Well based on what I see here it appears to be a common story played out time and time again.
Some area of desirable has a pre-established usage partially residential and partially other.
The “other” usage is in decline, but the owners have hopes and plans for revitalization and maybe some growth. This plan may or may not be known or announced/communicated to anyone else as business matters are usually close-hold until the last possible moment, thats just a common business practice.
The residential usage portion of the land in question has been held for a very long time and has fallen into disrepair and the owners finally put it up for sale.
Potential buyers of the residential parcel see opportunity and future value in the parcel and buy with a hope/expectation that the other parcel will stay as is or will eventually fade away.
When buyers of the residential parcel realize that revitalization and some growth are planned for the other parcel, they develop concerns about the impact to their planned usage of the residential parcel and their hopes/plans of increased future value of the property and thus setting up a battle between the 2 parties.
This exact situation is a constant happening across the country where people buy homes next to failing gas station/garages, small businesses, airports. They expect the business will remain as is or decline and the site will revert back to an uninhabited undeveloped parcel or will become something that they see as acceptable. But when the preexisting usage is revitalized and potentially expanded, the new home owners vision is shattered and the lawyers take over. It then becomes a battle of will and money and time. Who can outlast who. The threshold of reasonable gets twisted past the point of recognition and the community is divided in the protracted debate about what is right or wrong. There will be a winner, but the biggest winner will be the lawyers.
I would like to say that potential buyers of the residential property in these situations should not be making such purchases, but in truth if they are willing to fight to their last breath, spend crazy amounts money on lawyers, fight as long as it takes, and do virtually anything necessary, they may very well be successful and it can pay off with huge rewards. Just look at the insane situation with the shut down of the Ames Farm boat ramp. That was a preexisting usage for decades, and it was a benefit to countless untold people. One of the most beautiful and easy to use spots for day boaters to launch a boat, now lost because of one new abutting homeowner that wanted to change what was. So it can be done. Not a big fan of this process or the outcome(s), but it is how the system works. Money, time and stamina very often win out over other competing measures/interests/desires.
It will be interesting to see how this one ends.
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