diff --git a/settings.py b/settings.py
index 251b1c18b84..c8ee47249f5 100644
--- a/settings.py
+++ b/settings.py
@@ -12,6 +12,12 @@
 from olympia.lib.settings_base import *  # noqa
 
 
+# "production" is a named docker stage corresponding to the production image.
+# when we build the production image, the stage to use is determined
+# via the "DOCKER_TARGET" variable which is also passed into the image.
+# So if the value is anything other than "production" we are in development mode.
+DEV_MODE = DOCKER_TARGET != 'production'
+
 WSGI_APPLICATION = 'olympia.wsgi.application'
 
 INTERNAL_ROUTES_ALLOWED = True
diff --git a/src/olympia/lib/settings_base.py b/src/olympia/lib/settings_base.py
index 17baaa9b197..b38d3e6f44b 100644
--- a/src/olympia/lib/settings_base.py
+++ b/src/olympia/lib/settings_base.py
@@ -64,11 +64,7 @@ def path(*folders):
 # we want to raise an error.
 DOCKER_TARGET = env('DOCKER_TARGET')
 
-# "production" is a named docker stage corresponding to the production image.
-# when we build the production image, the stage to use is determined
-# via the "DOCKER_TARGET" variable which is also passed into the image.
-# So if the value is anything other than "production" we are in development mode.
-DEV_MODE = DOCKER_TARGET != 'production'
+DEV_MODE = False
 
 # Used to determine if django should serve static files.
 # For local deployments we want nginx to proxy static file requests to the