We cannot place wrought iron gates, no matter how beautiful, across the roads leading into our county, nor do we want to. Efird is asking Gallis to do what few, if any, planners have done before. He doesn't want the county to look like Union or Cabarrus along the Mecklenburg line. On the surface, this suburban growth outside Charlotte appears to be prosperity at its best. But despite explosive economic development, these counties struggle to find money to build new schools.
Traffic is horrendous.
In time, infrastructure, even if installed by developers, will need repairs and that will add to the local tax burdens. This is a lot for a small county. But if he can answer Efird's question, then no amount of money is too much to pay. Efird is asking for an imaginative plan, something that breaks new ground in urban development. Something that recognizes that Stanly will never attract tourists away from the urban crescent from Charlotte to Raleigh if it loses the one thing it has-its heritage, its pristine beauty, its agriculture.