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- What Is The Solberg Airport Controversy About?
Solberg Airport in Readington has 726 acres, an area larger than New York's La Guardia Airport. In the 1990's, Solberg Airport commenced an expansion process by creating a Master Plan calling for expansion of the main runway from 3000 to 4890 feet, a size that would accommodate business jets. The Master Plan was approved by the FAA in 1999 and NJDOT in 2000, and an environmental assessment study commenced. Solberg Airport is currently eligible for $12.7M in federal funds to effect the expansion, through the FAA's 2005-2009 Airport Improvement Program (AIP).
In 2002, the Solberg's signed a contract to sell the airport to the State of New Jersey for $22M, pending receipt of additional appraisals from the Solbergs. Although the state's appraisers valued the airport at only $18M in 2001, the Solbergs returned with an appraisal in excess of $40M. The State ended negotiations in 2004 after failing to come to terms with the Solbergs.
In the Township Committee elections in 2005, an unprecedented amount of money was spent by candidate James Hunter. For the first time in a Township Committee race (for a office that pays only $5,000/year) residents were bombarded with glossy brochures and telephone polls. A Virginia-based 501c, an organization which does not have to disclose donors, mailed brochures attacking Hunter's opponent. Newspaper articles cited speculation that airport interests were behind the campaign. A favorable Township Committee would facilitate airport expansion through changes in zoning, transfer of Hillcrest Park to airport ownership, and construction of infrastructure (sewers, roads) to benefit the airport at taxpayer expense.
In violation of state law, James Hunter has yet (as of March 1) to complete 2 of 3 filings with the New Jersey Elections Commission, so the sources of his funding are not known.
Pursuant to the town's master plan and in support of longstanding goals of preserving open space and the character of the township, on August 22nd, 2005 Readington considered issuing a bond to be able to offer the Solbergs a cash price for the airport. Subsequently, the town entered into negotiations with the Solbergs. Negotiations broke off in January, 2006 after six sessions.
The Township Committee reported the results of the negotiations to residents in a public hearing on January 17th, 2006. Committee members reported that the Solbergs had initially proposed a 5600 foot main runway and a 3750 foot paved crosswind runway, and 1,000,000 square feet of hangar space. By comparison, Morristown Municipal Airport, a major business airport with 250 based planes, including 150 jets, has a 6000 foot runway, and has a take-off or landing on average every 3 minutes. Approximately 80 aircraft are based at Solberg today; by comparison, the proposed 1M sq ft of hangar space could accommodate 250 planes of the type based there now, or a lesser number of larger aircraft.
Negotiations with Readington Township officials broke off after the Solbergs refused to consider a main runway length less than 5000 feet. Any runway length over 4000 feet is sufficient to accommodate business-class jets.
On February 8th, 2006, in support of its long-standing open space objectives, the Readington Township Committee introduced a bond ordinance to acquire the open space surrounding Solberg Airport and development rights over the airport facility, or alternatively, development rights for the entire parcel.
- How Much Is Solberg Airport Worth?
Readington had two independent appraisers do a "preliminary assessment of value" on the entire 726 acre tract, which included the airport facilities itself, as of August, 2005. Their numbers came out in the range of $17,500,000 - $18,500,000.
The New Jersey Department of Transportation appraised the entire tract in 2001 for $18 million.
The State of New Jersey contracted to purchase the airport for $22M in 2002 pending receipt of additional appraisals from the Solbergs.
- What Is The Township Proposing To Purchase?
- Purchase of 650 acres of open space surrounding the airport, and development rights on the 76 acres of airport land, or
- Purchase of development rights on the entire parcel.
The Township is not proposing to purchase the airport. The airport and its business will remain in the hands of the Solbergs.
The Township is considering two alternatives:
The Township is proposing to pay up to $22M for the open space and development rights, leaving the airport land and its business in the hands of the Solbergs.
By comparison, in 2004 the State of New Jersey's Department Of Transportation offered to purchase the airport and the 744 acres of land outright for $22M.
- How Much Will The Township Spend To Purchase The Airport?
The Township is not proposing to buy the airport; they are only proposing to acquire the open space and/or development rights at the airport (Click Here To See "What Is The Township Proposing To Purchase?").
The Township Committee has proposed a bond ordinance for $22M in order to be able to make an offer on the open space and development rights.
The Solbergs have claimed that the township will spend in excess of $60M to acquire the airport but have not offered substantiation as to how this figure will be reached.
- Will My Taxes Go Up If The Town Purchases The Airport?
The township proposes to bond to finance the purchase of the open spaces and subsequently seek reimbursement for the open space purchases through Green Acres and other funding sources.
According to township officials, with Open Space funding, the estimated tax impact for a $400,000 home is $60 per year. With no Open Space funding, the estimated tax impact is $55 per year for the first 3 years, and $165 per year after four years, assuming a $22M 20-year loan at 4.5%.
For homeowners who could be looking at a loss in property value relative to comparable homes in other locations, this is a small amount to pay to preserve the value of their home.
- Will My Property Value Go Down If The Airport Expands Into A Jetport?
Studies show that property values are negatively impacted by noise from low-flying aircraft. Click Here To See Study For Seattle-Tacoma Airport. The noise consultant who spoke at the public hearing on January 17th stated that as a rule of thumb, property values will decline 1% for every 1 decibel increase in noise, as measured over a 24-hour period.
There are approximately 6000 homes in Readington. Home prices average approximately $450,000:-
· If 10% of the homes lose 10% of their value, this results in a $27M reduction in property values in Readington.
· If 20% of the homes lose 20% of their value, this results in a $108M reduction in property values in Readington.
The reduction in property value, in essence, is a transfer of wealth from residential property owners to the owners of the airport.
- How Much Noise Will Be Created By A Jetport?
According to the noise consultant who presented at the Public Hearing on January 17th, the background noise in Readington is a relatively low 40-45 decibels. A jet aircraft going over at a few hundred feet can register 85-95 decibels, a level comparable to that experienced standing next to a running lawnmower.
Homes along the approaches to the runways will be more heavily impacted by noise. However, all homes in the area will be impacted to some extent, as the presence of the airport will result in more lower-flying aircraft in the area.
- Can The Township Regulate The Airport?
Short answer: "No."
Local governmental control of airports is limited by State and federal regulations. Supported by the Interstate Commerce clause of the Constitution, which limits state and local government's ability to interfere with interstate commerce, Congress has given the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) the power to regulate aviation. Numerous court cases involving municipal attempts to regulate airport hours of operation, noise levels, flight patterns, and types of aircraft, have been resolved in favor of the FAA.
- Can The Airport Owner Limit Noisy Aircraft?
Once an airport takes federal funds, the airport becomes a public facility, similar to a rest stop along a highway. The airport operator cannot discriminate as to who can use the airport's facilities.
Recently, the Port Authority, which operates Teterboro Airport, wanted to reduce the number of flights to relieve overcrowding, and ban certain types of noisy aircraft. The FAA said "no". Click Here To Read The Article "Holding Pattern and Then Some."
- Is The Airport Expanding?
In 1999 the FAA approved the airport's current Master Plan, which is a document describing airport expansion. The Master Plan enabled Solberg Airport to qualify for $12.7M of federal funds in the 2005-2009 Airport Improvement Program (AIP) to pay for the expansion as described in the Master Plan.
The Master Plan calls for expanding the main runway from 3000 feet to 4890 feet, and expanding and paving the crosswinds runway to 3750 feet. A runway of 4000 feet is sufficient to accommodate medium-size business jets.
To proceed with expansion, the airport needs only update its Master Plan and complete an Environmental Assessment. - What Is The Township Proposing To Purchase?