Wings Clipped? The Battle for Sky Manor Airport's Future Takes Flight in Hunterdon County

Ah, the quiet hum of a small plane, that distinct rumble you might hear drifting across the rural landscape of Hunterdon County. For decades, it’s been the soundtrack to life around Sky Manor Airport in Pittstown, a place that feels, honestly, like a piece of living history. But here’s the kicker: that very sound, that sense of a family-run enterprise charting its own course, is now at the heart of a bitter dispute, one that’s landed squarely in federal court.

You see, the folks behind Sky Manor – the Baczynsky family, who’ve poured their hearts and souls into this airport since 1999, continuing a legacy that stretches all the way back to 1946 – they’re feeling the squeeze. They argue that Alexandria Township, their municipal home, has crafted a new zoning ordinance with one singular, chilling purpose: to, as they put it rather starkly, 'suffocate operations.'

It’s a story, you could say, as old as time itself: the clash between a long-established local business and a governing body, each with their own vision for the community. But in this instance, it feels particularly sharp, perhaps even personal. The airport isn't just a place where planes take off and land; it's a significant employer, a draw for tourism, and, dare I say, a vital cog in emergency services for the region. Yet, the new ordinance, passed in 2023, paints a rather different picture for its future.

Imagine this: suddenly, your long-standing business is hemmed in by dramatically increased setback requirements. For Sky Manor, what was once a 50-foot buffer for airport uses has ballooned to 150 feet. And if you run a flight school, a critical part of many small airports, well, that's now a hefty 500-foot setback. Furthermore, the township’s new 'Airport District' zone, which, quite pointedly, encompasses only Sky Manor, seems to ban pretty much any non-aviation business from setting up shop on airport land. It’s like being told you can run a bakery, but only if you bake airplanes, and even then, only in a very tiny corner of your property.

The Baczynskys aren't just crying foul; they're taking action. Their lawsuit contends that this ordinance isn't just restrictive; it's discriminatory. They argue it flies in the face of New Jersey state law, which, rather importantly, offers some protections to airports. It’s a challenge to their fundamental right to due process, they claim, and what’s more, it borders on 'inverse condemnation' — essentially, arguing that the township has taken their property’s value without just compensation, all through regulations.

Honestly, when you look at the specifics, it's hard not to see why they feel targeted. The ordinance, for instance, prohibits commercial flights beyond 10 takeoffs or landings a month – a cap that, for any active airport, seems designed to stunt growth rather than manage it. It even explicitly bans skydiving operations, despite the fact that Sky Manor doesn’t, nor has it ever, hosted them. It’s almost as if the rules were written not to accommodate, but to diminish.

What happens next? Well, the federal courts will weigh in, of course. But beyond the legal wrangling, this dispute touches on something deeper. It’s about the very soul of a community, the balance between preserving rural character and supporting the businesses that are, in many ways, its lifeblood. And for the Baczynskys and their Sky Manor, it's about whether their wings will be clipped, or if they’ll still have room to soar.