Many liberals in the US are skeptical of "growth" or "development" plans because they're seen as inevitably gentrifying neighborhoods (making areas where poor people could afford to live suddenly unaffordable) and transferring all the direct financial benefits to large chain/franchise corporations instead of to local residents who need the help.
To be fair, where I am in the UK, that's actually the case with my council's development plans. The goal is almost always to bring in more national chains and multinational businesses, not to promote local business or do anything to improve the quality of life of local people.
