Venice Neighborhood Council · Held · Special
Venice Neighborhood Council special meeting, September 1, 2026
From the minutes: At a special meeting on Sept. 1, 2026, the Venice Neighborhood Council's board sent the Windward Avenue pedestrian plaza concept back to committee for a town hall and backed an alcohol permit with conditions for an office club at 901 Abbot Kinney Blvd., 12-2 with two abstaining, and a call for a Venice vacancy fee study failed 8-8, according to its minutes. Petitions to amend the standing rules, to remove Ted Henderson as Rules and Elections chair and to remove Nick Antonicello from two committees each failed with no yes votes (minutes). The board sent the live-streaming report to committee, 8-5, and approved its election polling place survey 12-0 (minutes).
Outcomes for the September 1, 2026 meeting of the Venice Neighborhood Council come from its posted minutes.
| Where | Online by Zoom |
|---|---|
| Agenda | Official agenda (posted August 29, 2026) |
| Minutes | Official minutes |
| City Council districts | Council District 11 |
The agenda lists items II.A to II.G under old business. The same motions, 104, 105 and 125 to 129, were on the Aug. 18 agenda; see the Aug. 18 page.
Outcomes below come from the board’s minutes: a page of notes listing motions, movers by first name and tallies (yes-no-abstain-absent), followed by the agenda and a roll-call table. They are not marked draft or approved; the Sept. 15 agenda lists them for approval. The notes and the table label the 901 Abbot Kinney Blvd. motion “106-26”; the agenda numbers it 125-26-VNC. Jason Sugars and Joseph Garcia were absent (minutes).
Each of the three stakeholder petitions failed 0-13 after a vote to end debate: the standing rules petition (126-26-VNC) with three abstaining, the petition to remove Ted Henderson as Rules and Elections chair (127-26-VNC) with one abstaining, and the petition to remove Nick Antonicello from two committees (128-26-VNC) with one abstaining (minutes).
II.A. Windward Avenue pedestrian plazas
- What it asks: Approves the concept of turning Windward Avenue between Speedway and Windward Circle into pedestrian plazas, which would start talks with City agencies and the Coastal Commission (agenda).
- Who brought it: The Parking, Infrastructure and Transportation Committee, 3-0-1 (agenda).
- What happened: An amendment to add the “Westward Block” and strip the east block out failed 4-12, two abstaining. A motion by Lisa Redmond, seconded by Sarah Mahir, to return the item to committee for a town hall passed. The notes print the vote as 9-8-1-2; the roll-call table totals 9-7-1-2 and lists nine yes votes and seven no votes (minutes).
II.B. Venice vacancy fee study
- What it asks: Asks Council member Traci Park and the Housing Department to seek a City Attorney study of a fee on Venice residential and commercial properties vacant or unleased more than six months a year, with revenue kept for CD 11 temporary housing, rent help and homelessness programs. It would send a Community Impact Statement to CF 25-0029 (agenda).
- Who brought it: The Homelessness Committee, 6-0-1 (agenda).
- Neighborhood council positions: No Venice Community Impact Statement appears on CF 25-0029 as of Oct. 1, 2026 (CF 25-0029).
- What happened: Failed 8-8, with one abstaining and two absent (minutes).
II.C. Alcohol permit for an office club at 901 Abbot Kinney Blvd.
- What it asks: Recommends approval of a conditional use (ZA-2026-1891-CUB) for a full line of alcohol at an existing office, with conditions: keep the Frank Israel facade, outdoor music at ambient levels during school hours and none after 10 p.m., no special events during school hours, a cap of 24 special events a year, LAPD permits for each, and seating cut from 250 to 187 (agenda).
- Who brought it: The Land Use and Planning Committee, 8-0-0 (agenda).
- What happened: Passed 12-2, with two abstaining and three absent; moved by Mark Mack and seconded by Clark Brown. The roll-call table lists Lisa Redmond and Helen Fallon voting no (minutes).
Every item
| # | Item | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| II.A | Approve the Windward Avenue pedestrian plaza concept between Speedway and Windward Circle (104-26-VNC) | Sent back to committee for a town hall, 9-7, one abstaining, two absent, by the roll-call table (the notes print 9-8); an amendment limiting it to the west block failed 4-12 |
| II.B | Ask CD 11 to seek a City Attorney study of a Venice vacancy fee for housing, with a statement to CF 25-0029 (105-26-VNC) | Failed 8-8, one abstaining, two absent |
| II.C | Support an alcohol permit for an office club at 901 Abbot Kinney Blvd., with conditions (125-26-VNC) | Passed 12-2, two abstaining, three absent |
| I | Call to order and roll call | |
| I.A | Declarations of ex parte communications, conflicts and recusals | |
| II.D | Stakeholder petition to amend the standing rules on land use review, consent items, statements, AI disclosure and live streaming (126-26-VNC) | Failed 0-13, three abstaining, three absent |
| II.E | Stakeholder petition to remove Ted Henderson as Rules and Elections chair (127-26-VNC) | Failed 0-13, one abstaining, five absent |
| II.F | Stakeholder petition to remove Nick Antonicello from two committees (128-26-VNC) | Failed 0-13, one abstaining, five absent |
| II.G | Report on restarting live streams of board meetings (129-26-VNC) | Sent to committee, 8-5, six absent |
| III.A | Submit the election survey naming Oakwood Recreation Center, the Venice Heritage Museum and the Venice library as polling place choices (130-26-VNC) | Approved 12-0, seven absent |
| IV | General public comment | |
| VII | Adjournment |