JOHNSTON COUNTY - Developers, residents, rival businessmen and a lawyer all had their say last week in a debate before County Commisioners about plans for a 24-hour gas station on N.C. 42. The board voted down an application for the proposed Cleveland Township business, sending its planners back to the drawing board.

The motion before the board would have modified an already-approved plan for a commercial subdivision at the intersection of N.C. 42 and Cornwallis Road. Even with the rejection, developer NAI Carolantic can continue with plans for retail space, offices and even a gas station that isn't open 24 hours.

Discussion of the project was a cross-section of the concerns development has brought to Cleveland. Residents said they didn't want an unsightly business, while other gas station owners rallied to fight competition that they said could doom their businesses.

Mike Lusk, who lives in the subdivision behind the undeveloped land, said he and his neighbors were worried about the sound and light of a gas station. He had heard rumors of a Sheetz store, which he said would be too visible.

"We just want to make sure whatever comes in there, it works in accord with us," Lusk said.

Several local gas station owners said their stations, already weakened by a price war and a new Murphy USA station, could not survive another hit.

"We are struggling to keep our doors open," said Chuck Bright, owner of a neighboring Fiddlestix gas station. "Another gas station will cause us to close doors, leaving that location vacant."

Bright said his station had been selling gas below cost for 45 days and had lost 40 percent in sales since the Murphy station opened last June. Another station owner said his business had tumbled by about 40 percent too.

John Strickland, whose company owns a station about 1.5 miles away, echoed that concern. "There is ample competition," Strickland said. And on top of that, he argued, gas stations aren't pleasant for residents. "We are in the noise business; we're in the traffic, the volume businesses."

Charles McDarris, a lawyer representing the owner of a neighboring gas station, argued that the new station would knock down nearby property prices, and he said the only expert analysis he found was a 3-year-old traffic study. He and others complained that the applicant didn't present a new site plan.

Wade Stewart, chairman of the board, said the developer should have submitted a visual plan. "It appears as a little bit of cart before the horse," he said.

But, Stewart said later, it was not the board's duty to manage competition. "It's a dog-eat-dog world out there," he said.

The board discussed tabling the matter for at least a month, but Commissioner DeVan Barbour moved to approve the plans for the gas station, with minor changes.

The motion failed by a 4-3 margin, meaning Carolantic must wait another year before applying for further changes to its permit.

"Can't leave anything hanging out forever," Barbour said later. "Vote on it; bring on the next case."