During the 1950's, Charles Oliver Wellington bought 18,000 acres of swampland - land that would eventually become known as the Village of Wellington. Wellington began as a Planned Unit Development (PUD) and was approved by Palm Beach County in 1972. Wellington's first polo match was played in the winter of 1979; within just a few years, Wellington exploded onto the equestrian scene, becoming an international destination and the host of the coveted United States Polo Association World Cup. As polo expanded in Wellington, so did hunter, jumper and dressage competitions. Just two decades after its first polo match, Wellington became home to the Olympic Trials for the U.S. Equestrian Show Jumping Team as well as the Winter Equestrian Festival.Wellington's Equestrian Preserve Area (EPA) was first included in Wellington's Comprehensive Plan in 2000, and an Equestrian Overlay Zoning District (EOZD) was adopted to implement unique zoning regulations for neighborhoods within the EPA.
The EOZD was adopted by the Village Council on September 9, 2003 and is known as Ordinance 2003-02.