MENTOR, Ohio — A Lake County judge has halted the City of Mentor’s plans to blockade part of a busy roadway amid the city’s bitter back-and-forth with neighboring Painesville. Last week, the City of Painesville filed for a preliminary injunction to stop an ordinance passed by the Mentor City Council that would have blocked Diamond Centre Drive at the Mentor-Painesville municipal boundary.
Diamond Centre Drive east of Heisley Road serves as the primary access point to a bustling shopping district, featuring big box retailers like Home Depot, Sam’s Club and Menards, which is slated to open in May or June. There are also dozens of smaller restaurants and retailers. With the preliminary injunction in effect, Mentor will not be permitted to implement an ordinance that the City Council passed on April 2, which would have essentially turned Diamond Centre Drive into a cul-de-sac at the municipal boundary.
Judge John O’Donnell’s ruling granting the preliminary injunctionis the latest salvo in the on-again, off-again legal dispute between Mentor and Painesville that dates back to 2002. At issue are Mentor’s allegations that Painesville has failed to enforce a development agreement with local developer, Shamrock Business Center Ltd. The developer has reportedly failed to honor commitments to widen the westbound lanes of Diamond Center Drive in order to accommodate more traffic resulting from further development. Those improvements are estimated to cost more than $800,000.
"Mentor alleges the gridlock is caused by Shamrock's failure to complete road improvements, including constructing two left-turn lanes from Diamond Centre Dr. to Heisley Rd. and Shamrock (with Painesville's consent) building a residential nursing facilitty in violation of the terms of [prior court rulings]," Judge O'Donnell wrote. "The court finds that even if Mentor's claims are accurate, there is no basis within the terms of the Agreed Judgment Entry to close Diamond Centre Dr.
In the time since the legal dispute began, the area has grown exponentially, including the construction of hundreds of apartment units and a large skilled nursing facility, both on the Painesville side of the boundary. In his ruling, Judge O’Donnell determined closing the road to thru traffic would cause irreparable harm to local businesses, including Donald Ashba’s Easy Stop Mini-Mart. Ashba’s testimony during an hours-long hearing Thursday was cited in the judge’s ruling.
“The whole weekend I didn’t sleep much. I was worried about it,” Ashba said. “In my mind, [the judge] sided with me so I feel pretty good about it. But I’m a little disheartened. Here I am battling my own city where I put a business. Even after I went to the [Mentor] council meeting they still voted to close the road — even with me telling them they would vote to put me out of business.”
Mentor’s attorneys argued that the road needed to be closed because the growing congestion was creating a public safety hazard. The road was designed to accommodate 10,000 to 15,000 vehicles per day but it routinely eclipses 20,000 vehicles per day, officials said. With the impending grand opening of Menards, Mentor city officials worried of a “complete and total breakdown” of the area’s infrastructure, warning of frequent gridlock.
Local pizzeria owner April Luca said Mentor’s claims were a hard sell. Never once has the congestion on Diamond Centre Drive been untenable, she said. The potential closure of the road would have impacted her lunch crowd as well as her deliveries, she said.
“I just feel like the headaches that it was going to cause was not worth the argument that they are having,” Luca said. “It would be an hour detour.”
Like Luca, Ashba was immensely worried that the closure of the road would significantly impact his business. Ashba said he would have been out of business in two to three months if Mentor’s ordinance were allowed to stand. Ashba poured his life savings into starting the mini-mart 15 months ago.
“I’m fighting for my life here. I’m not going to sit idly by on my hands and let somebody else determine my fate and my future. All I could do was go up there and plead and explain to people that this is real. This is my livelihood. This is my life,” Ashba said. “I didn’t understand it. I didn’t understand why you would want to prevent people from — no matter what your reasoning is — from coming over here and spending money. I’m pretty sure that’s revenue for the city of Mentor. I don’t know who’s right or wrong in this but at the end of the day I don’t care. To punish your businesses and your citizens is the wrong plan.”
Mentor Law Director Joseph Szeman said, “we respect the Court’s ruling to maintain the status quo while this case proceeds through litigation.”
While the preliminary injunction settles one aspect of the protracted legal dispute, it does not settle the ongoing negotiations between Mentor, Painesville and Shamrock Business Center.
“I will let the court’s decision speak for itself,” said Painesville City Manager Monica Irelan Dupee. “The safety and way of life of our residents and businesses has always been our first concern and we are glad the court agrees. However, the issue of traffic flow in the Diamond Centre area remains. We are still willing to work with Mentor to find a long-term, sustainable solution that works for both communities.”
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