The Wellington Equestrian Preserve Committee on Monday recommended the inclusion of a comprehensive map of the village’s horse trails in the equestrian element of Wellington’s comprehensive plan, even though the map remains incomplete.
Wellington Projects Manager Mike O’Dell said the map is an overview of the village’s bridle path system and that village staff would be looking to adopt a master pathway plan when it is complete.
“What I was trying to do was move the process forward,” O’Dell said. “As we move through this process, we are continuing to work on the equestrian trail plan. As you know, I am working with various owners securing easements and rights of way so we can continue to move this forward.”
He said that as development projects come forward, Wellington often requires infrastructure improvements, including equestrian trails. Having the map in the comp plan would make the process easier. “In our comprehensive plan, we have the basics of what you see here, but this plan is a little more detailed,” O’Dell said. “What I’m asking you for is a stopgap measure to essentially approve the ordinance, and then we’ll come back and revisit this in greater detail.”
O’Dell explained that the council might have to re-adopt the plan at some point in the future, but the ordinance will give them a starting point to work from.
“We would like to identify those improvements so that when we get developers coming in to do improvements, we can say, ‘Well, you’re doing this project, we need a culvert crossing,’ or ‘We need a trail improvement or a roadway crossing,’ so we can look at what those improvements are, and bring those into the planning process.”
Committee Member Houston Meigs said he did not understand why they were being asked to approve a document that was only tentatively written.
“I’d much rather address it when it is in completed form rather than do something that is neither here nor there,” he said, pointing out that dirt roads are part of the equestrian trail system but are not included in the map. “I think this map should include the roads that are dirt or gravel as part of that.”
Meigs noted that Saddle Trail Park and Rustic Ranches are communities with mostly dirt roads that double as horse trails. He added that connections are missing between many of the trails in such areas.
Growth Management Director Bob Basehart said the equestrian plan as part of the comprehensive plan is supposed to be updated periodically.
“It hasn’t been done in a long time, and we need to keep it as current as possible to meet the requirements that are in the plan itself,” Basehart said. “Secondly, Mike [O’Dell] is working very hard on acquiring equestrian easements and rights of way, and it’s kind of important that when that work is being done, he has the adopted plan to support the efforts that he is making in that direction.”
Committee Member Dr. Kristy Lund asked what the map before the panel represented, and O’Dell said it was from a 2010 equestrian trail plan that the committee had approved but was never adopted by ordinance.
Lund supported putting the map in the comp plan. “With this document, you can go to the developer and say there is an ordinance we have in place and you have to help provide some easements,” she said. “Otherwise the developer will say, ‘Well, that’s just a piece of paper.’ That’s how I understand it.”
O’Dell said the document is a starting point and that proposals for future watering areas and shelters have been included. Many of the trails are actually roads or rights of way, he said, but are the foundations of an equestrian trail system.
Meigs asked how approving the map would help him obtain additional easements.
O’Dell said that mostly, staff members are dealing with equestrians who understand that horse trails are a big asset, but added that they do encounter some property owners who are not so sympathetic. “Having this adopted gives the village a little more leverage,” he said.
Lund made a motion to recommend adoption of the ordinance and map, which carried 4-1, with Meigs opposed.
