[Vision2020] Moscow City Council Ignores Due Process

[Donovan Arnold]

Moscow City Council Ignores Due Process.

Last night (6/27/05) the Moscow City Council heard an
appeal made by New St. Andrews College (NSA) regarding
the Board of Adjustment’s decision that NSA was in
violation of the City of Moscow zoning codes.

The 4-2 decision, I believe, only served as a catapult
to a court battle that can easily overturn the council
because it ignored an important part of law that
trumps any city code, due process. Setting aside any
position on the issue, and the evidence and arguments
presented, or shall I say in this case, lack of
evidence and arguments presented, do you honestly find
the process outlined by the Moscow City Code (MCC) for
appealing decisions regarding the planning and zoning
administrator as fair and incorporating due process
when you include the following:

First, let me point out that BOTH Mr. Curley,
representing those filing the complaint, and Mr.
Dickison, representing NSA,  stated that they were not
allowed to present evidence. Now I ask, what kind of
decision could possibly derive from a process where no
evidence is allowed to be presented? Is this a fair
process in your mind? Do you want a city council
making decisions where both sides of a complaint state
they were not ever permitted an opportunity to present
evidence? I surely do not. I would also hope that any
sound reasonable person would also reject such a
process that requires members of the city council to
form opinions and make decisions without presentation
of ANY evidence.  

Second, I would like to point out NSA was not allowed
to formally be represented in the BOA hearing. Their
status was only permitted as that of any concerned
members of the community, not as an interested party
whose property was threatened. They were also denied
the opportunity to present evidence or make arguments
they felt would advance their case.

Third, representatives for NSA were not given an
opportunity to review the information given to the BOA
until five minutes before the hearing began. This did
not allow the legal representatives of NSA time to
read and make a case or clarify any misinformation in
the materials presented by the complainants.
Furthermore, the information the representatives of
NSA were given was limited to that of only what those
filing the complaint consented to divulge to the
representatives of NSA until AFTER the hearing. 

Finally, the city council, in the appeal, was only
allowed to REVIEW argumentation made by the BOA
hearing. So any injustices made by the  BOA hearing,
and the lack of presentation of any new evidence, or
in this case NO evidence, was considered.

At no point, in the city code, is there an opportunity
for property owners to formally present a case in
defense of their own property. This is frightening. It
is horrifying to think that anyone in the city of
Moscow can make a case against a property owner that
they are in violation of city code, and at no time
during that complaint process the owner be given an
opportunity (or least the same amount of time as those
filing a complaint) to review the case presented to
the city and make a rebuttal or submit evidence in
defense of that property. 

Setting aside their vote on the latest appeal, I hope
that the Moscow City Council members will hear an
appeal made by NSA, and send the complaint back to the
BOA with the instructions that they allow NSA, and
those making the complaint, to submit evidence, and
that both sides be given access to the evidence
presented well before the hearing starts. In effect,
regardless of how they voted, before the City Council
makes a final decision on this issue, or any issue,
they need to insure that DUE PROCESS was included in
any decision they rendered. Otherwise, any decision
they make will be overruled by a court of law which
not only supports due process, but demands it. 

Donovan J Arnold



		
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