When I worked for a surveying company
there was one afternoon when one of our field crews came back early from their site, looking rather pale and shaky. They had been sent out to establish the boundaries of a farm that was going to be sold to a developer. As they were establishing a baseline to measure the locations of boundary markers a 12 gauge shotgun blast tore the air over their heads, and a man in bib overalls stepped out of the trees. "What the hell are you doing here?" he roared.

"We're surveying this farm. Your neighbor hired us."

"Git offa my land!"

"But we're not on your property! We're on our client's property!"

"Ah don't care! Mah daddy said never to trust them surveyors! Now git!"

And they got.

No, this wasn't Alabama. This was near Syracuse NY in the late 1980s.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Sat 26 May 2012, 11:39, 8 replies)

Sound advice too...
i'm a surveyor, our presence is the first sign of some nasty development about to unfold...new road, gas well, coal mine, railroad, right through your land.
( Ken Oath, Sat 26 May 2012, 12:02, closed)

In this case it was going to be a housing subdivision, so I suspect that he probably would have preferred coal mining.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Sat 26 May 2012, 12:05, closed)

People get all funny about subdivisions too
It's the Not In My Backyard syndrome.
( Ken Oath, Sat 26 May 2012, 12:16, closed)

I'm a firm believer in NIMBYism.

(Bear Pookie The Frankly Challenged. Halloween is coming to town., Sat 26 May 2012, 12:28, closed)

I'll object when it's my backyard..
..if it's someone else's I'll put in a quote for the work.
( Ken Oath, Sat 26 May 2012, 14:01, closed)

Also, there's the not unreasonable fear
that these new developments would result in an influx of urban professionals and other well-to-do types, and the existing residents would get forced out by the consequent rise in property prices.
( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Sat 26 May 2012, 19:20, closed)

Well,
either that or darkies.
(SlantedScience, Sun 27 May 2012, 3:42, closed)

Racist.

( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Thu 31 May 2012, 1:58, closed)