petitions and the relinquishment of a property interest, it adds.

Limiting the ability to speak during public comment for someone else to designated representatives, an attorney representing a client or someone holding a power of attorney. People could still use their own time to share comments from someone else, the memo says.Eliminating the ability of a Council member to open a discussion during general audience participation.

They also recommend a housekeeping change — eliminating references to submitting a speaker card because people requesting time now sign up electronically.

The memo concludes with a request for direction to prepare an ordinance formalizing the proposed changes.

Other business

Also on Tuesday the Council is scheduled to:

Hear a presentation on new shoreline protection techniques.Hear Finance Director Linda Senne’s quarterly financial update.Consider the Citizen Advisory Board’s recommendation to approve placement of a butterfly sculpture in West Blalock Park.Hear the annual report of the Fire Pension Board of Trustees.Consider accepting utilities and improvements from Rustic Oaks Community Development District for Magnolia Bay North Phase 1.Consider authorizing the sale of an EMS rescue van to the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority.Proclaim April 26, 2024, as “Arbor Day.”Proclaim May 2024 as “Historic Preservation Month.”Proclaim May 2024 as “Building Safety Month.”Proclaim the week of May 5-11, 2024, as “Municipal Clerk’s Week.”

The City Council meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 23, in Council Chambers at City Hall, 401 W. Venice Ave. The agenda is at VeniceGov.com at the “Meetings” button.