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Wellington board recommends reclassifying 363-acre preserve to conservation to support water-quality goals
Summary
The Planning, Zoning, and Adjustment Board on April 16 unanimously recommended approval of ordinance 2025-06 to change the future land-use designation of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Preserve (Section 24) from Palm Beach County RR-10 to Wellington Conservation to formalize protection and improve eligibility for certain grants.
The Planning, Zoning, and Adjustment Board on April 16 recommended approval of ordinance 2025-06, a Village-initiated comprehensive plan amendment to redesignate the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Preserve (Section 24) from Palm Beach County RR-10 to the Village of Wellington's Conservation land-use category.
"Before you today is ordinance number 2025-06, a comprehensive plan amendment for the Wellington Environmental Preserve," said Christian Santa Gonzalez, planner for the Village of Wellington. He said the subject property at 3491 Flying Cow Ranch Road consists of 363 acres used for passive recreation and environmental restoration, and that Wellington purchased the preserve to reduce phosphorus levels and provide filtration for stormwater before discharge to the C-51 Canal and downstream treatment areas.
Staff told the board the preserve includes existing amenities: a 3.6-mile equestrian bridle trail, paved multiuse pathways with boardwalks, educational areas and a six-story observation tower. The preserve was previously recognized as the 2010 Project of the Year by the Palm Beach County chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers, staff noted.
Gonzalez said the village also acquired an adjacent 45-acre Moncada parcel in late 2021; the council previously assigned that parcel a conservation land-use designation in May 2023. The comprehensive plan amendment would place the entire Section 24 site under Wellington's Conservation designation so the whole site is governed by the village's land-use policies and becomes eligible for some grant programs that require a conservation designation.
Board members asked clarifying questions about grant eligibility and operations. One member asked whether grants would cover ongoing maintenance; staff replied that "maintenance isn't usually something that the grants cover" and that most grants tend to fund capital improvements or system expansions rather than routine upkeep. Another member asked whether the preserve actually receives pumped surface water from other collection basins; staff confirmed pumps move basin water into the impoundment area and then north to the C-51 Canal and onward to regional treatment (including STA-1 East) under the village's arrangement with the South Florida Water Management District.
The board opened public comment and received none. A motion to recommend approval of ordinance 2025-06 carried unanimously.
What happens next: The board's recommendation will be forwarded to the Wellington Council for final action. Staff entered the report into the record; no summary timeline for council consideration was presented at the meeting.
