By JOHN STANG

The Daily Inter Lake

There's no need to tinker with a legally required 300-foot buffer between casinos and places such as churches, schools and parks, the Kalispell Planning Board informally agreed Tuesday.

The five Planning Board members who attended a Tuesday workshop all voiced that opinion. But no decision could be made because they discussed the matter in a workshop session, during which no votes legally could be taken.

The Kalispell City Council told the Planning Board to ponder changing the 300-foot requirement for casinos. That was because the council wrestled in the spring about how to allow a proposed Hilton Gardens hotel-restaurant complex to have a casino within 300 feet of Lions Park. Kalispell's zoning laws required a 300-foot buffer between the two.

The City Council - which wanted to sell the old Montana National Guard Armory site on U.S. 93 to the hotel's developer - wanted to facilitate the deal because of the new jobs and tax revenue.

The developer, Gateway Hospitality Group, considered the presence of a casino a deal breaker for the project, because the gambling income would be needed to offset the cost for a liquor license.

The council seriously considered changing the law requiring the 300-foot buffer, and referred that question to the Planning Board. Ultimately, the council granted a zoning exception to the hotel developer in return for some concessions to downplay the presence of a casino.

For the past two months, the Planning Board has wondered whether the need existed to change the 300-foot requirement.

On Tuesday, five members - with Kari Gabriel and Bob Albert absent - said there appears to be no need. They said that the 300-foot requirement has come into play twice for casinos in the past 10 to 20 years.

"If we dealt with it only twice in umpteen years, we can deal with it on a case-by-case basis," said board member Bryan Schutt.

Board chairman Timothy Norton said: "Change means loosening [the requirement]. … Let's leave it alone."

Also on Tuesday, the board:

. Decided to ask the City Council to discuss which of its members will serve on the Planning Board. That request was prompted by Gabriel - the council member on the board - missing several meetings because of a severe back injury suffered in a horseback accident.

. Recommended that the council approve a minor rearranging of six lots and a common area on Third Avenue East about 350 feet south of 14th Street East. Beargrass Holdings requested the changes so it can meet some building code requirements. It wants to build six four-plexes there with a common parking lot.

. Recommended that the council approve the Hilzac Corporation request to split five lots at Stratford Village into 10 lots. Hilzac wants to build five two-family townhouses on that land. The additional subdividing would allow half of a townhouse to be individually sold.