Thank goodness for East Innes Street businesses

This is in response to Diane Greene’s recent comment, “So many businesses have come here, and their CEOs will not live here because they think Salisbury looks like East Innes Street.”

East Innes Street offers a variety of food services and is very convenient for those that have limited time for lunch. East Innes Street might account for more than 25 percent of our sales taxes and probably more than 20 percent of our commercial property taxes. Lot prices there are the highest in town, per square foot. McDonald’s, KFC, Bojangle’s and Wendy’s have torn down buildings to build new.

New hotels, Panera Bread, Waffle House, Chick-fil-A and others have been built.

I know executives who commute from Mooresville and Concord to Salisbury. They believe those cities offer a better quality of life. Their wives are not happy with our schools. We have more children living in poverty and a higher crime rate.

What we should “dot” Jake Alexander Boulevard with is whatever is proper for the zoning of a parcel. We have the Conditional District in place so that if something doesn’t fully meet the zoning, City Council can disapprove or approve with certain conditions.

We should all be thankful for the jobs East Innes Street provides. Take away the restaurants, drug stores and convenience stores, and you would see little growth for the past seven years. Greg Edds said, “We don’t need any more Taco Bells or dollar stores. We need industry that can support families.” I am glad that Greg is the county commission chairman now. Just bring new industry in and we will all be happy. Until we get high-paying industry in, let’s support dollar stores and others that support our economy.

To the business owners on East Innes Street that read this, I would like to personally thank you for your support of our city.

— Rodney Queen

Salisbury