The City of Marathon has won a court case over gates on Knight's Key, but don't expect the issue to go away unless the gates do.

City Attorney John Herin said he received a copy of Circuit Judge David Audlin's ruling Wednesday morning. Herin and attorneys for the plaintiff, Knights Key Inn President Lance Kyle, met in court last Thursday on the appeal of a Marathon City Council hearing that found then-Interim City Manager Peter Rosasco had followed the correct procedures to approve right-of-way permits for the gates.

"The judge ruled that the city did nothing wrong," said Herin.

Herin said Audlin's ruling was based on the city code and a matter of timing. Kyle's suit, according to Herin, was centered around whether the gates should be there at all, and not on the right-of-way permits.

"What [Kyle] had an issue with was the gates themselves," Herin said. "The appropriate time to challenge that was years ago when it was given approval."

Kyle said he had not yet seen the judge's ruling, and certainly wasn't ready to concede a loss.

"We have to see what the details are," Kyle said. "Lets see if it's a mixed victory [for the city]."

Kyle said even if Audlin didn't reprimand the city in his ruling in any way, he would press on.

"I'm going to continue with the appeal process. I know I'm right."

While the court case has run its current course -- unless Kyle chooses to appeal and a higher court decides to hear it -- a code case against the gates continues.

Kyle filed the code case month ago, according to Code Compliance Supervisor Cynthia McPherson, and the case is ongoing.

Kyle said he did not file a case, but alerted the code office that work was being done on the gates.

McPherson confirmed that the city had sent a notice in June to Sunset Grill and Raw Bar owner John Kotch that the gates were in violation of Florida building codes.

"This indicates for the east gate to apply for a demolition permit. The west gate is to submit plans required by code for compliance," McPherson said of the notice's suggested remedies.

According to the notice, the gates are in violation for not submitting proper construction documents and not meeting wind load requirements. The notice gives Kotch 120 days to correct the violations, which expires in mid-October.

Kyle said the city's code notice is an admission that both gates need to come out.

"If this thing [the east gate] doesn't conform to the building code, why does the one on the west side?" said Kyle.

The gates are identical, and are intended for use in parking lots and other low-traffic situations, according to the manufacturer's product manual.

McPherson said the code case will continue, but she was unsure of where matters currently stood because the litigation had taken the case away from her.

"I have not been involved with this after the initial complaint," McPherson said. "The code department is just a conduit to get a notice to someone."

Herin said that now that the court hearing is over, the gates issue would revert back to being handled within city hall.

"The code case will proceed," Herin said.

Kyle said he wouldn't be comfortable waiting to see if the code case solved safety and access issues on Knights Key.

"I'm not going to count on the city," Kyle said. "They need to be pushed along."

The gates, which were installed when Chappy's Steak and Seafood restaurant opened in early 2009, were included as part of a deed restriction for the waterfront eatery's property.

They were implemented after some residents expressed concern that traffic overflow from the popular restaurant would spill into the nearby neighborhood.

The restaurant reopened in February under new ownership as the Sunset Grille and Raw Bar.

The deed restriction called for only one gate, however, and subsequent inspections for the right-of-way permit by two different city Public Works managers cited numerous safety and liability concerns with the type of gates and their placement without setback from the street.

Kyle contends that the gates are not only unsafe, but an impediment to walk-in traffic at his hotel.

Since the beginning of central sewer installation work on Knight's Key nearly five months ago, the gates have been locked open. In that time, the gates have also sustained heavy damage, and the sensor strips installed in the pavement have been torn up with the rest of the street.

mphelps@keysnews.com