CARY - Nineteen residents who took issue with the Cary Town Council's approval of a mixed-use project planned near the Prestonwood Country Club are facing a legal fight not just with the town, but with the developer as well.

The yearlong conflict surrounds a project at a corner of Davis Drive and High House Road by Crosland, a Charlotte development company.

The plan prompted a few homeowners in the Georgetown and Preston Forest subdivisions to file a lawsuit against the town, challenging the project's approval.

The group thought Cary's previous Town Council, several members of which were swept out of office in a contentious election last fall, had erred when it allowed the plan to pass. The homeowners wanted to see if a judge agreed with them.

But then Crosland intervened in December and indicated it would like the right to seek attorneys' fees if the case is dismissed and considered frivolous. A hearing is scheduled for March 5 in Wake Superior Court.

But Crosland's request has touched off a storm of worry within a neighborhood whose residents were considered a driving force in the election of a slate of "slow-growth" candidates to the Town Council in October, including Mayor Harold Weinbrecht.

"It seems petty for a $2.5 billion company to go after a bunch of neighbors," said Richard Byrne, a Preston Forest resident involved in the dispute.

That's not the case, said David Ravin, president of Crosland's residential division. Ravin said his company is trying to protect its own financial interests for a project that was approved by the council.

Pressure from organized opposition groups like the High House and Davis neighbors could encourage more suburban sprawl, Ravin said. Faced with residents' resistance, he said, developers would favor building in less developed areas over established neighborhoods.

"It pushes developers to say, 'It's so much easier to do sprawl,' " he said.

The 41-acre project, expected to be similar to Raleigh's North Hills, is to include apartment units and townhouses, and more than 100,000 square feet of commercial and office space.

Residents say that will bring too much traffic and result in an urban feel to the area of mainly suburban residential subdivisions.

The previous Town Council passed the plan in June by a vote of 4 to 3, but neighbors contend that council members should have had to pass the plan with a super-majority of at least six votes because of protest petitions filed by neighbors, a process outlined in state law.

Some of the protests filed by neighbors were invalidated when Crosland shrank the size of the development parcel. Other protests were voluntarily withdrawn, paving the way for the vote.

Crosland's decision to intervene in the lawsuit in December has vaulted the already bitter dispute over the now-vacant field to new levels.

Ravin said the the request for lawyers' fees is standard legal wording and that he is not trying to bankrupt the citizens opposing his project.

He countered that the project has been hampered by miscommunication and rumors spread around by a few of the residents.

"These projects inherently get smaller due to political pressure," Ravin said. "I'm all for citizen input, but I do think it can be abused."

Roger Knight, a Raleigh lawyer who handles land use litigation, said it is not unusual for citizens to turn to the courts, nor is it uncommon for a business to get involved to protect its interests.

"If you've got a dog in the fight, and nobody wants to protect your dog, you've got to intervene," Knight said.

At least five groups of residents have filed suits against Wake County towns in the past two years to fight planned development, according to The News & Observer's archives. That includes a group of New Hill residents who filed suit in 2006, fighting a planned sewage treatment plant, and Knightdale homeowners who tried using the courts in 2006 to block the opening of a Wal-Mart.

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