There’s no reason the guy with the cannabis plot shouldn’t be outvoted by all the people that will benefit from the new building. The issue there is some combination of a collective action problem and what amounts to corruption.

The answer, as mentioned, is go to a higher level of government where there are even more people to outvote Mr. “But Muh Views”.

In the case of CA there’s seven million people in the Bay Area and 33 million in the rest of the state that would benefit from continued growth there and don’t care at all about shaded backyards in Palo Alto. That sounds like a referendum waiting to happen to me.