WINTER HAVEN - State planners have taken steps to slow the approval of a massive 1,250-acre CSX rail hub and distribution center planned for southeast Winter Haven.

The hub is the backbone of a half-billion-dollar deal put together last year by former Gov. Jeb Bush's administration that would reorganize freight rail traffic throughout the state and bring commuter rail to the Orlando area.

It's unclear what that will mean for the Orlando project, but CSX spokesman Gary Sease said Wednesday that the facility is 'a necessary part of the overall plan.'

The Port of Tampa also has expressed interest in tapping into the hub and the burgeoning Central Florida distribution industry.

Advocates of the proposed Heartland Parkway have cited the CSX hub as one reason to build the highway, which would tie into the new facility.

Now, the state's change of mind could delay the project for years.

The center's approval process had moved forward rapidly since plans for the 1,250-acre complex were announced publicly in January 2006. The land is owned by Winter Haven and would be purchased by CSX. An eager Winter Haven City Commission unanimously approved zoning for its first phase in August.

Approval for a development of this size and intensity typically takes years. By splitting the project into two pieces, however, CSX and Winter Haven had avoided time-consuming regional reviews.

The first piece is the new hub, which is the center's engine. CSX claimed it fell just below the 320-acre threshold that would make it a 'development of regional impact,' or DRI, triggering an extensive multiagency review process. Based on the acreage of the first phase, CSX asked to be 'cleared' of regional status. The state Department of Community Affairs obliged in a letter dated April 12, 2006, and again last month.

In recent weeks, however, opposition to the speed of the approval had grown among other Polk governments, including the Polk County Commission and Lake Wales City Commission, both of which sent letters to DCA asking it to reconsider its DRI clearance.

That effort apparently paid off. Information from those contacts with local governments is what prompted the revocation of clearance, rather than any formal legal challenge, said Jon Peck, a DCA spokesman.

The specific issues DCA cited are 20 additional acres purchased for a highway access road for the first phase and a map produced by CSX showing a 930-acre phase two adjacent to the hub.

CSX and Winter Haven officials say they hid nothing from the state. In a statement, Winter Haven City Manager David Greene noted that the previous requests for DRI clearance addressed both of those issues.

'It is DCA's call as to whether a DRI is necessary under the factual circumstances. DCA has determined that one is required,' Greene said. 'Winter Haven supports that and will work cooperatively with all concerned as we go through the process.'

Reporter Billy Townsend can be reached at (863) 284-1409 or wtownsend@tampatrib.com.