[Vision2020] Daily News, 09-29-05: P&Z: Let Council deal with it; Parking regulations one stickingpoint in Moscow zoning debate

[Art Deco]

From:  The Daily News, 09-29-05

P&Z: Let Council deal with it; Parking regulations one sticking point in Moscow zoning debate


By Alexis Bacharach, Daily News staff writer

Sue Scott said she isn't going to do the City Council's dirty work when it comes to educational institutions and parking in the central business district. 
"They want us to deal with it because elections are coming up," the Moscow Planning and Zoning commissioner said at a meeting Wednesday. "Let (Council) deal with it," she said. "Let them water the ordinance down and gut it in public."That meeting marked the seventh time in less than three months that zoning for schools, commercial schools and educational institutions appeared on the commission's agenda. 

The issue came about in January when three community members filed a zoning complaint against New Saint Andrews College, claiming city code prohibits educational institutions downtown. 

Community Development Director Joel Plaskon denied the complaint, but his decision was overturned by the Zoning Board of Adjustment. 

Council also sided with the complainants and instructed the Planning and Zoning Commission to reconsider how all types of school facilities are addressed in non-residential zones. 

Commissioners recommended that conditional-use permits be required in all zones and that educational institutions, except for the University of Idaho, be required to provide one parking space for every one-and-a-half students. Educational institutions in the central business district would have to provide parking in a different zone. 

Council agreed with some recommendations, but requested the parking requirement not be included in an ordinance to amend the zoning code. 

"We put a tremendous amount of time into this and heard hours of testimony from the public," Scott said. "I'm interested in protecting businesses and the intent of the central business district. If an educational institution wants to be downtown then they'll find a way to make it work. We're talking about able-bodied people here, I think they can handle walking a few extra blocks." 

She said parking in the central business district should be reserved for business patrons. 

"I live downtown and I park out of zone," she said. "Either the parking is out of zone or you take the educational institution out of the central business district." 

Commission Chairman Jerry Schutz said he, too, was disappointed Council eliminated the recommended parking requirement. He said the city had been looking for a way to address the parking situation downtown. The school zoning issue was the "perfect opportunity," he added. Plaskon suggested the commission take up parking as a separate issue. He said it's unfair to impose requirements on one entity without imposing it on any of the others. 

Schutz said the issue will never be taken care of if the commission keeps putting it off. He told Plaskon he will go the Administrative Committee Oct. 10 to argue the commission's case. 

"You have to start somewhere," Schutz said. "We should be seizing on the moment and dealing with it. If we have to piece meal it together, then so be it. If an educational institution in the central business district leased space at the Palouse Empire Mall or (Eastside) Marketplace they could run a shuttle or something." 

Scott said she won't vote in favor of any ordinance that allows students to monopolize downtown parking. 

Alexis Bacharach can be reached at(208) 882-5561, ext. 234, or by e-mailat abacharach at dnews.com. 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20050929/fe93a22e/attachment-0001.htm