Wellington tentatively OKs Bellissimo plans for luxury communities in equestrian preserve

WELLINGTON — The fear of Wellington losing its equestrian industry pushed Village Council members to give tentative approval late Thursday to Mark Bellissimo’s plan to build two luxury communities in the equestrian preserve.

The council voted 4-1 in favor of continuing negotiations with Wellington Lifestyle Partners. The projects, however, still need to go up for a second and final vote scheduled for January.

Council members in support of the projects said they believed the proposals by Wellington Lifestyle Partners are the village’s only opportunity to secure new and improved showgrounds.

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 preserve voters created in 2000 and allow a developer to build on it.

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“If I have a deal on the table that says you have to take out less than 1% of the equestrian preserve area land to guarantee the future success of the equestrian sport, I'm taking the deal,” council member Michael Drahos said. “That's what I believe puts us on the most stable ground, not just today, but 50 years into the future.”

Councilman Michael Napoleone was the only dissenter. He told the crowd he didn’t know enough details about the promised new showgrounds to agree to removing the 96 acres.

“This is the cart before the horse,” Napoleone said. “We really need to go through that process first. Find out what's being promised. Is it the right product? Is it sustainable? Does it make sense for the community? And if it does, then we revisit this.”

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Bellissimo’s team says the luxury communities are crucial to help pay for the new showgrounds and for Wellington to keep its stake in the equestrian industry as it faces competition from places such as Ocala and Sarasota.

Scores of village residents who spoke at meetings this week, however, say the projects would set a dangerous precedent for land to come out of the preserve and would dramatically transform the equine-based area.

The one thing they all agree on is that the privately-owned venues where competitions for the Winter Equestrian Festival are held need major improvements. The question before the council is: Can it do something to change that?

What would The Wellington communities bring to the equestrian preserve?

Thursday's meeting was the last of three this week where the council reviewed WLP’s plans for the communities, which represent Bellissimo's third attempt to develop land he owns in the equestrian preserve. It follows failed attempts in 2012 and 2016.

The Wellington North would be built on 96 acres at South Shore Boulevard and Pierson Road, on the sites of the current Equestrian Village and the White Birch Polo Club. It would feature 49 single-family homes, 47 townhomes and a private country club.

The 96 acres for The Wellington North are the ones Bellissimo has proposed removing from the preserve, which the village created in 2000 and where hotels, motels, condominiums, apartments and high-density housing are banned and commercial buildings are limited.

Doug McMahon, WLP’s CEO, said that if the council didn’t grant the land use changes for Wellington North, they would shut down Equestrian Village and pursue plans to build the six residences allowed in the property.

The Wellington South would bring 109 homes and five 4-acre farms to 290 undeveloped acres at South Shore and Lake Worth Road. Part of its application calls for changing the zoning on 114 acres to allow for the new equestrian showgrounds at the south end of the Wellington International property. It would replace Equestrian Village and include a stadium as tall as six stories.

During the meetings, McMahon, in exchange for the council’s approval, offered to donate 59 acres to the village for a park along Forest Hill Boulevard just west of the Mall at Wellington Green, instead of the 49 initially proposed. He also committed to giving $1 million to pave access to the land.

Leonard Feiwus, an attorney representing multiple families from the equestrian preserve, said his clients and the residents who showed up the meeting wearing “Vote No” shirts felt betrayed by most of the council members.

He added the blueprints WLP showed for the proposed horse center were a scaled-back version from plans on file with the village showing multiple phases of build-out.

“It’s gone from the original concept of trading land in the preserve to get a better horse show,” Fidus said. “Now it’s about giving up 96 acres in the preserve and two residential (communities) in the preserve to get a park that has nothing to do with horses outside of the preserve.”

McMahon said WLP was grateful for the outcome of Thursday's meeting and acknowledged the company had work to do before January.

“We have met with anyone who wanted to meet with us throughout this process and our modified plans reflect these exchanges with various members of the community," he said in a prepared statement, adding that WLP is being "held accountable to deliver a new showground before we build houses on our North Parcel.”

What the Wellington Village Council said about Mark Bellissimo's plans for the equestrian preserve

Thursday’s meeting was the first time council members could speak about Bellissimo’s plans since he unveiled them last fall.

Council member Drahos was the first to say he would vote in favor. He told the crowd that Bellissimo’s team was the village’s only option to secure expanded and improved showgrounds.

“We are running out of time,” Drahos said. “If we are determined to rely upon the past, we are destined to become an afterthought.”

Drahos said he would not allow for the dressage area to be torn down at Equestrian Village and risk the village losing the sport if the projects are not approved. He said dressage needed an economic driver to perpetuate its growth in the village.

“The suggestion that we allow dressage to shut down for one or two years, and see what happens after that, in my opinion, is an egregious dereliction of my duty,” Drahos said.

Drahos said he was elected by young professionals in Wellington and that he believed they supported the projects and the investments WLP would bring to the village. He said the 59-acre park would be a significant addition of green space that would benefit all 60,000 residents.

He said he believes WLP has a “long term stake in the game,” and the council should not pass on the opportunity because future proposals might not be as good.

“Do we want to be the equestrian capital of the world or not?” asked Drahos. “This is our opportunity tonight.”

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Council member Napoleone, the lone vote against the plan, agreed the village showgrounds needed major improvements and “a healthy horse show to stay the equestrian capital of the world.”

Napoleone said he supported the land use change of 114 acres to equestrian commercial to allow for the expansion of Wellington International. But, he felt WLP’s plans were not sufficient to warrant removal of 96 acres from the equestrian preserve.

“I still have too many questions about what that future horse show is going to be,” Napoleone said. “I don't have enough information about the capital, where the money's coming from, how this was going to happen tonight.”

He said the current conditions of approval only gets the village a part of the promised showgrounds, specifically the relocation of Equestrian Village’s facilities to allow for homes to be erected on the site.

Napoleone added he didn't feel comfortable with the state of the application because plans and conditions for the showgrounds were not evaluated by the Equestrian Preserve Committee.

The new showgrounds only exist in proposal form at this point. They are not part of Bellissimo’s application to build The Wellington communities, and the council will not act on it in January.

Wellington council members see Bellissimo's plan as only hope for new horse showgrounds

Council member Tanya Siskind told the crowd she would vote yes on first reading to continue negotiating with WLP in light of its promise to close Equestrian Village if the projects didn’t win approval of the council.

She said she fears “we lose dressage and our horse show is in jeopardy of never being able to expand” if that happened.

Siskind also believed the projects represent the village’s only opportunity to get new and improved showgrounds. She also favors having one equestrian venue that would consolidate all equine sports in one location.

“I don’t think that we will find anyone who wants to operate it or buy it if it gets landlocked, and there's no opportunity for it to expand,” Siskind said.

“If they don't do what they say they're going to do at the horse show grounds, then nothing happens,” she said. “So I don't see how we could deny it.”

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Council member John McGovern voted in favor but said his approval relied on a long list of conditions. He said he would vote no on second reading if they were not met.

“We need to make this better,” McGovern said. “With reservation, I vote yes to transmit and come back and fight to make it better 60 days from now.”

McGovern listed the conditions for his approval. He said WLP must:

• Have the new showgrounds built by 2028, instead of 2030, as McMahon suggested Thursday night.

• Operate Equestrian Village until the new showgrounds are built and fully operational.

• Present a real estimate for construction of the new showgrounds and financial commitments beyond $25 million to complete them.

• Disclose more information about its plans to build on the nearby Coach House property and its proposed Wellington Market, a mixed-use development just outside of the equestrian preserve that would include shops, restaurants and a boutique hotel.

• Build fewer homes in The Wellington South and install more screening and buffering for Mida Farms.

• Address all traffic issues, including access roads to the new showgrounds.

• Commit to 96 homes in The Wellington North and to change its zoning to Residential C from Residential D, which would allow a future owner to build over 400 homes there.

• The conditions of approval need to be “bulletproof.”

McGovern said the 59 acres are attractive but plans for a park would need more work to ensure it won’t burden taxpayers.

“I don’t want land and a tax bill to the residents to build it,” McGovern said.

Mayor Anne Gerwig said the village needs to consider WLP’s plans because there aren’t other people or companies proposing to finance and build a showgrounds expansion.

Gerwig told the crowd she didn't see another way to save Wellington’s equestrian industry without allowing investment to come in but said she understood it was a tough decision to remove 96 acres from the preserve.

To retain her approval, Gerwig said, she needs to know the conditions of approval that will hold WLP accountable for building new showgrounds before any homes are built on Wellington North. “I need to know that it's enforceable,” Geriwg said.

She also asked for WLP to commit to building the new showgrounds by 2028.

“I don't know how many times this opportunity falls in our lap,” Gerwig said.

Valentina Palm covers Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Loxahatchee and other western communities in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on Twitter at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Bellissimo housing plans for Wellington equestrian preserve advance