The Jacobs
are getting slammed from all corners for their hazardous traffic demands. Below
is an editorial from the Palm Beach Post.
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Palm Beach Post Editorial:
Approve Bellissimo’s applications and end the Wellington Horse War.
Posted: 8:24 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 21, 2013
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Wellington’s council could
end one of the most contentious periods in the village’s history tonight by
giving final approval to developer Mark Bellissimo’s dressage complex in the
equestrian preserve. The billionaire Jacobs family, though, has asked for changes
that some horse owners say will inconvenience them for no good reason.
The council will consider
two applications from Mr. Bellissimo that would allow him to hold equestrian
events year-round in his facility at Pierson Road and South Shore Boulevard.
The applications are the culmination of four months of discussions between Mr.
Bellissimo’s team and village staff since the council approved a settlement in
June that put the developer’s lawsuits against the village on hold while he
pursued the new approvals.
Mr. Bellissimo sued
Wellington after Mayor Bob Margolis and councilors John Greene and Matt Wilhite
voted to revoke, on a technicality, permits he received from a previous council
to operate dressage. The three campaigned in 2012 against the developer’s plans
to build an $80 million commercial equestrian village with a hotel, but
supported the dressage component. The Jacobs family, which owns an estate near
the equestrian site, opposed the project and spent more than $500,000 to
support Messrs. Margolis, Greene and Wilhite.
The new plan does not
include any of the commercial aspects residents found objectionable. The
Planning Zoning and Advisory Board has approved the applications, as has the
Equestrian Preserve Committee. Village staff has recommended that the council
approve the applications, with requirements that include Mr. Bellissimo paying
for a westbound left turning lane on Pierson Road.
Members of the Jacobs
family object to the turning lane and want South Shore Boulevard designated as
the primary entrance to the site. They also do not want left turning lanes on
the eastbound side of the road.
“They don’t want to expand
the two-lane road,” said Mat Forrest, executive director of the Wellington
Equestrian Preservation Alliance and a local spokesman for the Jacobs family.
“It’s a rural equestrian area. It’s against what most people in the equestrian
preserve want.”
While the Jacobses approve
of Mr. Bellissimos’ plans, Mr. Forrest said, expanding the road to add the
turning lane would lead to more traffic. He admits, though, that a traffic
study by Mr. Bellissimo’s team says only about 7 percent of cars would use
Pierson Road.
Planning and Development
Services Director Tim Stillings said staff recommended the turning lane, to
alleviate traffic on South Shore Boulevard. Mr. Bellissimo said it would be
cheaper for him to not pay for the turning lane, but he is willing to do so for
safety.
Equestrians who live in the
area say not being able to turn left from Pierson would force them to bring
their horse trailers a significant distance from the property to make a U-turn
to gain access, which would be difficult and unnecessary.
It’s hard to see the
Jacobs’ family request as anything other than an attempt to keep traffic off
Pierson Road and as far as possible from their estate. That’s not a good reason
for the council to go against staff recommendations. The council should approve
the applications and finally end this horse saga.
Rhonda Swan
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