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April 21, 2004BAY TOWNSHIP: Trailers must be removedJudge does not want to send family to jailByRecord-Eagle staff writer CHARLEVOIX - A Bay Township family must remove two trailers and a school portable from their property off Camp Daggett Road, a circuit judge ruled. Judge Richard Pajtas affirmed this week a district court ruling that Lyle Barkley, wife Shirley and daughter Kimberly violated township zoning and county building codes by grafting two trailers onto existing trailers and adding a portable after receiving township permits in 2002 to build additions. The case received national attention when Barkley, supported by some militia groups, last year vowed to meet with armed force any attempts to remove the structures from his property. Barkley has since stepped back from that claim. He declined to comment Tuesday. A year ago, district judge Richard May ruled the trailers and portable violated county building codes and the Bay Township zoning ordinance. He ordered the family to pay $600 to the township and $200 to the county and to remove the structures. In September, May found the Barkleys in contempt of court when they failed to appeal his decision or remove the structures. He also gave the township the authority to enter the Barkleys' property to enforce the court order. In his decision this week, Pajtas rejected the Barkleys' claims that Bay Township has no authority to enact zoning and that they were improperly denied a jury trial. Pajtas, however, did reverse May's ruling that the Barkleys go to jail if they can't afford to pay accrued fines. Pajtas had dismissed the Barkleys' appeals in December after they failed to submit legal briefs within the time allowed by law. He granted them a new hearing on March 12 after they filed a motion asking the judge to reconsider. Township attorney James Murray said officials are pleased with Pajtas' ruling, but not surprised. "The law and facts were clear two years ago," he said. "Clearly the Barkleys misrepresented their intentions to the township, and clearly they ignored applicable building codes," Murray said. "When confronted they had a fair trial, and now they've had a fair appeal." How township officials now proceed is up to Lyle Barkley, Murray said. The local government was never seeking to have the Barkleys jailed, he added. "No one wants them incarcerated; we want compliance," he said.
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