Village to vote on contentious Winding Trails estates plan

Proposal headlines council discussion at meeting tonight.

Nearly six months ago, Wellington’s Bob Basehart predicted the Winding Trails project would be the most talked-about development proposal in the village since Mark Bellissimo’s controversial Equestrian Village project. He was right. The plan for nine equest r i a n e s t a t e s , i nc l udi ng barns, owner’s apartments and groom’s quarters, has been the talk of the town for several months, especially for residents in the near by L a ke f i e l d S out h and Aero Club communities, and it’s about to culminate in a long-awaited Village Council meeting at 7 p.m. today.

Ward Real Estate wants to build the project on the defunct Wanderers Club Executive Course, which the company purchased last year for $1 million from a t r u s t a s s o c i a t e d wi t h impri soned polo mogul John Goodman.

A big issue with the project is whether the stench and noise of the horses will be a problem.

The proposal has gone through the Equestrian Preserve Committee and a meeting with the Planning, Zoning and Adjustment Board. Both committees voted to recommend the project. Now it’s the council’s turn. Mayor Anne Gerwig said the issue is not complicated. She wants to know how much it will affect people in the neighboring communities and balance that with the rights of the developer.

“None of this is rocket science,” she said. “There is a community that lives in there that expected a golf course when they purchased (their homes).”

The problem is that the property will never be a golf course again, she added. The Par 3 course was sold separately from the main portion of the Wanderers Club and short of rejoining them, there isn’t room to operate a stand-alone golf course.

B u t V i c e M a y o r J o h n McGovern does have questions.

For him, one of the biggest keys will be the village’s power to regulate things like hours of operation and how many stalls can be rented.

Ward Real Estate has said those things will be monitored and won’t be an issue, but some residents have presented potential scenarios where the properties become full-fledged commercial operations with people coming and going during all hours.

McGovern doesn’t want anecdotal evidence from either side. He wants to know what power the village will have to make sure everyone follows the agreements.

“Anecdotal stories and assumptions aren’t help - ful in this type of decision because both sides have them and therefore it’s hard to put significant weight on those kinds of statements,” he said.

In any case, the residents should expect a long night. Gerwig has historically voted against extending meetings past 11 p.m. bec ause she thought previous councils weren’t using the time wisely and didn’t want important decisions to be made after the majority of residents go to bed. But she added, she’ll be surprised if this one is wrapped up by 11 p.m.

If council votes in favor of the project, it must get state approval before coming back to Wellington for a final vote in January.