A permit for Brannigan’s Pub to open an upstairs dining area with small gaming machine and card table rooms sailed through the Kalispell City Council on Monday.

So did the pub’s request that Kalispell loosen rules limiting how big those gaming rooms can be.

Kalispell allows accessory-use casinos within 300 feet of a park, school, church, residential zone or another casino with a conditional use permit.

Council members approved a permit for Brannigan’s Pub, located in the Loading Dock building across from Depot Park.

They also agreed to let accessory-use casinos occupy up to 20 percent of a business’s total floor area, bumping that limit up from a 10 percent rule put in place more than five years ago.

Other city restrictions that apply to signs, lighting, entrances, landscaping and the need to shield an accessory-use casino from the business’s primary use will remain in place.

Dewey Swank, a partner in Brannigan’s Pub, said it’s exciting to see the vacant Loading Dock come back to life after an extensive renovation. The building reopened last fall and its first floor now houses the pub, a wine-and-beer shop, a hair salon and a bakery.

Opening a quieter dining area upstairs will require costly investments such as an elevator and sprinkler system, Swank told the council. And while a casino is not something the pub wants to push as its first priority, small gaming rooms could help generate money to make the project viable.

Kalispell’s prior 10 percent limit would have kept that space too small, however, especially with gaming machines growing in size since the city put that limit in place.

“I think it’s a good project. We’re trying to do it delicately and get the second floor moving,” Swank said. “Twenty percent just fit the space we had, so that’s what we proposed and requested.”

Swank and city planning staffers both noted that Montana law limits casinos to 20 video machines, so Kalispell should not see a proliferation of large accessory-use casinos even with the looser size restriction.

Planning staffers supported the change in regulations because it keeps most of the main rule intact and creates a more equitable situation for businesses that are trying to operate in or redevelop smaller spaces in Kalispell.

Both the permit and the regulation change passed by 7-0 votes. Council members Kari Gabriel and Phil Guiffrida III were not present. The regulation change must clear a second and final reading at the next regular council meeting.

Council member Jim Atkinson said he tends to agree with people who don’t want to see gambling in Kalispell. He said he hates to see the limit bumped up to 20 percent but also understands restaurants can require things such as accessory-use casinos to help them stay in business.

“Having said that, I will vote for this ordinance,” Atkinson said. “And hopefully what I’ve said will help people understand the quote-unquote need for a casino in order to provide other amenities inside our community.”

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.