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Some prominent Windsor leaders and residents took time to share their reactions to the Isle of Wight County Board of Supervisors’ 3-2 votes on March 20 that gave approval to the Tidewater Logistics Center (TLC) multi-warehouse complex slated for land on the outskirts of Windsor.

Nine months earlier, the board had rejected a denser version of the project that had called for five warehouses totaling 1.2 million square feet.

The revised conceptual plans feature four warehouses totaling 726,000 square feet and a 14.9-acre public park with walking trails where the fifth warehouse would have been. The revised plans also increase the height of a 60-foot-wide landscape berm from six feet to nine feet. The berm buffers the complex from the adjacent Keaton Avenue and Lovers Lane neighborhoods in Windsor. A 10-foot-tall sound wall sits atop the berm.

Windsor Town Councilman Marlin W. Sharp, who has been a vocal opponent of the TLC in its proposed location, was significantly displeased with the Board of Supervisors’ March 20 decisions.

“As long as Smithfield and Carrollton have three supervisors and the southern part of the county have only two, Windsor is going to get shafted!” he stated.

Vice Chairman and District 3 Supervisor Rudolph Jefferson, District 1 Supervisor Renee K. Rountree and District 2 Supervisor Thomas J. Distefano voted in favor of both the requested comprehensive plan amendment and the application for industrial rezoning that paved the way for the TLC. Voting against both requests were Board Chairman and District 5 Supervisor Don G. Rosie II and District 4 Supervisor Joel C. Acree.

Sharp also said that a couple of the supervisors commented that they represent the entire county, and he took great issue with these statements.

“The three northern supervisors couldn’t care less about this part of the county, as long as their districts are protected,” he said.

Former Windsor Mayor Glyn T. Willis, who lives on Lovers Lane, has also been a vocal opponent of the TLC in its proposed location.

In a statement shared Thursday, March 27, Willis said, “The lack of knowledge and concern regarding the impact of warehouses and industrial facilities on neighborhoods and communities is disappointing to say the least. County staff show no regard for citizens as they provide no information to the supervisors on health, quality of life and environmental impacts. It is all about the money.”

Windsor Mayor George Stubbs has indicated in the past that he has never stated his opposition to the TLC in principle; he was just opposed to the development the way it was originally presented.

In comments shared on Wednesday, March 26, Stubbs opened by saying, “I’m sure there are several Windsor-based folks that disagree with the approval of the Tidewater Logistics Center by the IOW County Board of Supervisors (BOS).”

He mentioned how some opponents spoke at the supervisors’ March 20 meeting, including Willis, and he noted that they were supported by the BOS chair, Rosie.

“I have only received one email, thus far, from a resident expressing their disappointment that BOS voted 3-2 in favor of the development,” Stubbs said. “I’m confident there are others. I understand there is a letter to the Reader Forum of The Smithfield Times that has been published that points at me not standing behind my constituents. So be it; someone has to be the whipping boy, guess I’m it.”

He said he has recently had the following relayed to him: “Leadership is tough at times. Relationships are strained and tested. Communication and mutual respect despite differences is often the key. If you accept the call to leadership you must be willing to be misunderstood, criticized, opposed, accused and even rejected.”

Reacting to these comments, he said, “So true, I’ve experienced all of the above.”

He said, “When the TLC development was first proposed, I stated I was not opposed to the development; changes were needed in reference to the impact the development would have, as presented, on the residents of Lovers Lane and Keaton Avenue.

“After all the meetings, discussions with the developer, they listened, and the design/layout of the development was redesigned as had been discussed,” he continued. “When the new design was presented to the IOW planning commissioners, they recommended approval, and IOW Board of Supervisors approved the development.”

In conclusion, Stubbs shared a statement that was relayed to him by a past council member: “If you never make anyone mad, you are not doing your job. Don’t worry about what they say. They just want to be heard.”