The lake around Boothe Park boat launch has turned seasonably quiet.

Yet, a 63-year battle surrounding the small waterfront park on the north side of Lake Coeur d’Alene has again been fueled by a recent Idaho Supreme Court ruling.

The Dec. 11 decision upheld a contentious boundary on the east side of Boothe Park that includes the park boat launch, and harkens back to 1956.

In an earlier decision that was appealed by the Eastside Highway District, First District Judge Lansing Haynes ruled that the highway district didn’t own the launch.

Although the high court supports Haynes’ decision, highway district adminstrators said it has kept alive the debate over who exactly may access the boat launch at Boothe Park, and whether the Eastside Highway District — and the public — are allowed lake access at the park.

The court affirmed Haynes’ earlier decision that Gregory and Ellen Delavan own the launch, and that any boundary agreement between the couple and the highway district — which may or may not have existed between the district and previous property owners — no longer exists.

The Supreme Court also ruled that the summary judgment granted to the Delavans by Haynes must be re-addressed.

The Coeur d’Alene court must now revisit the issue and decide if Eastside has established “a statutory public highway” into the park and along the north of the Delavan property. Also to be clarified is whether Eastside’s easement includes the shoulder of the road leading into the park.

In its appeal, the highway district hoped the Supreme Court would change direction.

“We won some of it and we lost some of it,” Eastside supervisor John Pankratz said about the latest opinion.

He has watched the dust-up over the Boothe Park boundary and launch since 2003, when the district met with the Delavans to resolve the issues.

The park itself, a swath of lakefront property that measures 120 feet wide and 150 feet deep, was established around 1955 when it was conveyed to the Coeur d’Alene Highway District, the precursor of Eastside.

The park’s deed describes the property, but discrepancies in the size and measurement resulted in arguments.

The boat ramp was built 64 years ago on private ground, according to court testimony. The owners of the property at the time — Delevan’s grandfather — agreed to allow public use of the ramp, and built a barrier on the east side of it.

In the interim, according to court testimony, the district hired a surveyor to “straighten up the property lines.” The result was a new property line that used the barrier as a demarcation, engulfed the ramp and eventually resulted in the lawsuit. Supreme Court Justice John Stegner wrote last week that the barrier was not meant to be a property line.

Despite the controversy, the park itself is a quiet nook, accessed from East Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive via South Boothe Park Road. It lies between Sherman Avenue and Higgens Point.

Although Eastside Highway District maintains both the main road — a former highway — and South Boothe Park Road, and owns the small park with its gravel lot and lake view, Haynes’ ruling two years ago took away the highway district’s right to water access at the park.

Pankratz said the fight boils down to who will provide a place for the public to park vehicles, unload boats and access the water.

“We don’t know the complete outcome of this,” he said.

Delevan said his family has always allowed the public to use the launch and he doesn’t plan to change course.

“We kind of like having the public down there,” Delevan said.

He said the Supreme Court decision which affirmed his ownership of the ramp was expected.

“It was nice to see that,” he said.

The district believes its commissioners are simply looking out for the public’s interest.

“They are attempting to protect public use of that area,” Pankratz said. “It’s a nice place for the public to get to the lake.”