Restricting casinos to certain zones and increasing the distance between casinos are among options the Kalispell City Council is considering.

The council on Monday discussed how casinos in town could be managed at the local level. The work-session discussion comes after some residents loudly opposed a new Town Pump gas station and casino that were approved earlier this month.

The policies discussed included limiting casinos to certain zones and increasing the buffer between casinos and other facilities such as schools, effectively spreading them out.

“Looking through the other rules that Bozeman and Helena have put into place, everything ties to zoning,” Mayor Mark Johnson said.

A flashpoint in the Town Pump casino proposal was the location — on West Reserve Drive near U.S. 93 North. It’s the first business of its kind to go into that part of town.

The council approached regulatory options from a land-use perspective. The city already has some policies in place for casinos. Chief among them is a required 300-foot buffer between a casino and a church, park, school, residential zone or other casino.

That naturally limits the number of casinos within city limits, City Attorney Charlie Harball said. 

For regulation, the council is generally limited to land-use policies such as zoning. Many other factors have already been laid out at the state level.

“I believe what the statute is saying is we just cannot say we are going to limit the number of licenses to 15,” Harball said.

He suggested that the council and city staff work to identify what zoning districts would be protected from gambling. Then, with input from the public, the city could draft zoning options for consideration.

Council member Phil Guiffrida suggested that a specific zoning type be designated for casinos, but he also cautioned against creating a heavy cluster elsewhere in town.

“Every time you do something where you set overlays, it’s a density push,” he said.

Guiffrida also suggested that only stand-alone casinos should fall under the potential regulation, which means leaving accessory casinos under the current ordinances. 

Accessory casinos can be a few machines in the back of a restaurant, for example. Guiffrida argued that those can be steady revenue sources in a shifting market.

A contingent of area residents spoke against casinos at the work session. Their comments ranged from requesting a ban on casinos to dark characterizations of gambling.

“Don’t think that this is casual behavior,” said Pauline Sjordal, who said she is a former nurse. “Next to heroin and cocaine, it is highly addictive. And that’s why we have so many children needing food.”

The council took no action on Monday since the meeting was a work session. When city staffers complete policy options, they will be heard first at the Planning Board before coming back to the council.

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.