WELLINGTON, Fla. — Nearly 7,000 residents of the Arden community could soon find themselves living in Wellington, without moving an inch.
Arden is currently located in unincorporated Palm Beach County, but Wellington is exploring annexing the community, along with other nearby properties, as part of a broader land use agreement.
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For weeks, Wellington has tried to annex land along Southern Boulevard. The county has already approved a plan for more than 500 homes, called Artistry Lakes, once development begins.
The county opposes annexation, arguing the land isn't urban enough and isn't connected to Wellington, so it doesn't meet legal requirements.
Now, both sides are exploring a new interlocal service boundary agreement, which was discussed at Thursday night's meeting.
Wellington Village Manager Jim Barnes said the agreement is designed to help local governments work together on a range of issues before they become problems.
"It is a way that local governments can work with each other, not only specific to annexation, but really covering a host of other issues, whether it's traffic, whether it's service provision, water and sewer, what have you. Anything related to that land use process and allows local governments to work collaboratively to try and address issues in advance of those issues happening," Barnes said.
The agreement also looks "to facilitate the future annexation of Artistry Lakes and other adjacent property."
Those other properties — Arden, with nearly 7,000 residents, and the proposed site for a hyperscale AI data center known as Project Tango — represent more land than Wellington originally wanted to annex.
Arden resident Ben Brown said the timing of the push is interesting and that he's hearing mixed reactions from neighbors.
"People are concerned about the property tax value, but also understand that the services are better out there in Wellington, even the reputation is very well known," Brown said.
Barnes said Project Tango did not factor into the agreement, but it is something the village is monitoring.
On the question of services, Barnes said most, including the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and fire rescue, wouldn't change significantly if the properties are annexed.
"The village of Wellington has a higher level of service than the adjacent unincorporated area. So generally speaking, any annexed properties would benefit from that enhanced level of service that the village provides," Barnes said.
Discussions about the future of these properties are still underway — something Brown and other Arden residents say they'll be keeping a close eye on.
"I think it's a lot more information we need to find out, but something that's very interesting," Brown said.
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