The town wants to extend a sewer line across the back of his yard and the Foxes had refused to give the city an easement, partly because they were upset that Crowder Construction had jumped the gun and begun clearing the land without their approval or Locust's instructions. Government has the legal right to take property from individuals and pay them a fair market price if the land is needed for the good of the general public. The state does it all the time when it builds interstates.
Cities take private property when it is deemed necessary for public works projects.
Private citizens have little recourse except to argue over the price they are offered. These are not happy situations. It is not comforting to know that government ultimately has the right to take your land, no matter how strongly you oppose it. But it happens all the time. Locust appears to have had no alternative but to cross the Fox property if it were to continue sewer construction in the Meadowcreek Church Road area.