People actually do crowdfund that kind of thing. You just do not hear about them as much because they do not have a PR budget. But there is a basic asymmetry here. One approval can be worth millions to a single company, so spending serious money lobbying for it is a good investment. For the neighbors, the harm, which includes noise, air pollution, and lower property values, is spread across hundreds of families. Everybody loses a little, even if the total harm is huge, so it is much harder to raise the same money. That is the classic collective action problem And residents are not lobbying for a handout. They are asking the government not to let a company profit by putting its costs on people who get none of the upside

"When billionaires do it, people get angry - but when the people do it, people don't complain! It's like this is a democracy or something!"

Honestly, what are you doing? Like, why do you choose to defend billionaires with your time? Were you abused or something as a kid? Do you just like BDSM? Are you perhaps a fascist or against democracy?

...also, just the idea that "more money in government" is the answer. You're just full of bad ideas. Clearly a big fan of the Capitalist mindset.