Battle lines are drawn for tomorrow night's Fayette County Commission meeting, with the future of Starr's Mill at stake.

Brent Scarbrough believes that future should include a "country store" across Ga. Highway 85 from the historic landmark, at the highway's intersection with the 85 Connector. Neighbors and county activists are adamantly opposed, citing the danger of polluting a drinking water source and traffic congestion, and saying the store would destroy the rural flavor of Starr's Mill.

"This store is not going to go in down there, because it doesn't belong there," said Chris Presley, whose three-year-old home on the 85 Connector is next door to the site.

Presley rallied activists for a strategy session last week, and has been contacting neighbors hoping for a big turnout in opposition to the proposal tomorrow night. The commission meets at 7 p.m. at the County Administrative Complex.

Scarbrough is asking for a change in the zoning category from A-R (agricultural-residential) to LC (limited commercial) for the 2.49-acre tract. The LC category was created to encourage small businesses near neighborhoods that will serve the needs of those neighborhoods, and Bob Rolader, Scarbrough's agent, said the category is tailor-made for the store he wants to build.

"Our intention is to serve the needs of the rural community, not to destroy it," said Rolader during a recent meeting of the county Planning Commission.

The Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the rezoning request, saying the store proposal is perfect for the location and for the LC zoning. But the planning staff recommended denial, saying the proposal is incompatible with the county's land use plan. The land use plan calls for agricultural and residential uses in the Starr's Mill area.

Central to the staff's opposition, and a key point to residents, is the fact that Starr's Mill not only is a historic, rural enclave, but also is home to a future drinking water reservoir. The federal Watershed Protection Act prohibits commercial activity within 1,000 feet of reservoirs, and residents hint they may take legal action if the zoning is approved.

County attorney Bill McNally said the Watershed Protection Act exempts lots that were recorded before the act was passed in 1987.

The property in question was recorded as a lot long before the act was passed, said Kathy Zeitler, zoning administrator. It was used as a country store from 1929 to 1971, and probably was recorded before the county drew up its first zoning regulations in 1957, she said.

But residents challenge McNally's opinion. "You can't 'grandfather' something from the Watershed Protection Act," said Wilbur Nixon, a former Planning Commission member and resident of the area.

Rolader said during the Planning Commission meeting that underground gas tanks at the proposed convenience store will pose no hazard to the reservoir, because modern technology has rendered them much safer than in the past, but residents say it's the gas, oil, antifreeze and other chemicals spilling above the ground that they're worried about.

People often aren't careful using self-serve pumps, they said, and cars stopping at the store will drip fluids onto the parking lot that will be swept into the lake and creek when it rains, they added.

Dennis Chase, a local environmental activist, said the county at least should require an environmental impact study before approving the store.

"There should be an environmental report done on something like this by the applicant," said Chase, adding that a "fairly substantial detention area" for storm water runoff would probably be required. Law requires that volatile organic chemicals be detained and the storm water treated before it can be allowed to seep into surface water like Starr's Mill Lake and its tributary, Whitewater Creek, he said.

Residents also object to the size of the store, more than 3,000 square feet, and they say that by the time Scarbrough meets all the extra setbacks and other restrictions recommended by the Planning Commission, there won't be room on the lot for the store, its septic tank, regular detention ponds and a special treatment pond for chemical spills.

In its comments on the proposal, the county environmental health department expresses concern, saying that there is room for a septic system on the property, but not enough room for a replacement if the first system should fail.

This is the third time the County Commission has heard rezoning requests for a convenience store at the site. The commission turned down similar requests in 1992 and again in 1993. The only currently sitting commissioner who was in office at that time, Herb Frady, called the request "spot zoning."

But Rolader said those requests were for C-H (commercial highway), a heavier zoning. This request is for "just a small store where people will stop on their way to and from work. I don't see it as a big, ugly convenience store," he said.

But residents counter that. While the store may not be ugly, it is big, they say.

At 3,050 square feet, the proposed size is "the standard now for gas stations in urban areas near large intersections," zoning administrator Zeitler told The Citizen. She said the proposed store is similar in size to a recently built store in north Fayette that includes a deli in addition to the standard convenience items and the gas station.

Sandy Coley, who spoke during the recent Planning Commission meeting, said she doesn't want the convenience of having a country store nearby. "I have lived in convenient places," she said. "I moved down south of Fayette because I didn't want the convenience."