Controversy continues to swirl along the north shore of Flathead Lake, where neighbors and residents are clashing with landowners over a bridge being built to a private island.
The Community Association for North Shore Conservation, a local group opposed to the planned bridge from the shore in Bigfork to an island called Dockstader Island, filed a lawsuit in Flathead County District Court against the county and its commissioners, claiming they unlawfully issued a permit for the 481-foot bridge in 2011 without notifying the public and hearing input from all sides.
The Flathead County Commission approved the proposed bridge development four years ago without involving the public.
The lawsuit claims the county failed to follow the state’s Lakeshore Protection Act, which sets regulations to oversee development on lakes. The act requires county planning offices to publically review construction projects along shorelines that are deemed “significant.” Projects that are considered minimal do not require public review and can be approved by the commission.
The conservation group contends that the bridge project is significant and merits public review.
The landowners, Roger Sortino and his daughter, Jolene Dugan, are in the process of removing the current bridge pilings that were installed a year ago and relocating them to a new section of water between their property and the island, where the new bridge is being installed.
Roughly 80 people rallied near the site off Holt Drive in Bigfork on Feb. 15, protesting the county’s decision.
Dave Hadden, the head of the north shore group who lives near the bridge site, successfully filed for a work stop order last week, alleging the landowners had brought in riprap rock as fill for the north end of the island.
Members of the county planning board halted work on the bridge Feb. 17 and investigated, interviewing current and former contractors, the landowners and Hadden. After reviewing the site and the complaint, county planners determined that the project conformed to the permit and did not violate any of its terms, and the order was lifted Feb. 18.
“We had no grounds to continue the stop work order,” BJ Grieve, the county’s planning director, said.
Works continues on the bridge, which aims to restore access to a portion of private property that was once a peninsula but is now an island. The bridge permit allows it to be 481 feet long and 16 feet wide.
Construction was put on hold last year when the landowners sought an amendment to the project. Eventually, the landowners decided not to pursue the amendment and work resumed.