PRIEST LAKE — The Outlet Bay Owners Association is suing Bonner County and the Idaho Department of Lands to end the struggle over its boat launch ramp, 1st District Court records show.

Outlet Beach was platted in 1936 and it dedicated River Drive to public use, but never conveyed the route to Bonner County. The launch was built in 1961 at the end of River Drive and the public was charged for the ramp’s use. A cable was stretched across the ramp in 1990 and a gate was installed eight years later, according to court documents.

Bonner County attempted to obtain a submerged lands lease for the ramp, even though it didn’t build or own the facility, nor did it own the littoral rights to the ramp. The state rejected the application and a suit was filed in 2002 which required the association to remove signs indicating that the ramp was private, court records indicate.

The association entered into a new submerged lands lease in 2019, which included the ramp. In October 2019, Bonner County removed the launch.

“This removal was accomplished without any consent or prior notice,” John Magnuson, the association’s Coeur d’Alene attorney said in a 19-page civil complaint against the county and IDL.

The county subsequently sought permission from the state in the fall of 2019 to conduct work above and below the lake’s ordinary high-water mark, the suit alleges.

The association advised the county it had no permission to work on the ramp, which the county said had been “inadvertently” removed, according to the suit.

Moreover, the county had on three prior occasions acknowledged that the association owns the ramp privately and the county held no littoral rights.

Nevertheless, the county obtained a land use permit which enabled it to conduct work below the high-water mark, the suit claims.

The suit seeks the nullification of the Idaho Department of Lands permit, civil contempt against the county and a finding of breach of contract by the state. The suit was filed on July 28, records show.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.