Now, according to published reports, county officials are actively considering an expansion of the facility, and the proposal is controversial. The airport is essentially landlocked, adjoining residential and commercial areas that were built up years ago before the Federal Aviation Administration tightened the rules involving proximity of homes and businesses to airport runway systems.

In order to push the expansion ahead, the county would have to buy up and raze several dozen homes and businesses to stay within the FAA's current safety rules. The action would have to come through some sort of condemnation proceeding, and that has township officials and residents alarmed.

"It's awful," commented Ewing Mayor Al Bridges to local reporters recently. And, according to published reports, while residents of Birdland, as the neighborhood is called, aren't crazy about airport-related noise, most don't want to be forced to move.

According to Mercer County Executive Bob Prunetti, the county will negotiate prices with residents and business owners, hoping to avoid any legal proceedings. Estimated cost of buying up the property is $6 million. The county would have to pay out only about $300,000 of that, because the rest of the money would be available through various state and federal government programs.