A lawsuit over the use of permanent gates in the Grouse Mountain Estates subdivision in Whitefish has a new legal wrinkle.

Grouse Mountain Homeowners Inc. has asked the court to allow the group to intervene in a lawsuit filed against the city of Whitefish by The Estates Homeowners Association, alleging the gates would impede its existing easement rights.

There are two homeowner associations serving the Grouse Mountain development near Grouse Mountain Lodge and the southern portion of the Whitefish Lake Golf Course.

Grouse Mountain Homeowners Inc. regulates the original first two phases of Grouse Mountain in the lower area of the neighborhood that surrounds the golf course. Fairway Drive is the primary road through that area.

The Estates Homeowners Association manages a third phase of development to the west on Grouse Mountain itself, called Grouse Mountain Estates. It is served by Mountainside Drive and Grouse Ridge Drive.

In 1996, the two homeowner associations exchanged mutual agreements providing residents of Grouse Mountain Estates with an easement over Fairway Drive and residents of Grouse Mountain with an easement over Mountainside Drive, according to a motion to intervene filed in Flathead County District Court.

In 2001 and 2002, The Estates Homeowners Association installed gates on Grouse Ridge Drive, and earlier this year intended to put permanent gates at the entrances of the subdivision on opposite ends of Mountainside Drive. That decision was spurred by the reconstruction of U.S. 93 West, which prompted motorists to drive through the subdivision to skirt the construction zone.

The Estates Homeowners Association asserted there’s enough public traffic on its private roads year-round to warrant permanent gates.

After the Whitefish City Council passed a resolution in October strengthening the city’s policy against gated communities, The Estates put its gate project on hold and sued the city.

Now, Grouse Mountain Homeowners Inc. wants to intervene in the lawsuit as a party defendant to oppose The Estates’ proposed installation of gates on Mountainside Drive and to defend its contractual easement rights.

Grouse Mountain residents use Mountainside Drive daily, both for ingress and egress, according to court documents.

The motion to intervene points out that the city of Whitefish doesn’t have the same easement rights as Grouse Mountain property owners. “Its interest in this lawsuit are not the same as Grouse Mountain Homeowners,” the motion notes.

The city of Whitefish doesn’t object to the motion to intervene, but The Estates Homeowners Association is opposed to the proposed intervention.

The Estates’ lawsuit against the city alleges that language in the plat specifically states that The Estates Homeowners Association is entitled to close its private roads to vehicular access by the public.

The lawsuit further alleges the city resolution passed in October regarding gates is unconstitutional because it violates substantive due process.

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