If it wasn’t a trend before, it certainly is now.

Dollar General proposes to build a store somewhere. The property requires rezoning and, as a result, approval by Rowan County Planning Board and county commissioners. The community responds with vocal opposition, and the final result — passage or failure — varies depending on the arguments made by the those protesting the opening.

The latest example is Mount Ulla, where a plan for a store has not officially been submitted, but developers — Teramore Development — have made clear they intend to do so.

And while representatives of Teramore were at a community meeting last week about the proposal, saying the company intended to listen to concerns, one quote stood out in a story written by reporter Liz Moomey.

“I can’t promise anything,” Teramore’s Director of Operations Joe Strickland said.

At last count, there are a dozen stores in Rowan County, with a couple more close to the Cabarrus line in Kannapolis. Another store, in the Rockwell area, has already been approved.

Rowan County has about 140,000 residents. So, with 12 stores, there’s one for roughly every 11,700 residents. If the Mount Ulla store receives approval, that brings us to 13 stores, or one for every 10,800 residents. Besides gas stations, there are few individual businesses with that many locations in one county.

That the store has made no secret of its strategy to move into low-income and rural areas doesn’t help its cause when proposing new locations. Because, while Teramore promised to commissioners that it would spruce up future stores, its name comes with negative connotations for many.

The truth, however, is that store locations are specifically selected. And a Mount Ulla resident protesting the store opening may live within shouting distance of someone who would welcome a Dollar General.

Arguments against the Mount Ulla store must be carefully crafted if the community hopes to beat developers. “Not in my backyard” simply isn’t enough. General assertions won’t work when facing a pro-business county commission that’s shown a willingness to approve the stores if the exterior is more attractive.

And, even with a good argument, the hurdle to beating a development is higher when a request complies with rezoning requirements. If the land is zoned correctly, there’s little local residents can do.

Whether or not the Mount Ulla Dollar General store makes it to the county commission, our communities must ask what they want our streets and our storefronts to look like. If Rowan County or individual communities want one Dollar General for every few thousand residents, so be it. But we think the repeated outcry against the stores is more than a loud minority.