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.

He adds, "The one remaining pastoral corridor into the city, and I think it's a bad place to put business and is not very logical."

Another of Crisp's concerns is zoning. He says the land off of Interstate 81 and Route 262 should stay agriculture like it was intended.

Crisp says, "There are ample proposals for other developments in other parts of the county where there has already been development."

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.

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.