Mark Bellissimo
Matt Morgan- Palm Beach Post Staff Writer is reporting………In his vision of making Wellington the equestrian capital of the world, billionaire developer Mark Bellissimo has continuously been rebuffed when it comes to building hotels, motels, condo-hotels and apartments.
But now, Bellissimo thinks he has a way around that blockade.
In a game of semantics, the equestrian developer wants to remove his properties — in name only — from the equestrian preserve, creating a new zoning district that would allow hotels and other commercial development.
“This has to be an industry, not a boutique horse show,” he said.
Less than a year ago, the voters convincingly passed a charter amendment barring commercial development from the preserve. Bellissimo and rival billionaire Jeremy Jacobs spent millions trying to sway voters on the referendum.
Bellissimo’s timetable is fast — he is planning to submit a proposal to make the change, and he wants a vote by the last meeting in February.
“I think this is probably one of the most significant moments in Wellington’s equestrian history,” he said.
But the Jacobs family, who hasn’t seen the proposal yet, isn’t keen on the plan that would essentially reverse its work to keep major development out of the preserve.
“Just over nine months ago, Wellington’s citizens delivered a clear mandate to strengthen and permanently protect — not shrink or weaken — Wellington’s Equestrian Preserve,” Lou Jacbos, Jeremy’s son, said in a statement. “They voted overwhelmingly to protect the preserve’s boundaries and to prohibit hotels. Any effort to change the boundaries or build hotels within the preserve would be strikingly at odds with the preserve’s purpose, and contrary to the will of Wellington’s residents.”
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