The Kalispell City Council meeting on Monday flared with public outrage about future casino development. Several residents had signs prepared with the words “no more casinos” ready for a protest.

But during the council meeting, the signs never went up and the council went on to approve drastic restrictions on new casinos.

Changes to Kalispell zoning ordinances largely prohibit casino development outside of two B-5 zones (west of the Kalispell Center Mall and south of the courthouse) and within 600 feet of other casinos, schools, churches and residential areas. Under the new ordinance, fewer than two casinos could go in today without applying for conditional use permits.

The public concern about casinos arose when the city approved the new Town Pump and Lucky Lil’s casino being built on West Reserve Drive. Since permitting the gas station/casino, the city had determined that 22 potential casinos could be added to the 24 currently in the city.

During a heated public comment period, several residents on Monday accused the City Council of brokering deals with the casino companies and ignoring public health.

“Why have we promoted this poverty in the valley? Maybe you’ll take the money you’ve earned from casinos and put that aside to people who are suffering,” Pauline Sjordahl said while waving a pen and pounding her fist on the lectern.

Shortly afterward, Mayor Mark Johnson gaveled Sjordahl down for speaking out while he tried asking City Manager Doug Russell how much money the city made from gambling machines.

Rather than stay in silence, Sjordahl left the meeting.

Russell said it was the first time he had seen someone gaveled down in a City Council meeting during the 3 1/2 years he has been city manager.

The city policy up for debate was a change to Kalispell zoning ordinances determining future placement of casinos within city limits.

The revisions would extend the minimum space between casinos, churches, schools and residential zones from 300 to 600 feet and create sign standards limiting gambling advertisement in the north and south entrance corridors.

After determining the city made $57,350 from gaming machines in 2015 according to Russell, council member Phil Guiffrida proposed three amendments that reshaped the severity of casino limits.

Guiffrida added federal highways to the locations that required 600-foot spacing between future casinos.

This would affect U.S. 2 and 93. Although this would not prohibit accessory-use casinos, these would still need conditional use permits, which the City Council would have to vote on for each project.

The first amendment effectively made the sign regulation redundant, so the second amendment was to strike the paragraph limiting signs.

The third amendment would push all future casino development into B-5 zones. This would allow fewer than two casinos to be able to fit into the current space available in the city’s two business district zones.

“This could be the most contentious and sweeping amendment I’m making,” Guiffrida said. “Tracking the new casinos that are here wouldn’t be overly burdensome, in my opinion, as a nonconforming use standard, but by doing this it addresses the existing casinos that might someday not be a casino.”

This means that if a casino building ever closes, it would lose its grandfathered status that allowed it to operate outside the B-5 zone. Other casinos still would be able to apply for nonconforming use permits, but each one would go through the city planning department and City Council.

Mayre Flowers, president of Citizens for a Better Flathead, one of the groups in support of stricter casino development laws, said she wasn’t fully satisfied with the final council version but knew it was the most restrictive option available on stand-alone casinos.

“We feel good about the action that council took,” she said. “I think they had a number of options that could have worked and we’re pleased that the council took a strong stance to say that casino development within the city does not need to expand.”

All three of Guiffrida’s amendments and the original 600-foot minimum spacing passed unanimously. Council member Jim Atkinson, who said he remembered sitting on the Kalispell City Council when the city first approved casinos in city limits, called it a “watershed moment for Kalispell.”

The casino restrictions face a final vote by the City Council.

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at [email protected].