A resident of Lyons Township believes he’s being harassed by the Ionia County Road Commission for using signage to express an opinion along his own property on Hopkins Road.
ICRC, however, says their only concern is consistently enforcing the law.
Aaron Hudson shared a certified cease-and-desist letter with The Sentinel-Standard, dated July 8, from ICRC. In the letter, the commission cites several encroachments within the right-of-way along Hopkins Road, as well as “unauthorized work (Hudson has) performed … such as scraping the surface of the road and altering shoulders and ditches.”
The letter, signed by ICRC Managing Director Linda Pigue, orders Hudson to remove the existing encroachments within 30 days. Hudson, who has placed “no trespassing” signs as well as American and U.S. Marine Corps flags along the roadway, believes the issue goes much deeper.
“(The road department) is telling me I’m trespassing on my own property,” Hudson said. “I’m being harassed by (Pique).”
Not so, says Pique, who references a deed grant her department has sent to Hudson that confirms the 66 feet of property he believes he owns is a legal right-of-way, and is thus managed by Ionia County.
“We are not harassing or picking on (Hudson),” Pique told The Sentinel-Standard. “We have to follow and comply with the law. If we don’t, it could open us up to (significant) liability.”
Hudson has lived on the approximately 40-acre parcel of land for 12 years, but said he only began having issues with the department about 18 months ago. It was around that time he noticed gravel and rocks being dropped on what he says is his property by ICRC trucks that scrape the road throughout the year.
Hudson said he’s collected “a significant amount” of gravel and rocks since then, spending his own money on equipment to remove the debris.
Initial discussions with ICRC seemed to be going well more than a year ago, Hudson said, but once Pique became his only contact for complaints, the issue intensified.
“(Pique) said that she, and she used that term and not ‘department,’ but that she owned three feet on each side of the road, including my property,” Hudson said. “She said I may have to move my mailbox, and I’ll admit things got heated (on the phone). Then she hung up on me.”
Pique said Hudson called one of her department supervisors 20 times in one day before she became involved. She said Hudson has been verbally abusive on multiple occasions.
“It comes down to the fact that he doesn’t want us on his road at all,” Pique said.
In an effort to discourage trucks from driving on his property, Hudson said, he added the “no trespassing” signage and flags. Pique said Hudson also displayed a sign that pictured a rifle, which scared some local neighbors, as well as traffic cones around the turnaround area adjacent to the right-of-way.
Hudson admitted to placing the traffic cones, but remains at odds with Pique over who owns the land.
Hudson, a veteran, wonders if the issue is personal because of the political signs he’s displayed over the past two years. Hudson insists his signage hasn’t broken zoning laws, and that none were offensive in nature.
“I never saw any political signs on his property, and that’s not (the point),” Pique said. “I didn’t go out to (Hudson’s property) until late spring or early summer of this year.”
Hudson has until Aug. 8 to remove the signage, traffic cones and any other unapproved items, according to the cease-and-desist letter.
“People can’t put things on a right-of-way without a permit,” Pique said. “We can’t make exceptions.”
Hudson isn’t sure what he’s going to do next.
“This is affecting my health,” he said, citing medical challenges related to PTSD. “I just want to be left alone on my property.”
— M. Alan Scott is a freelance writer for The Sentinel-Standard. Contact the newsroom at newsroom@sentinel-standard.com.
This article originally appeared on Ionia Sentinel-Standard: Lyons man at odds with road commission over right-of-way: ‘This is affecting my health’
Reporting by M. Alan Scott / Ionia Sentinel-Standard
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