BLACKSBURG -- History teaches that for every revolution, there is a counter-revolution. So it is in Blacksburg.

At least, that's what members of a newly organized steering committee for a group called Citizens Against Ordinance 1450 hope to accomplish.

The ordinance, proposed several weeks ago by Town Councilman Don Langrehr and fast-tracked by the council, would require developers to apply for a special-use permit before building any retail store larger than 80,000 square feet.

Members of the group, led by retired Blacksburg Mayor Roger Hedgepeth, worry that it could hinder projects, such as a planned expansion of a Kroger store in the Gables Shopping Center. It might also jeopardize a 40-acre retail revitalization project planned along South Main Street. Worse, the proposed regulation could chase away companies that could shore up the town's flagging retail tax base, say opponents.

But the concerns go deeper than that. Alarmed by the growing influence of groups such as Citizens First that support strict regulation of development, the pro-business group has launched a counterattack.

They oppose not only the ordinance, but also what its members see as a co-opting of town government and public policy by activists opposed to every kind of development project. They point to a plan to build a new Blacksburg High School stadium that recently turned into a raging controversy.

Members of Citizens Against Ordinance 1450 say they fear the constant bickering and the council's knee-jerk responses to anti-development forces will damage the town's economy and its future. After three years of talking, they've decided to do something. "The battle has been joined," said Jeff Mitchell, an organizer of the group and an attorney representing the South Main developers.

Last week phones began ringing in Blacksburg homes. On the line was a marketing company asking residents to oppose the ordinance. Some of the callers encountered angry resistance when they reached the homes of supporters of the ordinance, who have organized themselves into a group called Blacksburg United for Responsible Growth, or BURG for short.

The BURG e-mail distribution list buzzed with news of the calls last week. Members say they believe the calls are coming from APCO Insight, a Washington, D.C., company that does market research and communications work for businesses.

BURG members say that hiring an outside consultant to defeat the ordinance amounts to an "AstroTurf" movement, a satirical comparison to BURG's "grass-roots" organizing in neighborhoods and businesses around town.

Doug Mauer, a spokesman for Citizens Against Ordinance 1450, confirmed that a company was hired to conduct an opinion survey on the ordinance. He defended the action, comparing it to an ongoing online opinion survey sponsored by Citizens First.

Both BURG and Citizens Against Ordinance 1450 claim hundreds of supporters and have spent hundreds to thousands of dollars on dueling newspaper ads and have erected advocacy signs around town. Public comment on the ordinance at tonight's council meeting is expected to go on for hours.

Meanwhile, as the passionate debate over Ordinance 1450 continues, it's unclear exactly what effect it could have on the town's economy. A similar ordinance in Roanoke County requires a special-use permit for retail stores larger than 50,000 square feet. In October that didn't stop county supervisors from approving a Wal-Mart Supercenter for the Clearbrook area.