A plan that would take 96.29 acres from Wellington, Florida’s equestrian preserve area and change the land use to residential was rejected unanimously Wednesday night by the Village’s Equestrian Preserve Committee, following a hearing of more than four and a half hours.
After members of the committee aired their thoughts in front of a packed meeting room, filled primarily with those objecting to the Wellington North project, resident after resident spoke out about concern over losing equestrian open space. They also feared an increase in traffic stemming from construction of 244 units of high-end housing. More than 30 other people who didn’t want to speak registered their objections in writing.
It was announced that a petition against the project, which started circulating a few weeks ago under the auspices of the “horsesnothouses.com” organization, has more than 3,000 signatures.
The 96.29 acres is 1 percent of the 9,360 equestrian preserve acreage in the Village. The Equestrian Preserve Area is included in the Village’s charter with the intent “to protect the distinctive characteristics of Wellington’s equestrian community and the lifestyle it offers.”
Wellington North is a companion proposal to Wellington South, which will be discussed Thursday night. It includes 269.39 acres, part of which would go for an expansion of the showgrounds where the Winter Equestrian Festival is held. The applicant wants approval of changing the land use and master plan to expand the current cramped WEF site, run by the Global Equestrian Group. It also would develop up to 197 single-family residential units on the eastern portion of the property.
Jane Cleveland, who chairs the Equestrian Preserve Committee, expressed concerns that there were no designs “not even a sketch” for the expanded showgrounds, which was presented as having capacity for 7,000 spectators and up to 1,500 stalls.
It was noted that there were “no assurances” the new show facility property would be developed. Money has not changed hands for the land on which the expanded showgrounds would be built.
The next step in the process will come when the Village Planning and Zoning and Adjustment Board hears the proposals next month. The decision on whether rezoning and development can be approved will come from the Village Council, which is set to weigh in on the issue in August.
Much of the land involved in Wellington North is known as Equestrian Village, now used for the Global Dressage Festival and a derby field where hunters and jumpers compete. The other portion is White Birch Farm, which has two polo fields.
An attorney for Deeridge Farm, the home of the Jacobs family that is down the street from Equestrian Village, spoke in protest of the Wellington North plan. He told the committee that if it approved the Wellington North plan, it “would have no recourse to require them (the developers) to develop the equestrian facility” (at Wellington South) if they decided not to do so.
The developers include Mark Bellisimo of Wellington Equestrian Partners, branded as Wellington Lifestyle Partners, working in conjunction with the Tavistock Group’s Nexus Luxury Collection.
