Mike Curley wrote the following column in response to an editorial by the Lewiston Morning Tribune. The Trib printed it on January 30, 2005:

NSA: Yes, But Not Downtown
By Mike Curley

In his prior editorial, Jim Fisher focused his speculation on my clients’ motives for filing a complaint against New Saint Andrews College (NSA) for violating Moscow’s zoning code. He said nothing about the merits of the request. No one attempted to judge the motives of NSA’s agents who bypassed city code when they occupied the old Verizon building in downtown Moscow, because while the reason they are violating the ordinance is irrelevant, that they are indeed violating the ordinance is not.

Fisher complained that the city “apparently neglected” to include colleges within the permitted uses Downtown. A review of Moscow’s Comprehensive Plan — the document upon which all land use in the city is founded — and the Zoning Code itself, reveals the opposite.

The Comprehensive Plan says the city’s goal for Downtown is to maintain an area that provides a pleasant environment for one of the City’s major shopping areas, provides an opportunity for socializing, and acts as a “focal point for the community.” Downtown is described as a primary zone for the location of retail, personal service, and public gathering places — restaurants, art galleries theaters, cafes, and night spots.

Moscow’s Zoning Code defines three types of educational facilities: schools — pre-K to 12th grade; educational institutions — colleges & universities; and commercial schools. In some zones, all three types are allowed. However, not just Downtown, but in five other business zones, all public and private schools from pre-K through college are prohibited. The ordinance wasn’t written to target NSA — or to restrict expansion by the University of Idaho — a far larger institution that is also prohibited from holding classes Downtown.

Perhaps Moscow’s city planners understood the dynamics of growth — that while colleges may start small they often grow incrementally to encompass large tracts of land. For example, NSA’s student body has consistently doubled every three to four years in the last decade, and whereas five years ago they met in the dining room of an instructor’s house, they now meet at the historic Skattaboe Block on Moscow’s Friendship Square.

It makes sense that institutions subject to such growth would be required to operate somewhere other than the center of Moscow’s most restrictive commercial zone. This isn’t a matter of diversity or tolerance. It’s simple economic logic. The more space consumed by higher education, the less available for retail, personal service, recreation, and amusement.

Fisher observed that some activities currently permitted Downtown might also be incompatible with Moscow’s Comprehensive Plan. We agree. But one permitted use that might be incompatible with Downtown zoning objectives should not suggest expanding those incompatible uses. Rather, it suggests the City should consider restricting the expansion of all other potentially incompatible uses. One could imagine a large trade school locating Downtown as is currently permitted. Perhaps the law should restrict the size of commercial schools allowed in the area.

Regardless of other future changes, we are confident that if the City Council wants Moscow’s primary pedestrian, open-air mall opened to uses currently inconsistent with the intended use of the Downtown area, such as a college campus, then they will follow due process by amending the Comprehensive Plan and the Zoning Code, both of which would require extensive public hearings, impact-analysis reports, traffic analysis — foot, auto, and parking — and a discussion of the cultural effects on the community. Nevertheless, until NSA complies with the current zoning ordinance, the law clearly states that their activities are illegal and must be discontinued.

Finally, my clients welcome Fisher’s reference to “old-time religion,” as they are not liberal “Intoleristas.” In fact, they are evangelical Christians who take seriously the Apostle Peter’s words, “Obey every law of your government” (1 Pet. 2:13).

And because they hold to the Scriptures, they are surprised by NSA’s apparent unwillingness to voluntarily relocate to one of the many areas in Moscow where they can operate legally. Quite frankly, if anyone is “intolerant,” it’s the folks at NSA. After all, they’re intolerant of the law.