Standing on the Venice Fishing Pier as the sun rises over the Gulf, watching pelicans glide past while early morning joggers wave hello on the beach below, I’m struck by a familiar feeling of gratitude for calling this place home. Venice, Florida isn’t just another dot on the map between Sarasota and Fort Myers—it’s a community where neighbors still wave, where local business owners know your name, and where the pace of life allows you to actually enjoy living.

However, like many Florida communities, we face the beautiful challenge of growth. New families are discovering what we’ve known all along: Venice is something special. The question isn’t whether we’ll grow—it’s how we’ll grow while keeping the heart and soul that drew us here in the first place.

What Makes Venice Feel Like Home

Our small-town character isn’t just about our population size or our tree-lined streets (though both are pretty wonderful). It’s woven into the fabric of our daily lives. It’s the way you can’t make a quick trip to Publix without running into three people you know. It’s the genuine excitement when a new local business opens, and the collective concern when a longtime favorite faces challenges.

Venice’s charm lives in our walkable downtown, where you can grab lunch at Cassariano, browse the shops, and catch up with friends in Centennial Park—all without getting in your car. It’s in our community events that bring neighbors together, from the food truck rallies to our beloved Shark’s Tooth Festival. It’s in the way our beaches still feel like they belong to us, not to endless rows of high-rise condos.

The Growth We’re Seeing

Let’s be honest about what’s happening. Drive around Venice today, and you’ll see new construction everywhere. Subdivisions are sprouting up on land that was farmland or empty lots just a few years ago. Our traffic patterns are changing. Our schools are getting busier. Popular restaurants now have wait times that would have been unthinkable five years ago.

This growth brings opportunities—new businesses, expanded services, and a growing tax base that can support better infrastructure and amenities. But it also brings the risk of losing what made Venice attractive in the first place. We’ve all seen Florida communities that grew too fast without planning, ending up as generic sprawl that could be anywhere.

Growing Smart, Not Just Fast

The good news is that growth and character preservation aren’t mutually exclusive, but it takes intentional effort from all of us. Here’s how we can shape Venice’s future while honoring its past:

Support Local First: Every dollar we spend at locally-owned businesses is a vote for the kind of community we want to be. When we choose the local coffee shop over the chain, the hometown restaurant over the franchise, we’re investing in the entrepreneurs who give Venice its personality.

Engage in Planning Discussions: City planning meetings might not be the most exciting way to spend an evening, but they’re where decisions get made about zoning, development standards, and infrastructure. Our voices matter in these conversations. When developers propose projects, we need residents who understand both the benefits and the potential impacts.

Welcome Newcomers Thoughtfully: Growth means new neighbors, and how we welcome them shapes our community’s future. Instead of viewing newcomers as threats to our way of life, we can help them understand and embrace what makes Venice special. Invite new neighbors to community events. Share your favorite local spots. Help them become invested community members rather than just residents.

Preserve Our Natural Assets: Venice’s natural beauty—our beaches, parks, and green spaces—are irreplaceable. Supporting land conservation efforts, maintaining our tree canopy, and ensuring new development includes adequate green space will help Venice feel like a place rather than just a destination.

Champion Thoughtful Development: Not all growth is bad growth. We can advocate for development that enhances rather than detracts from our community character. Mixed-use developments that include housing, retail, and office space can reduce traffic while creating walkable neighborhoods. Architectural standards can ensure new buildings complement rather than clash with our existing aesthetic.

Our Role as Community Stewards

Each of us who loves Venice has a role to play in its future. We’re not just residents—we’re stewards of something precious. That means staying informed about local issues, participating in community organizations, and speaking up when we see threats to what we value.

It means supporting our local government when they make tough decisions to manage growth responsibly, even when those decisions aren’t popular with everyone. It means being willing to pay for quality infrastructure and services that support our growing community without sacrificing livability.

Most importantly, it means remembering that Venice’s small-town feel isn’t just about buildings and traffic patterns—it’s about how we treat each other. As long as we maintain our neighborly spirit, our civic engagement, and our commitment to community over convenience, Venice can grow while staying Venice.

Looking Forward

Change is inevitable, but the character of that change is up to us. We can become another sprawling suburban landscape, or we can become a model for how Florida communities can grow thoughtfully. We can lose our small-town feel in pursuit of progress, or we can show that growth and character can coexist.

The Venice of 2030 is being shaped by the decisions we make today—in city hall, in planning meetings, at local businesses, and in our daily interactions with neighbors new and old. Let’s make sure it’s a Venice we’re proud to call home, a place our children will want to raise their own families, and a community that continues to feel like the special place we fell in love with.

After all, Venice isn’t just where we live—it’s who we are. And that’s worth preserving as we grow.

Image by Michelle Pitzel from Pixabay