[Vision2020] Moscow P&Z Fine-Tunes Zoning Plan

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (September 8, 2005) Moscow-Pullman Daily News with a special
thanks to Michelle Dupler.

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Moscow P&Z fine-tunes zoning plan; K-12 schools excluded from central
business and industrial districts

By Michelle Dupler, Daily News staff writer

The Moscow Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday moved a step closer
to making a formal recommendation to the City Council on how to regulate
schools in the city's zoning code. 

The commission previously had suggested on Aug. 31 that all three types of
schools defined in the zoning code should be permitted as conditional uses
in all zoning districts. That would require all proposed schools to apply
for a conditional-use permit, which are subject to public hearings before
the Zoning Board of Adjustment. 

The rationale behind requiring conditional-use permits was that the process
would allow public input and evaluation of each proposed school on a
case-by-case basis. 

On Wednesday, the group carved out a few exceptions to its previous
recommendation. 

Working from a table prepared by Commission member Art Bettge, the group
elected to exclude K-12 schools from the central business and industrial
districts, citing safety considerations for children in close proximity to
the heavy traffic in the downtown core and potentially hazardous activities
associated with industrial areas. 

Some places just didn't seem to be right for conditional uses in any case,
Bettge said. 

The commission also recommended that K-12 schools be excluded from the RTO,
or research/technology/office district, because they were not an appropriate
use given the code's intention to reserve space for the development of
technology-based businesses. 

Educational institutions, or colleges and universities, were not found to be
a good fit in either the industrial zone or the RTO zone. Commercial
schools, however, are permitted in both districts through the conditional
use permit process, which would allow the Zoning Board of Adjustment to
evaluate the nature of the school and whether or not it is an appropriate
fit. As an example, Bettge suggested a vocational school that teaches
welding would be a good fit in an industrial zone where it would not disturb
the neighborhood, but may not be a good fit in a location surrounded by
offices or residences. 

The "strongest possible consideration of impact and potential conflict"
would be given to educational institutions wishing to locate in the downtown
central business district, with special consideration being given to the
size and scale of the facility and parking needs. 

At recent meetings, several downtown business owners suggested parking was a
problem in downtown Moscow and that parking spaces should be available for
retail customers rather than students. The commission opted to recommend an
off-site parking requirement for schools located downtown to ensure parking
remains available for retail businesses. 

Officials from New Saint Andrews College believe claims by opponents that
the college "eats up" downtown parking may be misleading. 

An informal count of available parking spaces conducted by the college from
when classes began on Aug. 18 through Sept. 7 in the Jackson Street lot
behind the college showed an average of 54 available spaces, according to a
written statement by the college, which included a spread-sheet of the
findings. 

The commission will meet again at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 14 and is expected to
make a formal recommendation to the council at that time.

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Thanks again, Ms Dupler.

And thank you, City Council, for echoing the sentiments of a vast majority
of your constituents.

Take care, Moscwo.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice, and when they
fail in this purpose, they become the dangerously structured dams that block
the flow of social progress."

- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.