When are enough casinos enough?
Just recently on a lazy summer day my family and I received a distressing letter in our mailbox here on Hodgson Road. A letter from the Planning and Zoning Office with a potential diagnosis of the big “C”: Casino. Right next to and adjoining our property.
Treatment options are to be explored at the next County Planning and Zoning Advisory Board hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 6 at 6 p.m., sharp.
Nobody wants to get such a letter in their mailbox. I went from planning my daughters’ school shopping to researching case studies and endless hours of figuring out the best way to thwart such a business that has no business in our immediate lives. I have subsequently spent hours preparing “proof” of reasons why a casino should not be right next door to my house: The increased traffic (requesting studies and crash information for Hodgson Road and Highway 93), the horrible proposed hours of 10 a.m. - 2 a.m. seven days a week (again, trying to come up with proof that this would be disruptive), the snarl of setback requirements in certain residential circumstances, the ratio of casino floor space to “restaurant seating” that allows setbacks to be much less, and on and on.
I have waded through 229 pages of the Flathead County Zoning Regulations, contacted numerous organizations and people (all willing to give me much needed guidance and advice) and still I am not sure I have provided enough “evidence” to prevent such a business from establishing a permit to deviate from the acceptable business models under a B-2 business zone.
I think most of us here in the valley can agree that more stringent rules and regulations need to be put in place when deciding where to allow casinos. Casinos are a bit more controversial than, say, requesting a permit for a pet boarding business or an RV storage facility, yet the process is exactly the same. There has been a lot of discussion at the administrative level as to exploring a system to keep casino growth in check. Meanwhile, casino growth is trucking right along at top speed. Concerned citizens continue to show up at the hearings to protest, and are disappointed when the council has no choice but to allow these establishments. To put it quite simply, the current process is far too easy to establish a casino just about anywhere and everywhere in this valley.
The next proposed casino is calling itself “The Midway Casino and Tavern.” Indeed. Midway between the 32 casinos already operating in Kalispell and the 20 or so casinos operating in Whitefish. I will show up at the hearing on Sept. 6 with all of my assembled reasons why a casino should not be setting up shop right next to my home and right on the doorstep of Happy Valley. When are enough casinos enough? At this rate, there may very well be a midway casino to the Midway Casino moving into your neighborhood soon.
— Holly Batcheller Kemp, Whitefish