APEX - The growth debate at the center of many of the Triangle's local elections has a stark example in this southwestern Wake town -- Veridea, a massive planned community that could change the face of Apex.

The development, now in the early stages of town review, promises to bring hundreds of news businesses, thousands of new jobs and millions in tax revenue -- all things Apex leaders say they want. But so far, it has received a lukewarm reception.

That's no surprise. Seven candidates vying for three council seats find themselves in a sticky political situation: Should they embrace the project's economic benefits or express skepticism about the changes Veridea would bring to Apex?

Veridea, slated for 1,015 acres near U.S. 1 and N.C. 55, is estimated to bring up to 8,000 homes, 20,000 residents and 30,000 jobs. It would also deliver $20 million in tax revenue once it reaches full build out, expected within the next 10 to 15 years.

That is, if it ever gets the town's thumbs up.

The initial plan, by developer Tom Hendrickson, was not well received recently by town staff, who rebuffed his requests to be exempt from town ordinances governing lighting, signs and architectural standards.

And as election season approached, town council candidates were careful choosing their words on the project. When the seven candidates faced off on Oct. 22, each had a 'yes, but' to add to their position on Veridea.

The incumbents, Gene Schulze and Mike Jones, each cited reservations. Schulze was skeptical of the flexibility the developer requested. Jones said he was excited but "very anxious" about the execution.

And of the five challengers -- Tom Haynie, Margo Bills, Jody Garrett Smith, Lance Olive and Scott Lassiter -- not one would say they fully endorsed the project.

"I just don't want to lose the small town feel in Apex by giving them everything they want," said Haynie, who has been a critic of the proposal. He thinks the plan is unfair to existing businesses governed by ordinances Veridea hopes to bypass.

Olive, who's been on the town planning board the last six years, championed Veridea as a way to balance the tax base, but said he stands behind the town's ordinances and doesn't think the developer will make headway without concessions. "The developer at this point has a very uphill road ahead of him," he said.

Olive proposes luring high-tech businesses, offering residents jobs "without having to work retail or in a restaurant, or hang a shingle and open their own business."

The candidate who came closest to checking the 'no' box on Veridea was Apex native and high school teacher Scott Lassiter. "I am against it," Lassiter said. He said the developer is primarily out to make money, and the town council has a responsibility to protect its existing residents from changes that could affect them.

"It's going to be in somebody's backyard," he said, adding that he'd green light Veridea as long as the developer paid for road improvements and public safety costs. Still, he said, "it scares the daylights out of me."

All this nay saying for a project that, when proposed during the summer, was the talk of the town.

It was touted as an eco-friendly, live-work-play urban utopia that would usher the growing suburb into the future: a place where you could leave your high-rise luxury apartment, walk to work, bike to lunch and do all your shopping, without ever having to step foot into Research Triangle Park or navigate I-40 traffic.

Leaders took a cautious approach, though, when the plan was first presented last month after more than two dozen drafts and 5,000 hours of work by the developers.

Hendrickson wrote a nine-page letter to the town, arguing that following existing ordinances was "akin to using a hammer where a screwdriver is required."

A revised plan will be presented to the town council after the election.