BILLINGS – It’s been 10 weeks since a metal gate was installed in a Billings Heights neighborhood, dividing the residents and fueling the flames of a property rights dispute that’s been simmering for years.
“They want to make it as difficult for us as possible, and they want to disrupt our lives,” said Callie Luhman.
Luhman and 14 other neighbors are listed as plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Reichenberger subdivision’s second filing HOA and some of its residents. The lawsuit's goal is to permanently remove a recently installed barrier on Dover Lane.
The neighborhood is a secluded and quiet area of Yellowstone County off Dover Road near 5 Mile and near Pioneer School.
Luhman’s home is on Clearwater Way, a graveled county road, where roughly 20 other homes also sit. The only other exit from the neighborhood remains on Pioneer Road.
In late September, Yellowstone County District Judge Ashley Harada ruled the metal gate needed to come down, granting plaintiffs a temporary restraining order and an order to show cause.
“She granted us the temporary restraining order. It says the gate needs to be taken down and the road needs to be put down the way it was before.,” said Luhman.
While the gate has been unlocked and opened since that ruling, the barrier remains, leaving just one lane of traffic for drivers to pass through at a time.
MTN News first met Luhman back in August when the gate was installed.
Luhman says the feud within the neighborhood came to a head when one early Saturday morning in July, the gate went up, blocking access from one side of the subdivision to the other.
Luhman said she and others watched as residents of the first and second phases of the subdivision placed a locked gate on Dover Lane, which connects to the third phase.
She maintains the gate is illegal because, according to the subdivision covenants, the third phase of the neighborhood has a contract stating residents have permanent access to use Dover Lane, a private road connecting the first and second phases.
“We want to see it taken down and then we want to see it never happen again,” said Luhman.
She says the barrier in its current capacity is also a safety concern, confusing emergency vehicles and creating blind spots.
“If two people are coming, you have to wait and let them go by,” said Daniel Castro.
Castro is also named as a plaintiff in the case. MTN News met him on Dover Lane when the gate was open. He was on his way back from dialysis.
“I have kidney issues, so for me it’s kind of important for this gate to be open,” he said. “In case I have to get 911 through and it’s not on the Google Maps.”
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The president of the HOA, Lisa Howe, declined to comment on this story, at the advice of her attorney. But she previously said the barricade was put up to slow down traffic after repeated attempts to resolve concerns over safety.
Luhman believes the safety issue has reached a new level.
“Their whole reason for erecting this was on safety. It is now unsafe for us to commute and leave,” said Luhman.
According to the plaintiffs, the defendants have filed a counterclaim on the case.
The two sides have a hearing in Yellowstone County District Court for later this month where the judge could take additional action on the barrier.
