[Vision2020] NSA/Verizon/Zoning Trouble Timeline (was: Whostartedit? Who cares?)

Sat Dec 17 12:07:25 PST 2005

Handsin,

 Here is a novel idea! Before  spreading something that might be a rumor, why don't you get off your  ass and go down there and check yourself. Then you can say, "There is  (not) a suggestion box being maintained at Anselm House."

  This is lame as the time Reverend Keely wrote on here that she did not  want to spread rumors about Peg Hamlett and then preceded telling  everyone a rumor in the form of a question.

  Take Care,

  _DJA

Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com> wrote:              v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}                  st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }                              Rumor Control has it, and inquiring minds  want to know:

    Is Moscow City Council maintaining a  suggestion box at Anselm House?

    Hmmm.

    Tom “just stirring the stink  pot” Hansen
    U.S. Army (Double-Dipping Lifer)
    Just  Another Intolerista Liberal Elitista Diversity-Cleansing Wacko Nutjob  Horse’s *** Loose in the Palouse Doing What Comes Natural

         “Life  should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving  safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in  sideways, chocolate in one hand, a drink in the other, body thoroughly  used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO. What a ride!'”

---------------------------------

    From:  vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com] On Behalf Of Bruce and Jean Livingston
  Sent: Saturday, December 17, 2005  11:20 AM
  To: vision2020 at moscow.com
  Subject: Re: [Vision2020]  NSA/Verizon/Zoning Trouble Timeline (was: Whostartedit? Who cares?)

        I  think that a subsequent post from Rose Huskey corrects, though not  explicitly, the mistake in paragraph 3 below of Joan's  recitation.  I believe that the City did give NSA an occupancy  permit for the Skattaboe bldg.  What NSA failed to obtain was a  "zoning certificate," which is also required.  That certificate  has still never been issued (and can't be, unless the zoning code is  changed, because NSA has been found to be an illegal use under current  code).

        The  files available for review in City Hall plainly show that when NSA  was being told about its various zoning violations in Fort Russell  and that they had to leave Fort   Russell  (where they were operating illegally), that the City explained the  requirement of the Zoning Certificate.  Nevertheless, NSA did not  apply for a zoning certificate when it moved downtown.

        Bruce Livingston

            ----- Original Message ----- 

        From: Joan Opyr  

        To: bill bonte 

        Cc: vision2020 at moscow.com  

        Sent: Friday, December  16, 2005 6:33 PM

        Subject: [Vision2020]  NSA/Verizon/Zoning Trouble Timeline (was: Who startedit? Who cares?)

  On 16 Dec 2005, at 16:31, bill bonte wrote:
    Speaking  of who started it, what was the origin of the NSA zoning mess.  I  have read vision2020 and the daily news for the past 2 years and I  still am not clear on two points.

 1. Didn't the realtor who  sold the building to NSA know that the planned use was a violation of  the zoning ordinance?  Shouldn't she bear some (financial)  responsibility for this mess?

 2. Why didn't the city  intervene and forbid the use of the property as a college.  Did  they know what was to be done with the property or was NSA's opening a  surprise?   If I open a small grocery store in my garage,  zoned R-2,   I'm sure I'd be issued a zoning violation  citation and forced to close.

  I seems so simple to me:  the CBD is not zoned for a college, close them  down!

  Bill Bonte

  Hi Bill,

  This is the timeline of events, as best I recall:

  1. The Verizon Building was sold by Bennett Realty, specifically by  Shelly Bennett. (I may be spelling her first name wrong. Perhaps it's  Shelley?) There was more than one bid for the building, and Doug  Wilson's was the lowest, not the highest. Why NSA won is anyone's  guess. A tax write-off for Verizon because they sold to a non-profit.  (Yes, I know; that opens up another can of worms.)

  2. At the time of the Verizon sale, New St. Andrews was located -- illegally --  in the home of Chris Schlect on Polk    Street.  The City told Schlect and company that they could not operate a college  in this residential zone. The college continued to operate in that  location until the Verizon/Skattaboe Building was renovated and ready  to be occupied.

  3. NSA moved into the Verizon/Skattaboe Building. They did not get and do not  now have an occupancy permit.

  4. Three evangelical Christians -- two former NSA students and one ex-member of  Christ Church  -- filed a zoning complaint against NSA on the grounds that educational  institutions are prohibited in the Central Business District. Why?  Because the CBD was created to prevent the encroachment of the U of I  on downtown retail space. This happened in the wake of the U of I's  purchase of the old Murdock's Tavern and Cavenaugh's Hotel.

  5. Joel Plaskon ruled on behalf of the City that the complaint filed  against NSA was without merit or some such. (Mike Curley, the attorney  for the three plaintiffs, will perhaps supply the correct terminology.)  

 6. Plaskon's ruling was appealed. The City Council then  voted 4 to 2 that NSA could not, in fact, be located in the Central  Business District under current zoning code. 

 7. Someone or  ones set in motion the current attempt to amend the city zoning code so  that NSA could remain downtown. I attended several city planning and  zoning meetings, ably chaired by Jerry Schutz, who earned my eternal  respect for his exemplary conduct of those hearings, during which  everyone was hot under the collar and pretty damned feisty. He never  lost his cool or, more importantly, his sense of humor and proportion.  (I think Jerry is a Republican, so coming from this Democrat, this  praise is high praise indeed.)

 8. Planning and Zoning made a  host of recommendations re: amending city code to allow NSA downtown.  The City Council rejected those and bounced the whole thing back to P  & Z, which worked again on this thankless task. The fight now seems  to be about parking rather than a straight up-or-down should colleges  be allowed in the Central Business District. 

 I say no; some  say yes; others don't seem to give a tinker's damn. I envy the latter  group because they're not tempted to kick one another's teeth down one  another's throat over this issue. I'm sure they fight about other  things -- whether or not Moscow  needs a ring road; water mining; the proposed ball fields. Who knows?  We're all different, and different things push our buttons. 

  (Mine are pushed by people who call my friends "simpering douche bags."  I'm funny that way. I also don't much care for hectoring lurkers who  get hold of the wrong end of the stick and then proceed to lecture me  on bullying. I'm glad I don't have Kathy Sprague's nerve in my tooth.) 

  Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment
  www.joanopyr.com

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