Nothing weird about that situation at all. In fact it's the way much of planet is organized.

These people are assholes.

Nothing of the sort. They're long-term residents looking out for what's best for their community.

And it's exactly the kind of completely gratuitous negativity (project by outsiders, who otherwise couldn't begin to care what goes on in their town), exemplified above, which shores up this instinct that many of them have to protect what they have. Because they know that you're definitely not concerned about what impact projects like these will have on their quality of life and long-term fiscal interests.