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WELLINGTON — Mark Bellissimo’s team has won the blessing of the village’s equestrian board for its proposed new showgrounds next to Wellington International.

Wellington’s Equestrian Preserve Committee voted 4-1 late Thursday that the project, which would replace the longtime venue of Equestrian Village, would comply with village code. It also imposed several conditions on its construction, including the doubling the number of permanent stables to 440.

Joan Sloan, the committee’s new chair, said throughout the meeting that the new horse center proposed by Wellington Lifestyle Partners needed to offer better amenities for horses, riders and visitors than those available in Wellington.

“For us to compete on the world stage and to continue to be the destination, we have to offer up more stables in these new showgrounds,” Sloan said.

The vote clears the way for Wellington Lifestyle Partners to begin planning the key part of its proposal for the village’s 9,000-acre equestrian preserve. The plan would bring two luxury communities with 207 residences to the area, where development is restricted. It also required the village to do something it never had before, remove 96 acres from its preserve, to allow for the construction of one of the communities, known as The Wellington North.

The village’s Planning Zoning and

Adjustments board will review the project’s compatibility determination on Feb. 28 and issue recommendations for the council to consider for its final vote scheduled for March 5.

Wellington Lifestyle Partners will build the new showgrounds on 144 acres that sit below Wellington International on the northwest corner of South Shore Boulevard and 40th Street South, also known as Gracida Street.

Doug McMahon and Paige Bellissimo, who are leading the project for WLP,