New Saint Andrews Sues Moscow Over Zoning
Doug Wilson's college accuses city of discriminatory zoning as tensions with Christ Church continue.
New Saint Andrews College, founded by pastor Doug Wilson, is suing the city of Moscow, Idaho, over claims that the city discriminated against the college through its zoning restrictions.
New Saint Andrews College / Photo via social media
In a 24-page complaint filed Sept. 2, New Saint Andrews College (NSA) accused the city of violating the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA), a law designed to protect religious organizations from discriminatory zoning practices.
The main issue centers on NSA’s attempt to rent an art gallery called The Pierian. The college planned to keep the lower floor as a gallery and use the upper floor for administrative offices. Previous city ordinances gave the college conditional-use permits for its two buildings but prevented it from expanding further. On Feb. 21, 2024, the city denied NSA’s application to rent the gallery, saying the use would expand the college’s grounds. The decision was initially overturned, but the city council unanimously ruled against NSA in September 2024.
The council’s decision required NSA to rent the space to a third party and provide off-street parking for residents — a condition the complaint says was waived for other businesses in the area. The city’s permit requires 47 of the 89 parking spaces to be within a quarter mile of the north campus, a requirement NSA calls onerous. The college has about 300 students.
The complaint contrasts the city’s treatment of NSA with that of the nearby University of Idaho, which operates in a unique university zone and has the freedom to expand operations into the city’s business district. NSA calls the disparate treatment a clear indication of favoritism. The complaint alleges that four of the six city council members worked for the University of Idaho at the time of the decision. However, council member Andrew “Drew” Davis’s LinkedIn profile says he stopped teaching at the university in May 2023, nine months before NSA’s application would have come before him.
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In addition, council member Julia Parker spoke publicly against “this Christian Nationalist Church” (the Wilson-founded Christ Church) on a recording of the “Sons of Patriarchy” podcast. “Sons of Patriarchy” is co-hosted by seminary graduate Peter Bell and anti-cult activist Sarah Bader, who have spearheaded local opposition to Wilson and Christ Church, drawing headlines and stirring controversy.
This is not the first time Wilson has clashed with hostile city zoning boards. In 2022, Christ Church sought a conditional-use permit in the business district of nearby Troy because church leaders had been unable to find space for their growing congregation. The city refused, and the Department of Justice filed a religious discrimination lawsuit under RLUIPA. The case is ongoing, but Troy’s leaders have since updated the city’s zoning laws to prohibit any religious facility from being built within the business district.
Meanwhile, Wilson’s network of churches and schools continues to expand. In a town of 25,000 people, Christ Church has doubled in size to about 3,000 congregants since 2019. Christ Church is part of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), a denomination Wilson co-founded. A new 30-acre campus for the K-12 Logos School remains under construction in downtown Moscow. And in November 2025, Wilson’s D.C. church plant drew headlines due to the attendance of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
Moscow City Administrator Bill Belknap said in a Sept. 15 statement that the city had not been formally served with the complaint and that it learned of the lawsuit through a media organization’s request for comment.
“As this matter is the subject of litigation, the City may be limited in what information can be shared until deemed appropriate by the City’s legal counsel,” Belknap said.
The Washington D.C. law firm Cooper & Kirk PLLC is representing the college.
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