Wellington
The projects would require Wellington to do something it never has done before: remove land, in this case 96 acres, from the 9,000-acre equestrian preserve.
Bellissimo’s team has said it will close Equestrian Village if Wellington rejects its plans, a move that could local disrupt dressage competitions.
It says the homes are needed to help pay for the new showgrounds, which it says is essential to competing with equestrian complexes in other parts of Florida.
Members of the Coalition to Protect Wellington and residents form the Equestrian Club Estates began the recall effort this week against the four council members who voted in November to approve the proposals on first reading: Anne Gerwig, Michael Drahos, John McGovern and Michael Drahos.
The evening gathering this week drew residents from Equestrian Club Estates, which would be next to the proposed showgrounds, and influential names from the equestrian preserve such as Victoria McCullough.
Brennan said the village mayor and three council members disregarded the hundreds of residents who attended three days of public meetings in November to voice their concerns on what she considers the biggest decision in the village’s history.
“It didn’t matter. It meant nothing,”
Brennan said. “This is a testament to how this community feels about what they are doing.”
Gerwig told The Palm Beach Post she didn’t believe the group’s concerns met the requirements for a recall and that she and Drahos will be out of office before the process is completed. Term limits will end their service on the council. The terms of McGovern and Siskind end in 2026.
Gerwig said the council still has to give a final and second approval for the projects in meetings scheduled to start on Jan. 23.
“Despite her assertion, simply disagreeing with Ms. Brennan on an issue does not amount to neglect of duty, malfeasance, or misfeasance, as stated in the recall statute,” Gerwig said. Attempts to reach the other council members were not immediately successful.
The process of putting a recall to voters has serval steps and could take weeks to complete. Opponents need to gather signatures equal to 5% of the village’s voting population, which is 2,294. Then, they need to get 15% or 6,882 signatures, of all voters before it goes up on a ballot for residents to vote.
George Unger, who has lived in Wellington for over 20 years, said the projects would set a dangerous precedent for further development in the equestrian preserve established in 2002.
“They are trying to carve out a piece of our heart,” Unger said. “You can never get that back.”
Unger said he is afraid the approval of Bellissimo’s proposal will weaken all the protections set for the area that village residents overwhelmingly voted in 2016 to strengthen by preventing the construction of hotels, motels, condos and apartments within the area.
“They are trying to commercialize the preserve,” Unger said. “We’ve already voted.”
Members of the Coalition to Protect Wellington also said the village council has not made Wellington Lifestyle Partners answer crucial questions about the project such as:
Who owns the land of the proposed developments?
How will the homes support the new horse showgrounds?
Where will the money to pay for the new expanded showgrounds come from?
Who will develop and operate the expanded showgrounds?
Karin Bradeen, who moved to Wellington in 2020, said the proposed developments would destroy the equestrian preserve’s characteristic quiet, lowrise, low-density development that mostly benefits horses.
“It changes everything,” Brandeen said. “And, the horses don’t have a voice to talk.”
“We want to save the preserve for future generations,” Brandeen added.
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