[Vision2020] 5-20-2005 Daily News: Men file additional zoning complaints; NSA grads claim UI, school district not compliant; city official denies complaint against Moscow Food Co-op

[Saundra Lund]

Visionaries:

Following is the article from today's (5-20-2005) Daily News.
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"Men file additional zoning complaints; NSA grads claim UI, school district
not compliant; city official denies complaint against Moscow Food Co-op

By Alexis Bacharach, Daily News staff writer


Moscow's Community Development Director Joel Plaskon denied a complaint
Thursday afternoon that challenged the Moscow Food Co-op's right to locate
in the downtown central business district. 

He was greeted this morning with two more complaints, this time against the
Moscow School District and the University of Idaho. 

Nathan Wilson and Aaron Rench, alumni of New Saint Andrews College, filed
the initial complaint against the co-op Tuesday in response to a ruling from
the Zoning Board of Adjustment that NSA's operations are prohibited
downtown. 

NSA President Roy Atwood appealed that decision this morning to the City
Council. 

Also today, Wilson and Rench filed complaints against the school district
over the use of the alternative high school and against the university. 

"The zoning code is clearly a mess," Atwood said this morning in a prepared
statement. "Even the Moscow School District and the University of Idaho are
not in full compliance. It's time the City Council fixed these problems with
the zoning code so people with ill motives and political ambitions aren't
able to exploit them at the city's expense like this in the future. 

"We will pursue all available legal means to preserve our rightful place
downtown, and to stop this continuing harassment of our Christian college." 

Local residents Charles Nolan, Joseph Hansen and Dustin Bauer filed the
complaint against NSA in January. 

Plaskon ruled the college was an allowable use, but his decision was
overruled in an appeal to the board of adjustment. 

Wilson said his complaints against the Co-op, the school district and the UI
were filed to expose the "hypocrisy" in the ruling against NSA. 

"Before (Mike) Curley (who represents the complainants against NSA), we
never realized how zoning code should be applied. Now, in what we like to
call the Common Era, we know that if use is not specifically permitted, then
it is prohibited," Wilson said this morning in a prepared statement. "That
might just go for religious schools, but we're pretty sure it's universal.
The University is in the University zone (designated on city maps with a U)
...Nowhere in the code are educational institutions listed as a permitted
use for the University zone." 

Wilson and Rench also pointed out that Moscow's alternative high school
operates in a neighborhood business zone, which doesn't explicitly permit
schools. 

"You know, I never really understood why people filed complaints, and
appealed and got all wound up. It just seemed so petty," Rench said in this
morning's statement. "But now that I've tried it, well, the buzz is amazing.
I'm pretty sure that if I don't seek professional help, I'll just keep
filing." 

Wilson and Rench said they'll appeal Plaskon's ruling on the Co-op to the
board of adjustment. 

"I think we all knew this was going to happen. We've been told to take the
weekend to consider the merits of an appeal. But we're not sure what merit
has to do it," Wilson said 

"Other greats have gone before us, and shown us the path. Mike Curley, for
example. Did he let Plaskon's level head get him down? No. He filed an
appeal, broke new ground, and remade the world of the zoning interpretation.
His shoes are small, but we're standing in them." 

Co-op manager Kenna Eaton would not comment this morning about the complaint
against the store's anticipated move to the old Gart Sports' building on
East Fifth Street. 

Alexis Bacharach can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 234, or by e-mail at
abacharach at dnews.com. "
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For those who want to read more about the "prepared" statement, I refer you
to Doug Wilson's monologue:
http://www.dougwils.com/index.asp?Action=Anchor&CategoryID=1&BlogID=1089


Saundra Lund
Moscow, ID

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do
nothing.
Edmund Burke