Lawyer defends use of hangars

An attorney for When Pigs Fly, the company that owns hangars adjacent to Sussex Airport, appeared before the Wantage Land Use Board again this month in the quest for a variance that would allow it to continue renting to non-aeronautical clients.

“The majority of the rented hangars contain aviation-related clients like drones and radio-controlled planes, but 16 of the 56 hangars remain empty,” said George Daggett, attorney for When Pigs Fly, which is owned by William Gennaro.

“According to the FAA policy, when you have empty hangars, you can fill them with non-aeronautical storage, and that is what my client is doing,” he said, referring to the Federal Aviation Administration.

“Each non-aeronautical tenant is month-to-month so if an airplane comes to us for space, we get rid of the non-aeronautical client and rent to the plane. That is a benefit to the airport because it keeps the hangars viable while being available for aeronautical tenants.”

Matthew Dolan, attorney for airport owner Alan Antaki, said Gennaro is playing games.

“Mr. Gennaro placed drones in his hangars in an attempt to be cute and feign compliance with Wantage Township zoning that requires Mr. Gennaro to only lease the hangars to pilots who maintain an aircraft in the hangars,” Dolan said.

“When Mr. Gennaro was fined in the past, the municipal court and the Superior Court of New Jersey on appeal held that ‘there is no legitimate indication that drones, model airplanes or remote-controlled airplanes qualify as airplanes or aircraft under the governing ordinances and resolutions.’ ”

Also at issue is the condition of the airport, which Daggett said is poor. That is why the airport is not busier and his client has open hangar space, he said.

Dolan said the airport has undergone upgrades since his client purchased it. He also said Gennaro’s customers have damaged airport equipment and made it difficult to get government grants to modernize the facility.

The parties are set to appear before the Land Use Board again Sept. 23.