You'd think the secound group could manage to organize and outvote the first.

I totally agree with this. It's just hard to organize for something that in a lot of cases just doesn't exist yet. Every time a city council meets to discuss building a large multi-family apartment / condo complex, the voice of current residents of the neighborhood and the developer are typically heard. However, one voice that is always absent is the voice of the people who will live there. Unfortunately, since the place doesn't exist yet, organizing people around a place they don't live yet serves to be challenging. However, I think a well done testimony to public officers with statements of people intending to live in a new development could serve a compelling case to persuade greater development.