More information has emerged about what was behind Tuesday’s abrupt postponement — with an hour’s notice — concerning the Wellington Village Council’s consideration of an application for the Wellington North development.
Details of the thinking behind changes to the application have been made public in a 39-page “justification statement.”
It deals with the proposal that would develop Equestrian Village, home of the Global Dressage Festival, and the neighboring White Birch property into a residential club community. Its 96 dwelling units across the parcels would include 48 single-family and 48 multi-family units, none higher than 35 feet. At present, Equestrian Village and White Birch could build just four and two units respectively without any Council action.
For the development, the Equestrian Village property would require a change of land use from Equestrian Commercial Recreation to Residential. But in order to construct more housing, 96.17 acres also would have to be removed from the Village’s Equestrian Preserve, which can only be done by a vote of four of the five Council members. The development has been opposed by many Village residents, who express concern about traffic, overcrowding and losing the community’s equestrian ambience.
The Adequan Global Dressage Festival grounds has attracted crowds for the Friday Night Lights freestyles.(Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
The statement from developer Wellington Lifestyle Partners describes the fundamental strategy as switching residential land at nearby Wellington South to an Equestrian Commercial designation for expansion of the overcrowded Wellington International showgrounds, in exchange for 96 acres of what in effect would be new residential land at Equestrian Village (Wellington North).
But the Wellington South acreage that could expand the showgrounds has yet to be sold to the owners of Wellington International. Jane Cleveland, chairman of the Village’s Equestrian Preserve Committee, points out “it has been made clear” that the land could be purchased only if the housing development is approved for the Equestrian Village site. The entire Equestrian Preserve is 9,000 acres, which is composed of showgrounds, polo fields and bridle trails. Those who are against the development fear removing any land from the Preserve could have a domino effect, resulting in the loss of other acreage designated that way.
In making its case, Wellington Lifestyle Partners stated, “By the expansion of the showgrounds from 90 acres to 190 acres, there is an ability to create a single integrated venue, which is critical to Wellington’s long-term success,”
If the Wellington International showgrounds expands, plans call for dressage to move there from Equestrian Village. The developer contends establishing jumpers, hunters and dressage for the horse shows on a contiguous piece of land would cut back on traffic generated by having competition on two showgrounds separated by busy roads.
The developer called Wellington — known as “the Winter Equestrian Capital of the World”– the trailblazer in creating an integrated equestrian community, and a model for other communities. But Wellington Lifestyle Partners maintains that the market is competitive, and continuing to grow, with the addition of the World Equestrian Center in Ocala and TerraNova outside Sarasota, as well as popular winter circuits in Europe.
“To preserve the Village’s stake in the equestrian industry and establish our community as the true Equestrian Capital of the World, the showgrounds and related lifestyle amenities must be expanded and enhanced, and high-end residential opportunities must be available to support those equestrian facilities. Wellington must take the next step forward or be forced back,” the developer contends.
“The Wellington” is designed as a private community with several tracts of land linked by a common design
philosophy. It would include The Wellington North; The Wellington South, proposed in a separate concurrent petition, and The Wellington Market, a commercial project open to the public which will be submitted in a separate future petition.
The Council’s first reading of the ordinance has been postponed to Nov. 14, 15 and possibly 16, the dates already reserved for the second reading.
The meeting room Tuesday was filled with disappointed people, some of whom had flown in, to attend the first reading of the application, only to find the session was cancelled on short notice.
“Staff supports this (postponement) request and recommends the request be approved to allow more time for staff to review the most recent modifications to the application and allow the applicant time to continue to address issues raised by interested parties and the community,” stated a Wellington website post from Village Manager Jim Barnes.
The Wellington Council meeting Tuesday night.
“This is one of the most important votes, if not the most important vote, in the history of Wellington,” emphasized Councilman Michael Drahos.
“So I do not want to rush it through. We’ve received a massive amount of information recently. We want to take time to digest that so I’m fully prepared to handle every aspect of this application. We’ve also had a lot of residents ask us to slow down and take a little bit more time as this information has been coming in lately.”
The councilman added, “So from my point of view, this was the prudent thing to do tonight, as much as it is frustrating. We want to get on with it, We want to vote, we want to decide Welllington’s future once and for all. Let’s do it the right way…so when it does come time to vote, we’re all ready to do that.”
The vote of the Village Council is the only decision that counts in terms of the Wellington North and South projects being accepted. Although the Equestrian Preserve Committee and the Planning, Zoning and Adjustment Board recommended against the proposals, they are simply advisory panels.
The changes to the proposals, however, are “significantly based on the board’s and committee’s comments, the comments that were made at the boards that did review this?” Mayor Anne Gerwig asked Barnes, who answered in the affirmative.
People were allowed to comment at the Council meeting, but they were warned that because the matter was not being taken up at that session, their comments could not go in the record or be considered by the Council next month when it deals with two items involving the projects that are legislative, and one that is quasi-judicial.
Wellington resident Richard Sirota took advantage of being allowed to speak, even though he couldn’t make an official comment.
Richard Sirota speaks to the Council.
A real estate developer, who was chairman for six years of the Battery Park City Authority in New York, said during his time in real estate and government, he had “never seen a process so anti-democratic as this. Normally, you couldn’t cancel a meeting on an hour’s notice. That’s implicitly giving a plus to the applicant.
“It’s supposed to be a level playing field…This to me is an unconscionable process. I’m saying nothing about what the zoning should be…I’m saying for process, you should all be embarrassed, because it implicitly says they control it, it’s not a level playing field.”
After concluding his remarks, he got a round of applause from the audience, who had expected to hear the Council discuss the proposals but will just have to wait some more.
Karen Holland got up to say she received a flyer from a new entity called, “Preserving Wellington,” noting the name is “very clever.”
It is putting forth the case for what the developer wants to do. Its website states: “Without New Investment, Wellington’s Equestrian Venues And Stature As The Horse Sport Capital Of The World Will Begin To Diminish.
Support The Wellington Equestrian & Golf Club Proposal.The modified plans will create a pathway for the showgrounds to double in capacity, preserve our equestrian lifestyle, invest in essential infrastructure, ease traffic challenges, and generate vital revenue for our Village – all without burdening taxpayers.”
But Holland said, “I kind of resent getting this in the mail.
“It doesn’t seem fair that the other side, which has a lot of money, is able to flood mailboxes, flood articles in the papers and just be out there and present something without people really getting an idea of what the other side is. My thoughts are, let’s put it to a vote and let people in the community decide.”
It was mentioned during the meeting, however, that Florida statutes prohibit submitting land use decisions to a public referendum.
Another group, Protect the Equestrian Preserve, has more than 7,000 people who don’t want the development.