Salina is moving to end its roughly three-year legal dispute with the Cozy Inn hamburger stand over an exterior mural, accepting a federal appeals court decision in the restaurant’s favor. At Monday’s City Commission meeting, Mayor Mike Hoppock announced that staff would prepare changes to the city’s sign regulations to comply with the courts’ rulings.
The dispute began in 2023 when the city stopped work on the mural. Because the artwork referred to products available at the restaurant, officials treated it as a sign. That classification placed the project under stricter rules and required it to go through a permit process.
Cozy Inn co-owner Stephen Howard challenged the city in court, arguing that its distinction between a mural and a sign infringed on his First Amendment free speech rights and amounted to an unlawful prior restraint. In November 2025, a federal judge found that the city had violated the First Amendment by ordering the painting to stop. The judge also found that Salina had demonstrated its sign ordinance was not impermissibly vague.
The commission pursued an appeal late last year to seek clarification about the constitutional issues surrounding its definition of a sign. On Oct. 30, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s decision. Monday’s announcement indicated that the commission was prepared to conclude the litigation rather than pursue the matter further.
Reading a statement after an executive session near the meeting’s end, Hoppock outlined the city’s reasons for appealing. The statement said the district court had gone beyond allowing the Cozy Inn artwork by finding the city’s definition of a sign unconstitutional. It said that definition was identical or substantially similar to those used in many other cities, leaving uncertainty about regulation of signs and related displays.
Although the commission said some questions remained unanswered, it acknowledged that Salina must change its rules for murals and wall signs and review the rest of its sign code. Potential revisions include allowing murals and signs on walls equally, changing the definition of a sign or removing the need for that definition, and examining rules governing other displays.
The commission directed staff to bring proposed amendments back for consideration, saying additional litigation could complicate and delay that work. After the meeting adjourned, a woman in the audience asked what the announcement meant. Hoppock replied, “No further action,” drawing applause. A man called out, “Finally.”
Following the appeals court ruling, Howard thanked the community for supporting him during the dispute. He described Salina as his hometown and credited residents’ support as a reason he loved living there, expressing appreciation for those who had stood behind him throughout the case.
