Board of Supervisors hear concerns on Augusta Market Place

On Tuesday, Crisp attended the county board of supervisors workshop unveiling the latest plans for the project including a rough blueprint of shops, restaurants, and a 20-pump gas station.

The Augusta Marketplace is a step closer to becoming a reality, but it has Valley residents, like William Crisp, saying they don't like the idea.

Crisp says, "If the first thing they see is a big smoke filled auto plaza, I doubt that they are going to write home and say this is a must see location."

Crisp is worried the project will be an eyesore for tourists and essentially ruin the agricultural and historical vibe of the county and area cities.

Supervisor Chair Larry Howdyshell says, "This is a large project and we're going to have to be very patient with how we look at things and be sure we do it right."

While there is still work to be done, Howdyshell says the project doesn't necessarily mean compromised farmland.

He says, "These opportunities don't come along that often and we need to do a serious evaluation of them."

The next step for developers is to get approval to rezone the agriculture area to commercial.

See initial story here