[Vision2020] NSA: Unbroken Street-Level Commercial Frontage as a CUP Condition

[Scott Bauer]

          Visionaries,
   
  Moscow City Code states, “The principal purpose of the Central Business Zoning District is to provide a location for groups of compatible commercial uses . . . The Central Business Zoning District is the most intensive commercial zoning district. To promote pedestrian use, UNBROKEN, STREET-LEVEL, commercial frontage is encouraged in this zoning district.” (MCC 4-3-5(A))
   
  The economic purposes behind the policy of concentrating commercial street frontage in the CBD core is self-evident. The higher the density of commercial activities in a CBD, the further customers are willing to drive to engage in multi-stop-trip-chain shopping viz., the more stops available within a certain walking distance the greater attractivity of the CBD to the traveling public. In otherwords, an increase in the amount of commercial activities supplied to the traveling public in a given land-area creates an increase in travel demand to the source of those commercial activities, i.e., more activities = more travel.
   
  To remark the obvious, the Zoning Code encourages “unbroken, street-level, commercial frontage” because the Central Business District is, in fact, a business district. It is THE central business district, which by definition means there are no other central business districts in the City. The Comprehensive Plan reinforces this point, stating, “The City is fortunate in having a compact Central Business District” (12–4).
   
  Additionally, the Comprehensive Plan stresses the importance of preserving the Central Business District’s limited land supply for retail use: “Moscow’s central business district contains VERY LITTLE VACANT LAND” (13–1). “The city MUST control the LAND AVAILABLE for RETAIL BUSINESSES and enforce zoning” (6–7).
   
  To be sure, the Comprehensive Plan emphasizes the necessity of maintaining the CBD’s concentrated core. Consider these bullet quotes:
   
    “The success of the central business district can be attributed to many factors. One key is COMPACTNESS.” (4–1)
   
  “The COMPACTNESS of the downtown area and the variety of businesses there also encourage people to make the trip to downtown.” (4–1)
   
  “. . . encourage the COHESIVENESS of the CORE downtown.” (4–3)
   
  “Maintain the CONCENTRATED NATURE of the central business district in order to facilitate and encourage pedestrian movement within it.” (4–3)
   
  “The majority of shoppers to the central business district come here to shop in more than one store . . . keep CORE AREAS COMPACT for easy walking.” (4–5)
   
  “. . . keep downtown businesses CONCENTRATED.” (4–6)
   
  Plainer language could not be used. The Comp Plan establishes the CBD “as a principal retail shopping area” (4–3), calling it “one of the city’s major shopping areas” (4–3). If words have meaning, then the Comp Plan defines the core with clear policies emphasizing compactness, concentration, easy walking, and adequate parking for shoppers, in order to facilitate commercial business. 
   
  The former City Council and Mayor demonstrated no willingness to grasp, let alone apply, these simple concepts, which probably accounts for the referendum last November. Be that as it may, the responsibility of implementing these Comprehensive Plan policies and preserving the integrity of the CBD now falls to the Conditional Use Permit process. And I am persuaded that NSA or any other educational institution operating in the core should dedicate the first floor to COMMERCIAL STREET FRONTAGE, as a condition for their use of the CBD core.
   
  If the City does not apply this condition, then it will clearly dilute the CBD’s concentrated nature and thwart "core" objectives. Worse yet, it would contradict the stated purpose of the CBD as defined by the Zoning Code and the Comprehensive Plan.
   
  Scott






			
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