The Rose Crossing Neighborhood Coalition is suing the Flathead County commissioners over their recent approval of the Rosewater water-skiing subdivision.

A lawsuit filed in Flathead District Court asks Judge David Ortley to void the commissioners’ conditional approval of the subdivision. It claims the commissioners’ action violated the county growth policy, the Two Rivers Neighborhood Plan and the state constitution.

Bill Tanner of Score Management won approval in June to develop Rosewater on 154 acres of farmland east of Whitefish Stage Road and north of Rose Crossing. The 58-lot subdivision — the first of its kind in the Flathead Valley — will feature a 27-acre manmade lake split into two water-ski courses.

The neighborhood coalition, listed as a Montana limited liability company that includes a member whose property borders the proposed subdivision, alleges the manmade lake poses serious environmental concerns and potential impacts the commissioners didn’t adequately address or mitigate.

The commissioners spent a couple of months considering the subdivision application, sending it back to the Planning Board for further study and another public hearing based on what they deemed to be new information about the proposed lake and lake liner.

After the Planning Board reaffirmed its recommendation for approval, the commissioners added a requirement for continuous monitoring in six wells throughout the property and also required Rosewater to follow a state law that forbids nighttime water-ski boat use.

The commissioners also opted to require a conditional-use permit from the county Board of Adjustment for construction of the lake.

The coalition contends that doesn’t go far enough.

“Neither the environmental assessment or the operation and maintenance manual prepared by the developer or the documentation prepared by the county staff and commissioners took into account the significant adverse impacts the subdivision poses to ground and surface water, noise levels, soil stability, wildlife habitat and public health and safety in the area,” the complaint states.

The lawsuit points out the 50 million gallons of water to be drawn from the Whitefish River for the lake translates to 417 million pounds of water in an area that’s above a perched aquifer and close to the river.

The coalition further notes the plastic liner is guaranteed for only 20 years, an issue that came up many times during the approval process for the subdivision.

Alleged violations of both the Flathead County growth policy and the Two Rivers Neighborhood Plan are detailed in the complaint.

It points out the Two Rivers plan requires the county to identify county services and utilities prior to development in urban classifications, and claims the commissioners didn’t identify those services and didn’t require Rosewater to connect to county sewer services.

“Instead, the commissioners approved the Rosewater application with individual sewer systems on each of the development’s 58 lots and five on-site wastewater treatment systems,” the complaint says.

The lawsuit also faults the county for not including public parkland and open space in the private development. The project violates the state constitution, the plaintiffs allege, because the commissioners failed to adequately study and document the potential environmental impacts of the subdivision.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.