Board of Adjustment allows college to grow at former CJ’s on Main Street. Via the Moscow-Pullman Daily News:
After more than an hour of discussion about the effects of parking on downtown businesses and surrounding neighborhoods, the Moscow Board of Adjustment — for the second time — approved a conditional use permit Tuesday night allowing New Saint Andrews College to expand into the former Cadillac Jack’s building on North Main Street.
The college plans to establish a music conservatory there with up to 300 students.
The board first approved the permit in April but five residents appealed the board’s decision. The City Council reviewed those appeals in June and remanded the decision back to the board.
The board approved the permit 4-2 Tuesday night with almost the exact conditions as the first approval in April. Commissioners Mark Monson and Laurene Sorensen cast the dissenting votes.
The board decided Tuesday night that NSAC must provide 47 off-street parking spaces within a quarter mile of the former CJ’s property, instead of a half mile, as approved three months ago.
Commissioner Marshall Comstock said it is almost a half mile from the former CJ’s building to Moscow Building Supply and Tri-State Outfitters.
“In reality, do we really expect the people will walk that far?” Comstock said. “My personal opinion is no, they probably won’t.”
NSAC will be allowed to phase in the off-street parking requirement by providing half on occupancy of the building and the rest when NSAC’s enrollment reaches 150 students, or five years from the date of the issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy of the building, whichever comes first.
Community Development Director Bill Belknap said he believes the NSAC parking lot on Jackson Street contains more parking stalls than are required for its current building at Fourth and Main streets. The school could dedicate some stalls there to satisfy the parking requirement at its new facility, he said.
Ryan Cash, city planner, presented the board with a new survey of parking use within 600 feet of CJ’s. City staff had conducted a parking survey at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. during weekdays in April to assess the average availability of public parking spaces, but the City Council directed city staff to conduct 9 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. counts to reflect the lunch hour rush downtown.
The original survey showed 104 spaces available on average within 600 feet of the property. The new counts, taken June 19 through June 23, showed 115 parking spaces available on average during the three times surveyed.
Comstock said University of Idaho and Moscow School District students and staff would have affected the new parking counts if school were in session.
“There is some value in the new information but I question the total value judging from the amount of people that are gone from our city at that time,” Comstock said.
Comstock said even though the proposed music conservatory is in the Central Business District, student parking would still affect residential neighborhoods because the students have to find somewhere to park.
Monson’s motion to approve the original CUP without changes failed.
Comstock’s motion to more than double the required parking to 104 spaces within a quarter mile of CJ’s also failed.
Sorensen was concerned the compromise CUP still didn’t require enough parking and said one of her concerns was that if parking is too full downtown, residents may take their shopping to Palouse Mall where parking is more convenient to find.
City attorney Rod Hall told the Daily News after the meeting that Ryanne Pilgeram, the successful appellant, and NSAC, the CUP applicant, are the only two parties that can appeal the board’s decision.
The NSAC’s proposed expansion would include a maximum enrollment of 300 full-time equivalent students with up to an additional 44 faculty and staff.
The roughly 15,900-square-foot facility would include five classrooms/studios, nine offices, a multi-purpose room, a student lounge and a music conservatory with seating for 680 occupants.