Next week, the Flathead County Planning Board is taking another look at a proposal for a luxury private golf club and 359 single-family home subdivision in Lakeside that would be known as the “Flathead Lake Club” if approved.
Submitted under the applicant name “Flathead Friends, LLC,” the development is proposed by Discovery Land Company, which has a large portfolio of private clubs around the world. The company already developed three private clubs in Montana including Crazy Mountain Ranch in Shields Valley, Iron Horse Golf Club in Whitefish and the Yellowstone Club in Big Sky.
In its first public hearing on July 9, board members chose to table the proposal until Aug. 13, citing new information that had not yet been reviewed before the meeting. County planners also said there were issues surrounding water rights. Currently, developers do not have water rights at the 1,700-acre property, which planners had “concerns with.”
But while developers admitted they did not have a water right for the property, they assured county officials they were in the process of acquiring the right. That process entails obtaining Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) approval to drill wells and complete pump tests, which are required in order to submit the water right application, according to Brad Bennett of Water & Environmental Technologies in Kalispell.
“We have to come in and apply before we have a water right,” Bennett said.
According to the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), a recorded water right is required for the majority of water uses and a permit system was established following the Montana Water Use Act of 1973. Anyone planning a new or expanded development must obtain a permit to appropriate water.
But while developers assure county officials and public members a water right is in the process of being obtained, Discovery Land Company is running into water issues in southwest Montana at its Crazy Mountain Ranch property.
The DNRC on July 11 filed a lawsuit accusing Crazy Mountain Ranch developers of not having “a valid water right” for the water it has been using to irrigate a golf course it started constructing in 2024, according to the Montana Free Press. The DNRC is also asking a district court to consider fining Crazy Mountain Ranch for violating the Montana Water Use Act. A judge on July 18 directed the ranch to halt irrigation on the golf course.
Following the order, Crazy Mountain Ranch began sourcing some of its water from the municipality of Big Timber located about 50 miles east – trucking up to 110,000 gallons of water per week, according to the Montana Free Press.
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