Left to right: Mill Mountain Convservancy members Judy Hawks, her dog Brandie, and Gloria Elliot watch as runners pass on their way to the MIll Mountain Star.

About 400 miniature orange flags, placed to show the footprint of a proposed two-story building and parking lot atop Roanoke's Mill Mountain, brought a mixed bag of reactions from runners huffing and puffing their way to the summit on New Year's morning.

A group opposing the Rockledge building on Mill Mountain planted the 2-foot-tall, wire-stemmed flags early Tuesday.

Runners with the Star City Striders have made the roughly 2¹₂-mile trek up the mountain a tradition on New Year's Day.

The proposed site for the development, designed to replace the old Rockledge Inn that burned down in 1976, is on either side of a path that winds up to the Mill Mountain Star.

As runners plodded up the mountain Tuesday morning, braving wind and chilly temperatures, about six members of the Mill Mountain Conservancy stood along the path with a sign noting their position and the occasional "Good morning" or "Happy new year."

"I thought they were very discreet," said Barbara Robertson, 50, of Roanoke, adding that the group didn't interfere with the run or hand out pamphlets. The subtlety was a surprise, she said, given media attention to the proposal. She was one of about 80 joggers who completed the run Tuesday morning.

Since its unveiling last spring, the project being pushed by Valley Forward, a young professionals group in Roanoke, has brought about a debate over development on the mountain.

Groups have sprung up on both sides.

The division was evident Tuesday morning as runners expressed their viewpoints, some between labored breaths as they jogged.

"Keep Mill Mountain natural," said one male runner, who ran past the conservancy group flashing a peace sign.

Another male runner dashed by demanding, "When is the groundbreaking?" The same runner then chanted "build, build, build" on the return down the mountain.

The Star City Striders have not taken a position on the development as a group, said President Amy Rockhill, although some members noted that they are following the debate and are curious about the outcome.

"We are all interested in that we're the kind of people that use the mountain," said Gary Adkins, 57, a group co-founder who helped start the New Year's Day run nearly two decades ago. About the development plan itself, Adkins said he has "mixed feelings."

Originally, Valley Forward had proposed a much larger development with an 80,000-square-foot hotel, but scaled that back after critics said it would disrupt the mountain's natural setting.

The plan now calls for a 10,000-square-foot building housing two restaurants and a community meeting room near the Discovery Center. A parking lot off the road to the star is also planned.

Gail Burruss, a spokeswoman for the Mill Mountain Conservancy, said the display was not intended to fuel controversy, but rather to help people visualize the layout of the site on the mountain.

The measurements of the space were only an approximation taken from plans on Valley Forward's Web site, Burruss said. Nor did she have the exact square footage of either flag-marked outline.

The flags were meant to be temporary and she said they would be taken down shortly after the event.

Even so, seeing the outlines up close may have made a mark for some people passing by.

Roanoke runner Gary Butcher, 47, said he changed his mind about the prospect of building atop Roanoke's most prominent natural landmark.

"I was surprised about the footprint," he said, explaining that he had expected it to be much larger. He said a restaurant may be a benefit to the mountaintop and help attract more visitors to what is already there.

After all, the mountain has seen its share of additions over the years.

"There was probably a group against the star," Butcher said, gesturing toward Roanoke's neon icon.