[Vision2020] BOA meeting tonight

Tue Apr 25 13:02:21 PDT 2017

Thanks, Rose, for doing this important work.

Nick

On Tue, Apr 25, 2017 at 12:36 PM, Rose Huskey <rosejhuskey at gmail.com> wrote:

> Once again the New Saint Andrews scheme machine is churning out the same
> tired old ideas to recreate Oxford on the cheap (minus the authenticity and
> breadth of knowledge in the celebrated British original) on Main St. in
> Moscow.  I sent the following note to the BOA – which I would like to share
> with V2020.  If you are planning to attend the hearing go early as you can
> bet the entire student body of NSA will be there (probably not wearing the
> silly Harry Potter gowns however.)  For those not able to join in the
> packed room fun apparently the hearing is being streamed at:
> https://www.ci.moscow.id.us/Pages/tvchannel.aspx
>
>
>
> *Integrity Matters*
>
>
>
> The commercial business district was never intended to be a venue for a
> privately owned religious school to enjoy a seven hundred seat auditorium,
> school offices, music practice rooms and a racket ball cum exercise area.
>
>
>
> Past behavior is often predictive of future actions. The NSA conditional
> use permit expansion request comes with a history that should be considered
> when assessing how New Saint Andrews administrators, leadership, and
> members of the affiliated church have responded to previous Conditional Use
> Permit requirements.
>
>
>
> The New Saint Andrews Admissions web page, under the subheading “Housing”
> http://www.nsa.edu/admissions/housing/  includes, in part, the following
> statement:  “Most students’ board with Christian families…”  Average costs
> for boarding are described as at least $400.00 a month, which are presented
> as less expensive than apartment living.  Twelve years ago eighty plus
> students boarded with Christ Church families.  I have attached that 2005
> list with addresses of boarding houses at that time.  Because the school
> has grown and continues to encourage boarding as a first choice for
> students, I am confident that that number has increased.
>
>
>
> The city of Moscow requires all boarding houses in Moscow to apply for
> Conditional Use Permits.  Ten years ago the city addressed complaints
> related to New Saint Andrews boarding houses.  The issue received a great
> deal of publicity.  It is unlikely that any home owners who are allied with
> New Saint Andrews are ignorant of the city requirement for boarding house
> operators to obtain a conditional use permit.  In anticipation of tonight’s
> hearing I stopped by the Mann Building a few weeks ago to ask how many
> boarding house CUPs and been granted in the last ten years.  The answer was
> one – and it was unrelated to New Saint Andrews.
>
>
>
> Integrity matters, particularly when one applies to the city and by
> extension the community for the special privilege of a conditional use
> permit.  Why should the Board of Adjustment, or, for that matter the
> community give any consideration to this current request when it has been
> abundantly clear for over ten years  that the very group asking for this
> conditional use permit is knowingly and willfully in clear violation of
> other conditional use permit requirements.
>
>
>
> Given the history of violations of the requirement for boarding house
> conditional use permits there is little doubt that these violations will
> increase if NSA is permitted to more than double their enrollment.  It is
> my hope that members of the Board of Adjustment are mindful of this history
> as they consider the matter before them this evening.
>
>
>
> Fortunately, the recent purchase of a land in north-eastern Moscow offers
> NSA a rare opportunity to visually reproduce their curriculum efforts to
> recreate a medieval scholastic tradition.  Logos School has received a
> conditional use permit for the site.  In addition to their plans for a K –
> 12 school, *after* securing the appropriate permission from the city
>  they could also invite New Saint Andrews to join them. Perhaps they might
> consider including student dormitories which would also mitigate their
> tradition of non-compliant boarding houses.  New Saint Andrews now has a
> golden opportunity to construct their very own version of a cathedral close
> right here in Moscow thus finally putting to rest all their ambitious out-
> of-compliance property notions in an appropriate, arguably, charming way.”
>
>
>
> Rose Huskey
>
>
>
> >>>>>>>>>>
>
> In the note to the BOA I included a list of boarding houses from 2005
> Christ Church directory.  I will not attach that here because if some home
> owners have moved from the homes listed in the church directory I would not
> want some innocent family tarred by the previous owners brush.
>
>
>
> It is also necessary to point out that since I sent the original list to
> the city Christ Church  in 2005 Christ Church has stopped listing addresses
> for NSA students – or conceals them on-line for members access only.  This
> is strictly an undercover operation.  Do you suppose the revenue is
> accurately reported to the state and federal revenue services? For example,
> based on Doug Wilson’s own blog site he has four borders (which he
> typically has had for many years and at minimally $4,000 a head he’s
> bringing in 16 K a year. Multiply that  by church wide boarders and the
> annual take is several hundred thousand dollars.
>
>
> *“Sabbath Dinner*One of the things that makes this all go is the fact
> that Nancy is amazing. Every week we launch the Lord’s Day at 6 pm Saturday
> night. We have the two of us, three kids, their spouses, and seventeen
> grandkids. We bring my dad over for sabbath, which makes us a cool 26. *In
> the school year we have four boarders who usually join us*, which brings
> us to 30.” from Doug Wilson’s blog: https://dougwils.com/personal/
> dont-get-everything-done.html  [July 13, 2016]
>
> “The College is a non-residential campus, meaning we provide no on-campus
> housing.  *Most students board with local Christian families* or share
> apartments with other NSA students. . . Costs for boarding with local
> Christian families vary considerably, depending on the living and meal
> arrangements. Two bedroom apartments typically rent in the $500-$600 per
> month range, and duplexes and houses go for between $800 per month to
> $1,200 per month. On average, full-time students should expect to pay about
> $4,000 for room and board per academic year.”
> http://www.nsa.edu/admissions/housing
>
>
>
> “Passed new zoning rules for “boarding houses” that do nothing to stop
> party houses, but *removes the freedom of owner-occupied family homes
> from showing hospitality to students—especially NSA students*—or
> missionaries—especially Mormons, others.” https://dougwils.com/s7-
> engaging-the-culture/no-incumbents.html [10-27/07]
>
>
>
> These holy go pious jackasses really know how to represent Christianity in
> a powerfully good way, don’t they?
>
>
>
> Rosemary Huskey
>
>
>
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-- 

A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they
shall never sit in.

-Greek proverb

“Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-imposed immaturity.
Immaturity is the inability to use one’s understanding without guidance
from another. This immaturity is self- imposed when its cause lies not in
lack of understanding, but in lack of resolve and courage to use it without
guidance from another. Sapere Aude! ‘Have courage to use your own
understand-ing!—that is the motto of enlightenment.

--Immanuel Kant
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