ISLE OF WIGHT—The Isle of Wight County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday formed a committee of county planners, elected officials and Town of Windsor officials to study the Windsor Development Service District with the intent of building a major national distribution center to handle the importation of goods coming through the port of Virginia.

The committee was formed to detail how a 2,748-acre industrial park that includes the Shirley T. Holland Commerce Park will impact the surrounding communities, one of which is Windsor. The group will examine potential effects on residential communities and schools, as well as consider transportation issues.

In the current plan, mainly agricultural and forestry land will be displaced, said Director of Planning and Zoning Beverly Walkup.

She also said 20 houses would be directly affected if plans advance.

The Intermodal Park, which is included in a portion of the county’s Comprehensive Plan, is expected to be a 20- to 25-year project and eventually employ 20,000.

The initial plan calls for a cluster of warehouses to be built, and utilize access to Route 58, the CSX Rail Line and the Norfolk Southern mainline. Development of Route 460 would also be planned to provide access to interstate highways.

The other changes to the Comprehensive Plan were presented to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday. Changes include a 1,680-acre expansion of the Windsor Development Service District, as well updating the land use designation to &uot;planned industrial.&uot;

&uot;I’m not sure if I’m ready for that because I don’t understand the impact,&uot; said Phillip Bradshaw, supervisor for the Carrsville District.

The Intermodal park is still in the planning stages.

Some of the land needed has not been purchased by the county, and a portion of the design includes land that spills over the City of Suffolk boundary.

More specific information will be presented to the Board of Supervisors on Aug. 7. Recommendations by the Planning and Zoning Committee for the Intermodal Committee will also be made at the next Board of Supervisors meeting.