BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The legal fight over development at the Bellingham waterfront continues.

Harcourt Developments has been granted a restraining order against the Port of Bellingham so it can finish condominium projects along the Whatcom Waterway. The order bars the Port from restricting Harcourt from accessing areas the developer says it needs to complete the projects.

Whatcom County Superior Court documents say Harcourt filed the countersuit on April 4, just a day before the Port would be allowed to trespass Harcourt from those areas.

Harcourt’s request for the restraining order states that multiple major events delayed development including wars, flooding and labor shortages. The court granted the restraining order on Apr. 8, noting in documents that Harcourt has a “well-grounded fear” of an invasion of their rights.

The Port picked Ireland-based Harcourt as the Master Developer of the former GP site in 2015. Repeated project delays led the Port to cut the acreage assigned to Harcourt for redevelopment and to eventually rescind the Master Developer designation.

A hearing is set for May 10 on continuing the restraining order.