County loses one lawsuit, gets sued again in second case

Flathead County was on the losing end of a court decision recently, in a land-use lawsuit related to a proposed Lakeside marina.

It was also named as defendant in another land-use lawsuit related to a proposed subdivision in the Helena Flats area.

In the marina case, District Court Judge Stewart Stadler said the county improperly approved a planned unit development agreement for the project in 2004. He granted the plaintiffs' request for summary judgment, thereby blocking the agreement from taking effect, at least temporarily.

The lawsuit was filed by Lakeside Realtor Bruce Young and the Flathead Lake Protection Association, naming the county commissioners as defendants.

Montana Eagle Development submitted the PUD about a year ago. The company wants to expand and renovate an old, existing marina located on the north side of Lakeside, across from Bierney Creek Road.

The lawsuit raised a number of issues. However, Stadler restricted his decision to the question of ownership.

The zoning regulations require that an area subject to a PUD be under single ownership. In this case, three partners owned separate tracts. Therefore, "the Lakeside marina PUD violates this requirement and should not have been approved," Stadler wrote. "Since … the approval of the PUD is void, no other issues need to be addressed."

Rich DeJana, the Kalispell attorney representing Montana Eagle Development, said he's evaluating whether to file an appeal. Alternatively, the company could file another PUD application and proceed with the expansion. (The renovation of the existing restaurant and marina buildings is not affected by Stadler's decision and is moving forward.)

This was the first time the county has lost a court decision in a land-use case in several years, although it gets sued on a regular basis.

Earlier this month, for example, it was sued for approving the preliminary plat for Pressentine Estates, an 82-lot single-family subdivision on 165 acres located just east of the intersection of Helena Flats Road and Birch Grove Road.

The plaintiffs include Neighbors Over the Aquifer Inc., Terry and Bobbie Krogstad, Douglas and Karen Morehouse, and Linda Johnson. The county commissioners were named as defendants.

Among other charges, the lawsuit says that the environmental assessment for this project was inadequate; that the commissioners failed to consider cumulative impacts on water quality; that they failed to adopt findings of fact; that the project violates the county growth policy; and that the commissioners violated the plaintiffs' right to a clean, healthy environment and their right to participate.