"A pretty prime target for a resort project or a condo." That is how David Fetveit described his street in an interview with the Daily Inter Lake. He has spent three years leading a neighbor effort to put zoning on Lakeside Boulevard, the winding road that runs along Flathead Lake south of downtown Lakeside. The street is currently unzoned. The paper reported that this means there is nothing to prevent high-density development there.
If you are comparing lakefront or near-lake parcels around Flathead Lake, that one fact matters more than any median price. A parcel's value in Lakeside depends partly on what can be built beside it. In 2026, two things decide that: who pays for sewer capacity, and whether the land falls inside a zoning district. A detour through downtown Lakeside this fall is the most visible sign of the first. A petition on Lakeside Boulevard is the clearest sign of the second.
Two Bills for One Sewer System
The traffic reroutes through downtown Lakeside this season come from the Lakeside County Water and Sewer District (LCWSD). The district is replacing sections of sewer line to add capacity for new development in the area, according to Hagadone News Network. Discovery Land Company is paying for it. Discovery is the developer behind Territory 1889, which will bring more than 350 homes to land south of town.
There are actually two separate bills, and they land on different people.
| Piece of the system | Who pays | What the record shows |
|---|---|---|
| Collection system: gravity mains, force mains, lift stations, southward extension | Flathead Friends LLC / Discovery Land Company | Under a March 2025 Wastewater and Water Service Agreement, the developer covers all design and construction costs |
| Treatment facility replacing the 1987 aerated lagoon | Existing LCWSD ratepayers, along with other project funding | Rates rose an average of $30 per month starting September 2025, and ratepayers contribute roughly $28 million |
The project page from Robert Peccia and Associates, the engineering firm managing the work, is direct about the first bill. It says 100% of the Collection System Improvements project will be paid for by the developer of the Flathead Lake Club, and no portion by existing LCWSD wastewater ratepayers.
The second bill is already showing up in mailboxes. The Flathead Beacon reported that from September 2025, metered customers pay a base rate of $61 per Volume Ratio Unit, up from $31. Flat-rate customers pay $78, up from $48. District General Manager Rodney Olson told the Beacon the plant upgrade launched in June 2021, "before any large developers."
For a buyer, this means the sewer line under the highway and the plant that treats what flows through it come from different sources of money. A listing that says "on LCWSD sewer" now carries a monthly cost that roughly doubled in late 2025. It also connects to a pipe network being enlarged by someone else's development budget.
Capacity Means Three Different Things in Lakeside
The capacity question gets muddled because three separate figures are in play:
- Treatment, today and near term. According to a March 2025 Daily Inter Lake report, the district's initial wastewater-facility permit adds 200,000 gallons per day to the existing 310,000.
- Treatment, eventually. The later facility is designed for about 900,000 gallons per day. Discharging more than 200,000 gallons per day requires another environmental review, according to the Flathead Beacon.
- Conveyance. These are the larger pipes and lift stations going in now. No published source gives a gallons-per-day figure for the capacity they add.
The Flathead Lakers, a lake advocacy group, wrote in April 2026 public comments that the service agreement allocates about 200,000 gallons per day of Phase 2 capacity to Territory 1889. That figure comes from the group's own reading, and the engineering project page does not confirm it.
The construction schedule has the same split. The Bigfork Eagle reported that the first contract, a $4.2 million gravity-main replacement awarded to Swank Enterprises from Blacktail Road to Bierney Creek Road, was set to start August 3, 2026, and finish in November. The full collection program must be done by January 2028. November marks the end of one contract, and more phases of the program follow it.
What "Unzoned" Means Once Larger Pipes Arrive
More treatment and conveyance capacity makes denser building physically possible. Whether it is allowed depends on zoning, and much of the lakeshore south of downtown has none.
Neighbors on that stretch filed for the proposed Lakeside Boulevard South Zoning District. It covers properties along Lakeside Boulevard, Overlook Terrace and Political Hill Road. The district would combine One Family Limited Residential and Low Density Resort Residential zones. Multifamily units or tourist accommodations with more than five units would need conditional approval through a public comment process, and buildings would be capped at 35 feet.
The application rests on the 2008 Lakeside Neighborhood Plan. That plan designated this lakefront stretch for "the traditional development pattern of single-family structures and summer cabins" and discouraged "high-density, multi-family development along the waterfront." Fetveit, who helped write that plan, told the paper the petition was not a response to any single project. He described it as carrying out the residential designation the plan set out nearly two decades ago, which nobody had ever formally applied.
A neighborhood plan describes intent. A zoning district sets enforceable limits. Two lakeshore parcels in Lakeside that look alike can face very different futures next door, depending on whether a district like this one is ever adopted.
How a Part 1 Petition Moves
Montana's citizen-initiated zoning, often called "Part 1 zoning," dates to 1953. Under MCA 76-2-101, the process runs in this order:
- Owners of at least 60% of the affected real property sign a petition, and the proposed district must cover at least 40 acres.
- County commissioners receive draft governing materials before deciding whether the 60% threshold is met.
- Commissioners may create the district when public interest or convenience requires it, and may appoint a planning and zoning commission of up to seven members.
In Flathead County, a Planning Board hearing comes first. It is advisory, and its recommendation goes to the commissioners for final action. The Lakeside Boulevard application is scheduled before the Flathead County Planning and Zoning Board on October 14 at 6 p.m. The commissioners' public hearing has not yet been scheduled.
The organizers' numbers show what the threshold takes in practice. Of the 57 properties in the proposed district, 40 were in favor, or 70%. Counting owners who said "maybe," support reached 77%, and no one responded in opposition. The Lakeside Community Council voted unanimously on September 29 to recommend approval. Fetveit estimated the three-year effort cost close to $11,000, including hiring Missoula-based Orion Planning and Design for the technical application. The paper reported that more than 130 areas statewide have been brought into zoning districts this way.
Sources reported the county's figures differently. The Daily Inter Lake describes about 90 acres, while the county's legal notice lists 82.42 acres.
The Development Driving Demand Is Still Clearing Permits
The capacity is being built on a fixed schedule. The project that prompted it is moving on a less certain one. The Flathead Beacon reported that county commissioners approved the preliminary plat for Territory 1889 in August 2025. The plan calls for 359 single-family homes and a golf course, subject to conditions and a later final-plat review. The Daily Inter Lake puts the site at about 1,700 acres. Proposed amenities include a clubhouse, spa, restaurants, retail, 864 acres of open space, and a members' marina with 36 slips. The marina was not part of the plat application.
Several reviews are still open:
- Sanitary review. As of June 2026, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality was reviewing sanitary and water facilities for the first 80 lots, and later phases need separate review. The Daily Inter Lake reported that the original water-right permit was tied up in court and further action on it had been paused.
- Water rights. On August 19, 2026, the LCWSD board approved a proposed five-year lease of 125 acre-feet per year of existing water rights to Flathead Friends at $81,500 per year. The Daily Inter Lake reported that the lease still needs the developer's acceptance and approval from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, which could take six to 12 months or longer.
- Discharge permits. A district judge ruled for the state on August 10, 2026, in a challenge to the Phase 1 groundwater discharge permit. On August 14, plaintiffs including the Flathead Lakers and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes filed a new challenge over Phase 2.
- Procedure. Citizens for a Better Flathead and a ratepayer challenged the district's public-participation process. A judge denied their request to halt the projects in August 2025, and they appealed.
A separate case produced a temporary injunction against further construction of a proposed 159-foot dock at a Lakeside marina, while allowing other marina work to continue.
A Short FAQ
Does the developer-funded sewer line change an existing customer's bill? RPA's project page says no portion of the collection project is charged to existing LCWSD wastewater ratepayers. The higher monthly rates that began in September 2025 pay for the separate treatment facility.
When does the downtown construction end? Hagadone News Network reported that all current construction is expected to wrap up in November 2026, with work generally between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. and access to downtown businesses kept open. Later phases of the collection program run through January 2028. The district posts closure alerts at lcwsd.com/alerts.
Would the proposed zoning ban multifamily buildings on Lakeside Boulevard? No. As proposed, projects with more than five units would go through conditional approval with public comment, and all buildings would be limited to 35 feet. The district does not exist until county commissioners create it.
This post explains how Lakeside's sewer financing and Montana's zoning process work. It is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice, so confirm how any rule applies to a specific parcel with a qualified attorney or the county planning office.
Whether a Lakeside parcel sits inside a zoning district, what its sewer service will cost, and how far along the permits next door are all affect what you're buying along with the lake frontage. If you're weighing ground along Lakeside Boulevard or nearby, Slezak Group is glad to work through the zoning and utility records with you. Work with us and start a private conversation.