This is the thing; the private company would have to buy up the land of those homes affected in order to move forward with the development. Probably buy it unfairly to the residents of the area (rural), where their relocation would not be equally the same.

It feels somewhat similar to how the Phantoms hockey arena and the redevelopment of downtown Allentown that private entities used eminent domain to rebuild the area. It's been a decade now and while its nice the area is rebuilt okay (a sinkhole haven), but the people they wanted to move in (young professionals) have not really filled in well.

It's a tough call on what happens. I feel bad for the residents. Another issue is the ecology of the environment of both the fauna/flora. Read about the issues with shad reproduction, and its sad.