Casper businessman Sonny Pilcher has received a conditional-use permit from the Natrona County Commission to open a strip club west of Mills.

The business will operate in the same building that housed Cowboys Saloon off of Yellowstone Highway.

Questions about granting the permit to Pilcher, who owns Sidelines Sports Bar in Casper and The Beacon Club in Mills, arose during a commission work session on Tuesday.

County Attorney Eric Nelson said the commission had little basis on which to deny the permit, thanks to vague legal language and First Amendment rights. Adult entertainment is protected freedom of speech.

Conditional-use permits are reviewable at the pleasure of the commission, Nelson said. If an establishment becomes a detriment to the health, safety and welfare of the people, the commissioners could decide to review or revoke the permit.

The county also has some statutory restriction rights on exterior signs and layout of the interior for adult entertainment establishments. Planning and Zoning Commission recommendations for the facility will include some of those restrictions, Nelson said.

Police Chief Tom Pagel presented the commissioners with information about the number of police calls to Sidelines for the years 2007 and 2008. Police responded to 140 calls in 2007 and 73 so far in 2008, but Pagel expects at least 110 by the end of the calendar year.

Sidelines receives the highest volume of police calls of any bar within city limits, Pagel said, adding that "it's a lot of calls for us, but the other side to look at is that it's a large establishment that runs the most people through it within our city limits."

In a letter to the commission dated Aug. 22, Pilcher said the number of incidents at his bars, which serve between 4,000 and 5,000 people each week, is relatively low.

"I am sure if there were statistics using the number of police calls and incidents at all bars in Casper, our number of incidents 'per capita' would be very low," he wrote.

Pilcher argued in his letter to commissioners that denial of the permit to operate the business as an adult club could lead to additional problems at the establishment.

"I believe that incidents in a gentlemen's club will be much less than operating as a country or hard rock-n-roll bar, which I would have to become if this application is denied," Pilcher wrote.

Sheriff Mark Benton, whose deputies have assisted the Mills and Casper police departments on some calls to Pilcher's existing bars, said he can't dispute that a "gentlemen's club" would have fewer calls, noting that the other "gentlemen's club" in the county rarely experiences problems.

"It would be the tone that Mr. Pilcher and his employees take that's going to make or break the program," Benton said.

"It depends on the quality of your gentlemen, I guess," Pagel added.

Contact reporter Megan Lee at (307) 266-0616 or megan.lee@trib.com.