Nothing unites a neighborhood faster than the fear of change.

So when a group of real estate-savvy cousins tried to rezone their junk-filled lot for office buildings, the neighborhood revolted.

But when they pitched a go-kart track instead, the neighbors quickly softened their stance on the office space.

Keep reading for the full story.

Another zoning law tale

In the 80s, my dad and his cousins owned a large parcel of land in the suburbs (10 acres) that was full of junk, piles of dirt and rocks, and a few abandoned vehicles beyond rusted out.

Being the kids of real estate developers and entrepreneurs, they decided they wanted to build two office buildings. But their land was zoned for light industrial, and they needed it to be rezoned to commercial.

So they decided to go about it the right way and do their due diligence, but trouble continued.

So they filed the necessary paperwork and made the surrounding community aware of their plans.

This is where the community got worried that a sudden influx of cars during the day at office buildings would lower their quality of life.

They started protesting and sending letters threatening legal action if they proceeded with the rezoning process.

So they decided to be devious.

So my dad and his closest cousin and best friend got the idea to use the mostly useless lot for something that the neighbors and the community would really hate in order to make an office park seem reasonable by comparison.

After hours of ideas were thrown around, they decided to build a massive go-kart track, as it fell under a light industrial zoning law loophole.

Then they decided to go for the grand slam and make it a 24-hour go-kart track.

The homeowners fell for this trap beautifully.

The surrounding neighborhoods and community, as well as the immediate neighbors, were so vocal about this new venture that they began pleading with my dad and family members to reapply for the rezoning.

They said they would all support an office park over the god-awful 24-hour go-kart track.

Not being that vindictive, they restarted the process a week later to convert the site to a commercial office park.

It’s funny how fast priorities shift!

What did Reddit think?

Sometimes complaining yields an even worse result.

Apparently there’s a name for this in the industry.

This commenter makes an important point.

Change is the only constant.

Cubicles beat carburetors any day.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.