Horses or houses? Wellington will decide the fate of a new development proposal

A developer’s proposal. A string of support and opposition. And in this case, there’s also the issue of land for horses and their riders, too.

The Village Council of Wellington, dubbed the winter equestrian capital of the world, is poised to vote on a development proposal that’s drawing scrutiny due to its link to equestrian preserve land: If approved, residential units would rise on an area historically intended for the cultivation of equine use.

Wellington Lifestyle Partners is the applicant behind the proposal, and it includes executive vice president and partner Paige Bellissimo, the daughter of Mark Bellissimo, who is behind some of the most prominent equestrian venues in the country. The proposal contains two primary components called Wellington North and Wellington South.

Douglas McMahon, the CEO and managing partner of Wellington Lifestyle Partners, said the application is primarily about three different parcels, all of which reside in the village’s Equestrian Overlay Zoning District. “We are very attracted to Wellington because of its rich history,” McMahon said.

According to the village’s website, the Wellington Village Council created the district in 2003 to “regulate develop

ment and activities within Wellington’s Equestrian Preserve Area.” The zoning district is the “zoning regulatory framework” protecting the preserve area, which is about 9,000 acres.

“By identifying and encouraging specific uses that are consistent with the character of the equestrian community, Wellington can sustain its equestrian industry,” the Village Council wrote.

Wellington Lifestyle Partners is seeking to rezone about 96 acres from the equestrian preserve area to allow for the building of homes, townhomes and amenities.

This aspect of the application has a relationship with another one of the parcels, a 114-acre plot south of Wellington International, the village’s equestrian showgrounds, McMahon said.

Wellington Lifestyle Partners is asking for that land, the 114-acre plot — known as “Parcel F” — to be redesignated as “equestrian commercial” land so they may increase the capacity of the current equestrian showgrounds.

“It is zoned residential, and so one could build residences, estate homes there or small farms, and that’s very popular in Wellington,” McMahon told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “Particularly when you’re in close proximity to the showgrounds.”

A rezoning would allow the developers to upgrade the current equestrian facilities.

Bellissimo and McMahon wrote a letter to the Wellington Village Council on Oct. 3 seeking support of the plan.

“With the approval of our applications and land-use change requests, we have agreed to build a new Derby field and Dressage facilities on our land connected to Wellington International, effectively completing the first phase of a new Showgrounds and the doubling of Wellington’s Showgrounds capacity in the years to come,” they wrote.

In Wellington South, McMahon said they are proposing to build 114 homes, including five 4-acre farms along with 109 custom home lots.

Then, in Wellington North, McMahon said they are requesting to develop up to 96 residential units, which would include 48 custom home lots and up to 48 townhomes. Nearly a year ago, their proposal included a request for at least 250 units, so 96 units is a “relatively modest” figure, comparatively, McMahon said.

The reduction came after what McMahon said was an “emotional reaction” from people who believe this plan “is not right for Wellington,” a belief he said was induced mainly by the original proposal of luxury condominium buildings in the north parcel.

“This plan is better for Wellington because we could build the residential units on parcel F today, but that wouldn’t allow the showgrounds to expand in the best place where it makes the most sense for a new facility to be built,” Paige Bellissimo told the Sun Sentinel. “None of these lands are a conservation area. I think that’s what’s really confusing is the equestrian preserve sounds like it’s some wildlife for conservation area, and it’s not, it’s an overlay zoning district.”

The developers are also proposing to build a walkable “Main Street” on 17 acres of land on South Shore Boulevard that will feature a luxury boutique hotel, six restaurants and about 24 shops along with office space and a town park.

Despite the modifications, many residents and groups are still opposed. One of those groups is “Horses Not Houses,” which launched a webpage and petition drawing thousands of signatures.

The campaign says removing land from the equestrian preserve will not expand and improve the equestrian facilities “as advertised.” Rather, the group believes the change will increase traffic congestion by the potential introduction of new housing and retail and may invite other landowners to request other parts of the preserve to be rezoned.

Paul Owens, president of 1000 Friends of Florida, expressed a similar fear in a letter written to the Wellington Village Council on Sept. 11.

“The Equestrian Preserve Area is a gem of thoughtful planning to protect rural lifestyles in an area of the state that is facing incredible growth pressures,” Owens wrote. “Decision makers in Wellington need to look no further than the Agricultural Reserve to your south to see how compromises, deal-making, and negotiating away the protection promised for agricultural land can be an irreversible trend that builds on the precedent of short-sighted planning decisions.”

Owens is referring to a separate development proposal. If approved, that plan would exchange land from inside the county’s Agricultural Reserve for land outside of it.

Like the equestrian preserve rezoning proposal, this type of land swap has never been done before. “This is a jewel of Florida, and they want to take advantage of it,” said Marc Kasowitz, an attorney who serves as counsel for the Coalition to Protect the Equestrian Preserve.

But McMahon and Paige Bellissimo said the proposal provides a number of benefits to the area, including an injection of funds into the local infrastructure and doubling Wellington’s showground capacity without doubling the number of horses, so everyone will have more space.

“We want a thriving horse sport industry in Wellington,” McMahon said. “That’s what attracted us to this market in the first place.”

The revised proposal will go before the Wellington Village Council for what may be three meetings beginning on Tuesday evening. The Village Council will vote to either approve or deny the landuse changes.