Too little too late. It’s tantamount to the Vichy regime asking Parisians what they think of a Panzer division in the heart of France. Scroll down the front page of MoscowID.net. The Kirk has simultaneously surrounded and occupied Moscow, which is consistent with their “strategic” goal of “taking” the territory. Douglas Wilson describes his neighbors on the Palouse as “the enemy”; since then he has targeted local businesses that rely on downtown parking for income and he has targeted the the only source of water in the region. These are acts of physical aggression that actually harm people.

So let’s take a survey — ask people what they think.

*   *   *

City seeks input on colleges downtown

Moscow to survey property owners, some residents
By Garrett Cabeza, Daily News staff writer

Property owners in Moscow’s Central Business Zoning District and some residents will receive a survey from the city in the coming weeks asking for their opinions on allowing more educational institutions in downtown Moscow.

After more than 30 minutes of deliberation Monday night at City Hall of whether the draft survey should be amended in certain areas, the Moscow City Council authorized city staff to disperse the survey to residents. City Supervisor Gary Riedner said he estimated the survey will be distributed in the next two to three weeks.

In 2005, the City Council changed the city’s zoning code to allow public and private colleges and universities within the CBZD — or downtown Moscow — with a conditional use permit.

The city has issued four CUPs for public and private colleges and universities in the CBZD in the 13 years since the amendment.

New Saint Andrews College on South Main Street was among those issued a CUP. The terms allow for the school to have up to 200 full-time students. The conditions included 42 additional off-street parking spaces and 60 linear feet of street level commercial space open to the public.

The NSA parking lot on South Jackson Street was the second CUP the city approved for an educational use downtown. NSA purchased the lot to meet the off-street parking condition for its downtown college.

Last year, the city approved a CUP for NSA to expand into the former Cadillac Jack’s building on North Main Street. The permit allows for up to 300 full-time equivalent students but the school needs to provide 47 off-street parking spaces within a quarter mile of the CJ’s building.

The city granted the fourth CUP last year for the University of Idaho WWAMI Medical Education Program in the new Gritman Medical Center Medical Office Building on South Main Street. The program can house up to 40 students on the third floor of the building.

The survey says if the City Council decides colleges and universities should no longer be allowed in the CBZD, the existing permitted public and private schools would be allowed to continue to operate but would be prohibited from any further expansion beyond what is currently permitted by the existing CUP conditions.

The survey includes background on educational institutions within the district, the CUP process and the four CUPs approved in the district since 2005.

In other business, the council approved:

• A low bid of $49,877 from McCall’s Classic Construction of Lewiston for the Itani Park concrete slab and pathway project.
• Financial assistance for Sojourners’ Alliance in the amount of $7,000 to help purchase and install security systems at Sojourners’ facilities.
• A check for $4,216.13 was presented to Family Promise of the Palouse. The proceeds came from the fourth annual Mayor’s Golf Tournament, which took place last month at the University of Idaho Golf Course.

Garrett Cabeza can be reached at (208) 883-4631, or by email to gcabeza [at] dnews.com.

*   *   *