Doraty inflatable comes down after township threatens lawsuit
Trustee chair says they plan to file if sign is re-erected
Pictured in 2014 before Medina Township deemed inflatable business signs illegal a year later, township trustees threatened a lawsuit against the business after an inflatable returned and was quickly taken down earlier this month. File photo
MEDINA TOWNSHIP – The near-decade-long inflatable sign battle between Bill Doraty Kia and Medina Township heated up once again after remaining cold for more than two years.
Township trustees at their July 13 meeting voted 2-1 in favor of filing a lawsuit against Doraty Kia after a large, red, white and blue inflatable eagle decorated with stars and stripes appeared atop the dealership’s Medina Road building sometime around July 4.
Shortly after the meeting, the inflatable was removed. A lawsuit had not been filed by the trustees in Medina County Court of Common Pleas as of July 25.
“We’re ready to file if it goes back up,” trustee chair Bill Ostmann said. “The last couple years, it had been fine.”
In 2015, Medina Township settled the then-ongoing inflatable saga after trustees voted during a public hearing to disapprove proposed amendments to the township’s zoning laws to allow inflatable signs for businesses.
Ostmann – who voted July 13 in favor of the lawsuit motion along with trustee Ray Jarrett; trustee Ken DeMichael voted against it – said the prohibition of large inflatables atop businesses isn’t just about possible distractions for motorists on nearby state Route 18 and Interstate 71.
“We just don’t think they’re very attractive in our business section,” Ostmann said, adding the township’s zoning inspector spoke with a representative of the business after the most recent inflatable sighting. “It came down right after we took that action.”
Doraty Kia General Manager of Sales Nick Nageotte, who said he has been at the dealership for over 10 years, said the were “no ill intentions” with the recent inflation. Nageotte mentioned the dealership is under new ownership, who preferred to remain anonymous.
Previous owners AutoMax Auto Group bought the dealership from Bill Doraty in 2014. The business has been at that location since 2006, but in the community for years for before that.
“I prefer we get along with the township,” Nageotte said. “The law is the law, but come on, for as much as Bill Doraty Kia has contributed to Medina County, to Medina football and the high school for the car giveaway.”
Ostmann speculated the new ownership may have not been aware of the township’s ruling on inflatables; Nageotte did not confirm or deny that.
“We don’t need that business, so that’s why it came down,” Nageotte said.
The debate whether to allow inflatables used by township businesses started after Doraty Kia began erecting the large displays on its roof in 2008.
In 2010, Bill Doraty Kia sued the township for issuing zoning citations against the dealership for putting up the inflatables, arguing the zoning regulation did not apply since it was unconstitutionally vague and that not being allowed to do so was a violation of the business’ First Amendment free speech rights.
After a five-day trial in 2011, U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent ruled Doraty Kia’s arguments were not valid. Doraty Kia then unsuccessfully appealed the ruling to the Sixth Circuit Court; however, the business periodically continued to use the displays until the 2015 trustees ruling.
At the time of the suit, the dealership had never applied for a permit or asked for permission from the township when putting up the inflatables, according to township officials.
Township trustees at their July 13 meeting voted 2-1 in favor of filing a lawsuit against Doraty Kia after a large, red, white and blue inflatable eagle decorated with stars and stripes appeared atop the dealership’s Medina Road building sometime around July 4.
Shortly after the meeting, the inflatable was removed. A lawsuit had not been filed by the trustees in Medina County Court of Common Pleas as of July 25.
“We’re ready to file if it goes back up,” trustee chair Bill Ostmann said. “The last couple years, it had been fine.”
In 2015, Medina Township settled the then-ongoing inflatable saga after trustees voted during a public hearing to disapprove proposed amendments to the township’s zoning laws to allow inflatable signs for businesses.
Ostmann – who voted July 13 in favor of the lawsuit motion along with trustee Ray Jarrett; trustee Ken DeMichael voted against it – said the prohibition of large inflatables atop businesses isn’t just about possible distractions for motorists on nearby state Route 18 and Interstate 71.
“We just don’t think they’re very attractive in our business section,” Ostmann said, adding the township’s zoning inspector spoke with a representative of the business after the most recent inflatable sighting. “It came down right after we took that action.”
Doraty Kia General Manager of Sales Nick Nageotte, who said he has been at the dealership for over 10 years, said the were “no ill intentions” with the recent inflation. Nageotte mentioned the dealership is under new ownership, who preferred to remain anonymous.
Previous owners AutoMax Auto Group bought the dealership from Bill Doraty in 2014. The business has been at that location since 2006, but in the community for years for before that.
“I prefer we get along with the township,” Nageotte said. “The law is the law, but come on, for as much as Bill Doraty Kia has contributed to Medina County, to Medina football and the high school for the car giveaway.”
Ostmann speculated the new ownership may have not been aware of the township’s ruling on inflatables; Nageotte did not confirm or deny that.
“We don’t need that business, so that’s why it came down,” Nageotte said.
The debate whether to allow inflatables used by township businesses started after Doraty Kia began erecting the large displays on its roof in 2008.
In 2010, Bill Doraty Kia sued the township for issuing zoning citations against the dealership for putting up the inflatables, arguing the zoning regulation did not apply since it was unconstitutionally vague and that not being allowed to do so was a violation of the business’ First Amendment free speech rights.
After a five-day trial in 2011, U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent ruled Doraty Kia’s arguments were not valid. Doraty Kia then unsuccessfully appealed the ruling to the Sixth Circuit Court; however, the business periodically continued to use the displays until the 2015 trustees ruling.
At the time of the suit, the dealership had never applied for a permit or asked for permission from the township when putting up the inflatables, according to township officials.