I took Nicholas's comment to less mean "It resembled Banished so I don't like it and got rid of it as people will think we're ripping off other games", and rather more to mean "It really didn't fit in with what we have in mind for the game, it's fine for Banished but we're setting out to have something that presents itself completely differently". Also, a solution isn't a solution isn't a solution. If only things were really that simple. A solution needs to fit in with the style and format intended for the game, anything that doesn't mesh well with the rest of what's in place sticks out like a sore thumb and really detracts from the entire experience.
Well, functionally it could be a solution, but yes, if it's not what they want to see in their game, then it's not what they want to see. Personally, I feel like I wouldn't really care how that would look (especially if they stuck things in a cabinet-like structure like the granary in Stronghold), and feel that the efficiency gains would be more than worth it. However, like Nicholas said, he did have it like that at one point and didn't like it, so it must not have jived very well.