I can relate to what you are complaining about directly. Some people are trying to do that where I live at and Im in the styx. There are developers who want my land. Ive been fighting them for the past nine years and so far, successful. The key to it is you have to be super aggressive and tenacious and quite frankly, obnoxious. Ive pushed things with them right up to the edge of physical violence in the past. My family is on my side and just as tenacious about it as I am. In fact my Mother recently spoke at a local city council meeting, telling them they were idiots, basically. Being a nice guy never got me anywhere, Ive found when Im nice to people, I tend to get run over. There are not many people in this country anymore who grew up in the rural areas or on a farm and because of the way I was raised, I have a different perspective on things that I believe gives me an edge over these sorts that you are describing.
For example, Ive told some of them to their faces they have the "entitlement" mentality regarding their belief they can just move here and build a city. When they dont even own much of the land. And my family does own a lot of the land. Ive jokingly told some of them, "they never learned how to work for what they have and I mean really, work." Like, farmwork or logging work like I used to do. Ive told some of them, "ya know, Ive got 26 acres down here and I need the trees re-cleared. Ive thought about offering a "learn to work" program where you could show up at my place and I'd put you up in one of my old, defunct tobacco barns for a month, give you a free food and all the well water you can drink, give you a shovel, axe and other tools and put your progressive democrat ass to work on my property. And I'd be glad to pay you 25 cents an hour, because afterall, you dont know how to work and you are being TAUGHT HOW TO WORK and 25 cents an hour is all your worth at this stage."
Pisses them off, scares them a little at the same time because it sounds like a Southern overseer mentality that they are not used to. And they tend to shut up, although it makes me no friends and makes me enemies. But thats OK with me.