At first blush, the thought of having a brand new planned community that would basically be self-sustained sounds intriguing.

We ourselves went to the official announcement one evening a while back in regards to the Four A Development company’s plans to develop a 308-acre parcel of land that is located directly across Iris Drive from LongHorn Steakhouse and stretches over a wooded, and rocky, area to Parker Road. And we have to admit — we were caught up in the excitement of it all.

We have no doubt that the folks who are planning this are capable of building a first class development, but now we have concerns that Rockdale does not have the means nor the facilities to support such a massive project.

The 4 A developers have held open meetings recently to allow local residents to express their concerns. They have found that there are plenty of concerns, and not just by folks who might have their property impacted, but also by community leaders who have some of the same concerns we do.

We urge our elected officials to listen very carefully to what the citizens of our community are saying.

We are not in any way against new growth in our city and county because it would benefit us for sure. What we do urge is caution before we bring in such a big project. Let’s make sure we have the resources to sustain it.