Judge Grants Injunction Prohibiting Further Construction of 159-foot Dock on Flathead Lake for Lakeside Marina
In a two-part ruling, Flathead County District Court Judge Dan Wilson also denied injunctive relief regarding the lakeshore permit and ruled the marina’s construction can continue
By Maggie Dresser
After a local watchdog group challenged the county’s approval of the construction of a commercial marina along with a developer’s request for a variance that would allow a 159-foot dock extending from the shoreline of Flathead Lake, a Flathead County District Court judge ruled that while the marina’s development can continue, the extended dock’s construction must be temporarily halted.
In the March 12 ruling, Judge Dan Wilson granted an injunction against Flathead County, prohibiting the continued construction of the dock. Wilson said in an oral ruling from the bench that the variance violated public participation and environmental review mandates required under the Montana Lakeshore Protection Act.
“Those criteria set up the Lakeshore Protection Act that the state mandates must be observed in considering and granting permits for constructing docks and marinas on lakeshores and any project to which the Lakeshore Act applies,” Wilson said during the ruling.
As part of the ruling, he also denied the injunctive relief regarding the lakeshore permit, allowing the marina development to continue.
“The court finds that the applicant is not likely to succeed on the merits,” Wilson said.
The ruling comes after Citizens for a Better Flathead last month filed a motion for injunctive relief against the Flathead County Board of Commissioners, challenging their Feb. 3 decision to approve a variance for a proposed 159-foot dock and for a separate April 2025 decision to approve a commercial marina in which the dock variance would apply.
In the motion, attorneys for Citizens for a Better Flathead argued the county violated the decision-making process for the April 2025 marina permit and the February 2026 dock variance by failing to consult with the planning board or ensuring meaningful public participation opportunities, which violates the Lakeshore Protection Act.
“We are pleased that Judge Wilson granted the preliminary injunction based on the plain language of the Montana Lake and Lakeshore Protection Act,” Citizens for a Better Flathead Executive Director Mayre Flowers said in a press release. “The injunction will temporarily halt very real harm to this area and known bull trout critical habitat and recognizes the near certainty that Flathead County’s decision-making violated the public’s fundamental rights to meaningful public participation, pending the Judge’s consideration of the lawsuit’s merits.”
Without the variance, the county’s lakeshore regulations allow a maximum dock length of 100 feet from the shoreline. Meanwhile, the lakeshore permit also authorizes construction of a commercial marina within the Lake and Lakeshore Protection Zone (LPZ) of Flathead Lake, including the construction of three new docks with a total of 36 slips, the construction of a concrete boat launch, a fuel station, a shoreside sewage facility, and the installation of a pathway and steps for access.
The permit and the variance were requested by Discovery Land Company as part of a marina for members of a luxury private golf club planned in Lakeside.
“The length variance is needed to provide for adequate water depth for the inner row of proposed boat slips as well as safety for the public users,” according to the variance request submitted by Flathead Lake Land Partners on Jan. 5, which describes the project as the “Discovery Lakeside Public Marina.”
In August 2025, commissioners approved a preliminary plat for a 359-single-family-home subdivision called Flathead Lake Club. Additional plans for the property feature restaurants, a club house, a spa, fitness areas, offices, retail stores and other faculties, along with open space totaling 864 acres.
The company has a large portfolio of clubs around the world, which include Montana properties at Crazy Mountain Ranch in Shields Valley, Iron Horse Golf Club in Whitefish and the Yellowstone Club in Big Sky.
Despite widespread opposition from residents who were concerned about traffic congestion, water quality and gentrification in Lakeside, Flathead County commissioners Randy Brodehl, Brad Abell and Pam Holmquist unanimously approved the development.
