CARRSVILLE—A group of more than 60 Isle of Wight County citizens gathered this week at Carrsville Elementary School to make suggestions regarding their hopes and plans for the Route 58 Business corridor from the Franklin line to Holland.

In the first of a series of public meetings scheduled to culminate in August with a final plan for presentation to the county’s Planning Commission, Isle of Wight consultants and Planning Department officials moderated a discussion on potential economic development and land use along the corridor.

Officials from Charlottesville-based Renaissance Planning Group reviewed background data about economics, land use and transportation in the corridor and gave those attending maps and markers so they could highlight the sites that should be protected and the areas they wished to be improved along the road.

Consultants will hold another public input session late in the spring to get input on implementing the suggestions made at Tuesday’s meeting, and they hope in August to have a final plan they can present to the Planning Commission.

If approved, that plan would be submitted for endorsement by the Board of Supervisors. It then would be used to guide development along Business Route 58 from Franklin to Suffolk.

The Route 58 corridor is located within Isle of Wight’s secondary growth market, consultant Tom Flynn of Thomas Point Associates told those attending the meeting. As industrial and residential development concentrates in Suffolk and northern Isle of Wight, he said, the southern portion of the county is likely to remain rural in the near term.

Other factors likely to contribute to that status are the limited availability of water and sewer service , the lack of population to support retail development, low traffic levels, commercial competition from Franklin’s Armory Drive and the odor from International Paper’s mill.

But things could change as the population grows and as development expands along Route 460 and in the city of Suffolk, he said.

When it does, the Route 58 corridor has some definite advantages from the perspective of market potential. With many large properties (100 or more acres) for developers to choose from; with its close proximity to rail service, an airport and good roads; and with its higher elevation that downtown Franklin, southern Isle of Wight could become a prime location for developers.

The area’s transportation features, alone, would be attractive to companies looking to develop port-related cargo transfer stations, Flynn said, noting that planned developments around Windsor would not fully support the burgeoning industry.

He said county officials would be well-served by finding area in southern Isle of Wight to designate as the county’s second industrial park.

Also, he said, &uot;residential development on a big scale is potentially a part of your future, if you want it.&uot;

Flynn said that many Route 58 corridor residents who were surveyed for the demographic and market study spoke of their desire for nearby retail businesses, especially a grocery store. But the study shows some serious barriers to significant retail development in southern Isle of Wight, at least in the near future.

Among the most important considerations, he explained, are population density and market competition.

The area’s relatively small population would not support significant retail investment, he said, and competition with businesses, including grocery stores, along Franklin’s Armory Drive would limit the interest of retail developers.

&uot;The future of retail activity in the corridor will depend largely on population growth,&uot; his report stated.

Following Tuesday’s meeting Isle of Wight’s consultants and planners intended to collect the maps on which those attending had made their suggestions for the future and compile the results for deeper discussion during the next meeting.