Spadaro Airport

10/30/16 updates are highlighted like this sentence. 

Sources

We usually try to use original sources for information provided.  Because many events occurred years ago and because of the number of records involved and time constraints, that has not been possible in this case. Please email if you spot an error.

To view documents mentioned below, click on the underlined, red links.

The document will open in Google Docs.

Downloading large docs or images will make many of them easier to view.

To see a list of all the documents on this project,

or to download any for viewing, printing or saving, click here.

Overview

It was a chicken farm with 29 acres and a house in East Moriches that Bart Spadaro bought in December 1959.  He had a different vision for it.  He opened Bart's Auto and Aviation Service on the Montauk Highway and soon cleared a runway outback so planes could fly in for repairs.  Over the years, the airport developed and was used by small aircraft for many purposes besides recreational flying: banner towing, gliders, and jumping.

Opened amid woods and farms, the airport got new neighbors as time passed.  Compare aerials from 1962 and 2013:

Click each aerial for a larger image.

The airport's operations changed as well.  There has been parachuting onto the property for years.  But the recent skydiving operations have been with noisier planes and more frequent flights.  This has resulted in more complaints from affected residents.  It was complaints this May and June that resulted in the temporary closing of the airport by court order pending a decision whether to close it permanently.

Some residents want the airport closed; others prefer keeping it open.  There are various aspects affecting the current situation.  Here's some of the background on them. 

Airport Improvement Program and the adjacent 22 acres

In 1994, the FAA designated Spadaro Airport a reliever airport, meaning it was available for overflow from MacArthur Airport.  It also meant that the airport was eligible for FAA Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grants.  A master plan was prepared by a consultant to obtain such grants for major improvements over a 20 year period, and meetings were held with the FAA, the Town and others, including the public.

Click plan for a larger image.

A significant part of the plan was for the airport to buy an adjacent 22 acre parcel (on the Eastport side) to permit a new runway to be built and the existing one to become a taxiway.  Spadaro bought the land and a deed was recorded in June 1998.  The purchase was funded by an AIP grant from the FAA, reported to be $660,000, and in 1997 and 1998  agreements 1  and 2 with the FAA and Spadaro were recorded against the parcel.  The agreements provided that the 22 acres could not be "changed from aviation use" without its consent.

For the plan to be implemented, title had to be obtained to a strip of land that bisected the runway.  The strip was part of the right-of-way of the railroad line that used to run from Manorville to Eastport.  The County had acquired it.  In 2002, the County legislature approved the sale of the strip to Spadaro, and he bought it. 

Additional AIP grants were approved, totaling $521,000 for the years 2005 to 2010 (data prior to 2005 is not readily available; approval of a grant does not necessarily mean it was funded).  The recorded FAA agreements are here.

In 2011, Spadaro sold the 22 acres to Preserve at East Moriches, LLC, and a trust.  The County Clerk's office reports consideration of $1.5 million; the Preserve LLC and the trust gave a mortgage for $1,280,070 according the the County Clerk's records.  In 2013, the Preserve LLC applied to build a 70-unit Planned Retirement Community on the lot; there has been some recent activity on the application.

There has been no public report we  have seen on the status of the FAA's improvement program.

The Town's zoning, land use plans and prior court actions

The airport's land started out zoned for residential use.  In 1961, the portion around the existing service station was rezoned J Business 2 at Spadaro's request; at the time, gasoline service stations were allowed in J-2 districts as a special exception granted by the Town Board, and other uses the Town Board found to be of the same general character were also allowed.

In 1980, if not before, the airport faced a legal complaint.  The Town charged it with operating without a permit to operate an "airpark" (a term then in the Zoning Code).  Though there was a trial and a violation was found, the Court dismissed the charge because the term "airpark" was too vague to be enforced.

Then in 1991 the Town went to court for an injunction against Spadaro's operation of the airport and lost.  The appellate court, however, decided in 1994 that the injunction should be granted.  It said among other things that operation of an airplane repair service was not a use permitted in J-2.  It sent the case back to the trial court and an injunction prohibiting further operation of the airport was granted in August 1994.

Residents gathered together to work on the Moriches Four-Hamlet Comprehensive Plan for Moriches through Eastport and it was completed in December 1995.  The airports were directly addressed:

"The two airports located between Eastport and East Moriches are desirable additions to our community.  The airports offer a very specialized service and are a tourist attraction which is good for our local economy.  Although public safety problems have been cited, as well as concerns with noise from low flying parachute planes presently operating Wednesday nights and weekends, these issues can be addressed and mitigated with efforts by the Town and the airport operators.

". . . .

"The continued operation of both airports is strongly recommended."

According to the 1997 Final Draft Airport Master Plan (at 47, 90), Spadaro had recently filed a change of zone application for L Industrial 1 zoning.  In May 2005, this (or perhaps a later application) had received a positive declaration requiring the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement and there was a public scoping for what it would contain.  A draft scoping for the EIS was prepared, but by 2003, the Town had made no decision on the application.  Finally, in June 2004, the Town Board decided the application; it was denied.  It has been reported that another application was made and the Town Board elected not to consider it.

Twelve years after the Moriches Hamlet Study, the CR 51 Corridor Land Use Plan was approved in 2007, and among other recommendations it recommended continuing Spadaro Airport:

"Recommendations

." . . .

"Continue use of Spadaro Airport at the same level of aviation activity with suitable safety improvements by creating an airport/small business planned development district that is specifically tailored toward the Spadaro Airport site and meets the owners’ and community’s visions and objectives for the site" (at p. v).

"Recommendations

." . . .

"Support Spadaro Airport in meeting necessary safety needs without significantly increasing the scale of onsite development or the level of airport activity" (at 60).

The land use plan recommendations notwithstanding, the airport was again cited by the Town for violations in 2009.

Current Court Actions

From May to July, 2016, residents petitioned the Town to take action on both Spadaro and Lufker Airports.  As summarized by the two persons who submitted most of the petitions to the Town:

"Previous complaints to Town officials and offices have yielded no results even though the airport activity and skydiving flights that are the targets of the attached petitions have been found to violate Town zoning ordinances by the courts. These extraordinary and, in many cases extreme, uses of the premises defeat the quiet use and enjoyment of our homes and pose a real and present danger, not only to our neighborhoods, but to the security of our peaceful hamlet and beyond."

On August 29, 2016, the Town, acting on the complaints of residents disturbed by the noise from skydiving planes, asked the Supreme Court to schedule a hearing on whether to permanently prohibit Spadaro Airport from operating, and to temporarily enjoin its operation pending the hearing on the permanent injunction.  

In the papers it filed with the court, the Town argued that the operation of the airport was in violation of the 1994 injunction issued by the court and that 

"The Property is currently zoned A-1. . . . Thus as currently zoned an airport use is not permitted and would require a change of zone from A-1 to L-1 or L-2 and in the case of L-1 would additionally require the approval of a Town Board Special Permit" (Affirmation ion Support, ¶ 8).

The court granted the Town's request, and scheduled a hearing, which was adjourned several times by the Court for non-substantive reasons to October 18, 2016.

Just prior to the hearing, the Town agreed to adjourn the hearing to November 15, and a stipulation was submitted to the Court.  The hearing was adjourned to that date.

Counterpetitions

The petitions submitted favoring enforcement of the zoning code brought out other residents.  Some 700-plus petitioned to keep the airports open (on Change.org and ThePetitionsSite).  This brought on a Facebook post from our Councilman.

Current Zoning of the Airports

Most of the airport is zoned A Residential 1, which permits the building of 1 house per acre.   An area 100 feet deep along the Montauk Highway, about 1.5 acres, is zoned J Business 2, which permits various types of retail businesses.  Only two zoning districts in today's Code allow an airport, L Industrial 1 and L Industrial 2.  Because L-2 permits many more intense uses, L-1 is more likely to be used at this location.  A special permit from the Town Board is needed to use L-1.  Here's the current zoning:

Click map for a larger image.

(The Town Code can be viewed here.)

Development of the airports using current zoning could result in approximately 50 homes being built.  6.7 acres of J2 could yield strip malls, multiple retail stores, offices, take-out restaurants, beauty parlors, health clubs, laundromats, etc.—all on the Montauk Highway.

Development of the airports using L1 zoning with no restrictive covenants recorded could yield, in addition to most J2 uses: commercial laundry establishments, printing plants, research and development uses, warehouses.  With special permits, L1 could bring anaerobic digester facilities, electric generating facilities, bars, taverns,  nightclubs, heavy construction vehicles and equipment dealerships, lumberyards, mini-storage warehouses, motor vehicle shops, non-degree-granting sports instruction/programs, non-degree-granting instruction/programs associated with manufacturing or driver training, outdoor storage, transportation terminals/facilities, trucking terminals, universities or colleges.

If an owner applies for a change of zone, the Town Board may condition its approval on the filing of covenants that limit the uses allowed on the property.  For example, the Town Board could approve a change to L1 but restrict the allowed use to an airport.  An owner may also agree to such a restriction if the Town Board makes the change on its own motion.

The Town Board has held a hearing on amendments to the Town's solar code and a decision is expected shortly.  As amended, the Code would allow solar collection facilities (i.e., solar panels) on 5 acres or more that have already been cleared in commercial and industrial zoning districts, including J-2 and L-1. The solar panels could be up to 20 feet high, and questions on how to screen them were left open at the hearing.  

The configuration of the J-2 portions of the airports might make installation of solar panels conforming to all the Code requirements impractical, but changing the zoning to L-1 would enable solar to be installed on the entire area.  It may also enable parts of the airports to have solar panels while continuing some or all of the current airport operations.

Conclusion

The issues are complicated.  Cooperation and creativity will be needed to resolved them.