Wellington
They named Judith Sloan, a Deloitte partner and an amateur rider, and Annabelle Garrett, a hedge fund manager and owner of the Postage Stamp Farm polo team, to replace their positions.
A developer has never requested either the removal or recusal of a board member in Wellington’s history, Cohen said. She added that Bellissimo’s team came close during the 2012 proposals to build on Equestrian Village. The plan for The Wellington communities marked Bellissimo’s third effort to build in the preserve.
Cleveland, who served as the equestrian committee’s chair since 2016, spoke in front of the council during the November and January meetings for The Wellington North and South as a representative for Lillian Crawford, an interested party who owns property in the equestrian preserve.
Cleveland urged council members to reject the projects because they required the removal of 96 acres from the equestrian preserve, saying the move had never happened before and would set a dangerous precedent for development in the 9,000-acre area.
She also advocated for the creation of a seat in the Village Council to represent equestrian preserve residents.
“I have been outspoken throughout the process against removal of 96 acres from the Preserve as I am convinced that it opens the door to more development applications which will request more land be removed from the Preserve,” Cleveland wrote in a prepared statement.
Arellano, who has served two separate terms on the equestrian board, spoke during public comment at the November meetings and also warned the council that the approval would weaken protections set for the equestrian preserve, created in 2001.
According to village code, if a member of a committee or board finds that their private or personal interests are involved in a matter coming before the board, they must recuse themselves from participating. Furthermore, no member shall appear before that board or committee or Wellington’s council as an agent or attorney for any person.
McGovern said in a Feb. 9 letter to Cleveland he couldn’t find an alternate interpretation to the village’s code and removed her to avoid exposing Wellington to lawsuits.
“That’s why the decision that I am announcing herein is so hard, but seemingly this is a week of hard decisions,” McGovern wrote.
Drahos called Arellano on Friday to announce his removal, citing he had spoken against the residential projects. Arellano said, however, that he had not received an official letter of removal as of Monday, Feb. 12, three days before the scheduled meeting.
Cleveland and Arellano told The Palm Beach Post the decision dumfounded them.
They said the village advised them not to speak on The Wellington North and South projects, which together would bring 203 residences to the area, until the equestrian committee made its recommendation on the project last year. They also questioned why the decisions to remove them were made days before the equestrian board’s scheduled meeting this week, given their earlier participation in the meetings.
On Dec. 6, after Cleveland, Arellano and other board members had spoken against the projects in the first round of meetings in November, Cohen sent them a letter warning they could be asked to recuse themselves from reviewing
“Purging me from the Equestrian Preserve Committee paves the way for speedy passage of horse show plans, speedy being the important word as the developers along with the Council are determined to have the entire package of applications approved before any new Councilmembers are elected March 19.” other related applications if they didn’t maintain impartiality toward Bellissimo’s proposals.
Cleveland said she had submitted the paperwork to represent an interested party ahead of the November meetings and that Cohen did not advise her that doing so would violate village rules. Arellano said he didn’t understand the reasoning behind his removal.
Cleveland added she participated in talks last month with council members and Wellington Lifestyle Partners representatives to draft the conditions of approval for the new showgrounds that the council ultimately approved with the residential applications last week.
“That should have made my capacity for impartiality quite clear,” Cleveland wrote. “Nevertheless, the applicant demanded that another member and I be removed, and the Village complied.”
The village’s Equestrian Preserve Committee is scheduled to review and vote on Thursday, Feb. 15 on a compatibility determination for the new showgrounds, which would be built on 144 acres on the corner of South Shore Boulevard and 40th Street South.
It would replace the dressage, hunter and jumper facilities that are in Equestrian Village, which Bellissimo’s team planned to close if the village rejected its plans for The Wellingtons, and would be an expansion of the Wellington International campus.
The compatibility determination will evaluate how the venue is built and operated rather than what specific equestrian facilities will be built.
Wellington Lifestyle Partners said in its justification statement the new showgrounds will help Wellington maintain its stake in the equestrian industry amid competition from equestrian centers near Sarasota and Ocala.
It added that the venue will provide a new and improved experience for horses, riders, support staff and spectators, who would enjoy luxury boxes and other amenities. It would have “more of a park-like feel” than Equestrian Village and be “a safer, and a less congested sports venue than the existing showgrounds,” the statement said.
Cleveland said her and Arellano’s removal from the equestrian board takes away their crucial expertise on Wellington’s equestrian matters and their years of experience as volunteers for the committee.
“Purging me from the Equestrian Preserve Committee paves the way for speedy passage of horse show plans, speedy being the important word as the developers along with the Council are determined to have the entire package of applications approved before any new Councilmembers are elected March 19,” Cleveland wrote.
Cleveland said the village’s vetting process of the residential and showground applications by Wellington Lifestyle Partners was rushed and done backward.
“These are bad times for Wellington,” Cleveland wrote. “The community was overwhelmingly opposed to the applications. Despite this, the elected Councilmembers approved development in the Preserve saying they would ‘save us from ourselves’. The truth is that Wellington needs saving from its elected representatives.”