Daniel Banyai plans to allow the town of Pawlet to inspect his property, the paramilitary weapons training facility Slate Ridge, in an agreement that staves off the possibility of a new arrest warrant — for now.
The new accord, reached Friday, came the same day the state environmental court could have decided to renew an arrest warrant for Banyai. Instead, both parties agreed to an inspection of Banyai’s property on Nov. 27, and if the property is not in compliance with court orders, the parties asked the court not to allow Banyai’s arrest until at least Nov. 29.
The agreement is the latest development in a multi-year saga in which the town of Pawlet has asked the environmental court to require Banyai to remove buildings from his property.
In July, Thomas Durkin, the environmental court judge overseeing the case, issued an arrest warrant for Banyai, declaring him in contempt of a March 2021 order to dismantle unpermitted structures on his property. The court has also ordered Banyai to pay more than $100,000 in fines.
Banyai later contended he had complied with the court’s requirements, submitting photographs to the court, though he did not allow Pawlet officials to inspect his property. Meanwhile, he appealed the case to the state supreme court, and his arrest warrant expired without Vermont State Police or the Rutland County Sheriff’s Department executing it within the 60-day period that it remained active.
Durkin initially declined a request from Pawlet’s attorney to renew the arrest warrant, citing Banyai’s appeal to the supreme court. But after that court gave the lower court express permission to renew the warrant, Durkin indicated he planned to reconsider on or after Nov. 17.
The 11th-hour agreement between Pawlet and Banyai outlines a possible end to the extended legal battle between both parties. The signed stipulation invites the environmental court to participate in the site inspection.
