About 150 people from Tecoma, Upwey and Belgrave attended the meeting last Thursday at the Upwey Primary School to voice their concerns to the Shire of Yarra Ranges' councillors and town planning consultants.

The residents were almost unanimously opposed to a Freeman Tecoma Pty Ltd proposal for a supermarket, shop and double-storey 130-space car park at 1529 Burwood Highway, near Sandells Road.

At the meeting, Lyster Ward incumbent councillor Samantha Dunn said the shire had already received more than 400 objections.

"This is a very significant development to our area. Councillors must be fair to all developers and listen to all submissions before we make a decision."

Ward candidate Chris O'Neill said the proposal was a high-profile issue that was "completely inappropriate" for the area.

More than a dozen other residents expressed their concerns about increased traffic, loss of a view, the size of the development, and the destruction of nearby businesses.

The shire's development and traffic co-ordination executive officer Geoff Davis said the development would increase traffic by up to 3500 cars a day.

Mt Evelyn Environment Protection and Progress Association president Franc Smith discussed how the Mt Evelyn community had recently won a five-year battle to stop a proposed Woolworths supermarket being built in their town.

"They don't care about you, they don't care about the town, they're just looking for your dollar," he said.

"Eventually it's going to find its way into a thing we call VCAT [the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal].

"It's a war and that's what it's all about.

"Be prepared for a hard fight."

The shire's planning manager Kim Marriott said it was "highly likely" there would be an appeal from either party to the VCAT. The developer refused to comment on the matter last week. The issue is expected to come before the council in December.