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A dispute over a Bozeman shopping center is headed to court.

Rocky Mountain Retail Group is suing the City of Bozeman because it claims the city is holding up "much needed economic development" by not issuing permits and allowing the Easter Seals-Goodwill to occupy space in the Hastings/Osco building on Main Street.

Bozeman City Attorney Greg Sullivan said he has received a copy of the lawsuit.

"We're in the process of reviewing it," Sullivan said.

The issue has been flaring for some months. On Easter Sunday, Rocky Mountain Retail Group took out a half-page advertisement in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, accusing the Bozeman City Commission of denying Bozeman of 35 new jobs. The company reportedly sent a letter to the commission, asking to open discussion on a proposal to bring the Goodwill store into the empty space formerly occupied by Corral West Ranchwear. But commissioners told city staff not to put the issue on their public meeting agenda.

During an earlier interview about the matter, Bozeman City Manager Chris Kukulski said Rocky Mountain Retail failed to meet city code and other obligations for years, such as repairing or replacing these aging building facades.

"As far as loosening or eliminating our regulations, we can't just pick and choose when to enforce the code based on what the economic conditions are. They have continued not to perform in that capacity and the city commission is not inclined to go a third time at changing the agreement," Kukulski said at the time.

Rocky Mountain Retail Vice President Eric Nelson was also interviewed for an earlier story and said at the time that the commission is imagining these requirements.

"We've completed all the work we were supposed to complete, and the city's reaching further than they're supposed to reach as it relates to requiring us to remodel that shopping center. And again, it's an imagined condition and it's costing jobs and creating vacancy which ultimately leads to blight," Nelson said.

In a news release about the lawsuit, Rocky Mountain Retail says some city commissioners and staff think a façade improvement was promised for the building but that Rocky Mountain Retail disagrees and accuses the city commission of not putting it on its agenda for discussion.

Rocky Mountain Retail is requesting a jury trial.