Elsewhere some have made the argument, bordering on the frivolous, that this has nothing to do with the members reckless overflight behavior, the club's failure to control their members and follow AMA overflight rules, the failure of "agents of the AMA" supervising events (a.k.a. CDs) to enforce AMA overflight rules, and ultimately the AMA - knowing this was taking place (via "agents") - failure to enforce their own rules.
The ZHB found that the Club’s activities would “be detrimental to the public health, safety and general welfare” of neighboring properties. Decision of the ZHB, April 13, 2015. (R.R. at 506a.) The trial court stated:
The record is replete with testimony. . . evidencing the Club’s inability to ensure the safety of [Landowners’] neighbors and the public at large. There have been numerous complaints, crashes, and trespasses by Club members retrieving fallen parts from neighboring land. The Club’s actions are increasingly putting residents, workers, livestock, buildings, equipment, and crops in threatening situations. - Trial Court Opinion, January 22, 2016, at 12-13. (Landowners’ Br., Appendix B.)
the evidence before the ZHB in this case included concrete accounts of model aircraft repeatedly crashing on adjacent property. There is substantial evidence to support the finding that the operation of these model planes poses a serious threat to persons on adjoining land.
We know that the trial of a famous depression era gangster was not just about tax evasion, but rather a result of greater lawlessness. Do the people making the argument that this was all about zoning really think we're stupid enough to believe that absent any of the overflights, crashes, and dangers mentioned extensively in the court document posted above - that this zoning action would still have happened? The township simply used a tool it had available, zoning, to shut down operations of the club when the individuals, the club, and the AMA showed inability or unwillingness to follow their own rules. And yes, because this took place under the direct supervision of "agents of the AMA", then AMA knew. And yet AMA still did nothing.
The court said the club's activities (overflights) posed a serious threat. And AMA did not lift a finger to stop it.