The owner of Slate Ridge will not be able to reargue his recently closed case, according to a decision issued Friday by Vermont’s Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court recently affirmed a lower court decision that ordered the controversial paramilitary training center in West Pawlet to shut down. An attorney for Daniel Banyai, the owner of Slate Ridge, filed the motion to reargue on Thursday, and the court responded the following day.
“Appellant’s motion for reargument fails to identify points of law or fact overlooked or misapprehended by the Court,” the court’s order says. “The motion is therefore denied.”
Middlebury-based attorney Cindy Hill has represented Banyai in the case. She did not immediately respond to VTDigger’s request for comment Friday afternoon.
For years, neighbors have raised concerns to local officials and the state about the operation of Slate Ridge. They reported frequent gunshots and explosions, along with threatening activity by Banyai and those who frequented the facility. One neighbor obtained a stalking order against Banyai after he made threats against her and her family and posted their information to his public social media page.
The Supreme Court published its decision earlier this month. It upholds an earlier decision from Judge Thomas Durkin from the Environmental Division of Vermont’s Superior Court, and requires Banyai to hire a surveyor to assess and destroy improvements on his property that aren’t permitted, including structures and gun ranges. He must also pay the town of Pawlet $46,603.
“One of the takeaways from this is that these things can take a lot of time, and it can be really frustrating, how long the process takes,” Merrill Bent, attorney for the town of Pawlet, told VTDigger when the higher court issued its decision. “But part of that timeframe is making sure that the person who owns the property is given due process. And that’s what the Environmental Division did in this case.”
In her motion filed Thursday, Hill argued that a notice of violation issued to Banyai in 2019 — a central issue throughout the case — isn’t valid.
A zoning administrator had issued Banyai a permit in June of 2018 while his first application remained under appeal. The judge processing the appeal said the zoning administrator didn’t have the authority to issue the permit. When the Development Review Board later reexamined Banyai’s application, following the court’s order, they denied it and issued him the notice of violation.
Hill argues that the 2018 permit is valid and final.
“The legislature clearly did not intend for landowners to be subjected to orders to pay fines and, worse, stop land uses and tear down structures that they had built under a (sic) prior lawfully issued ‘final’ land use permits,” the motion says.
The court’s denial of the motion means Banyai must continue the process of dismantling his operation. Bent told VTDigger earlier this month that, although town officials hope he will comply, they are prepared to take additional legal action if he fails to do so.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont Supreme Court swiftly denies Banyai’s motion to reargue Slate Ridge case.