By RODNEY ZWAHLEN
The fate of the tree streets neighborhood is about to be decided, and students living there may take the biggest hit.
“The students need to be aware because the city could price them right out,” said resident Charlie Thomas. “I think they’re going to run the students out.”
In 1974 the city created an S Overlay in the tree streets neighborhood, which overwrote the original zoning ordinance to allow extra housing for the growing student population. The overlay permits homeowners in the single-residence zone to rent out their space to students.
In October, Provo mayor Lewis Billings formed a committee of four city staff members to discuss a proposal that the city rescind the overlay. The proposal was submitted by a group of residents in the neighborhood.
At a meeting of area residents Wednesday night at Wasatch Elementary School, Dixon Holmes of the city committee presented the committee’s proposal.
“Our position tonight is that we require owner occupancy in single-residence dwellings,” he said. “The decision was not based on popularity, but on professional counsel and looking at what has happened in other similar communities.”
Neighborhood chair Ray Christensen supports the committee’s position. He said 570 of the area’s 2551 residents signed a petition favoring the removal of the overlay.
“If you talk to the city, they never receive this many signatures,” he said.
The opinions of the residents are typical. Absentee landlords do not want to lose profits from student renters, while owner occupants want a family neighborhood.
Thomas is renting out a house to four college students who he said behave perfectly. He spent thousands of dollars to clean it up, and he said he visits the property 3 or 4 times a week to keep it up.
“I don’t want someone else deciding the fate of my property,” he said. “They use the excuse that the students are rowdy and noisy, but let’s face it: this isn’t U.C. Berkeley.”
Resident Jennifer Dalley said the only way to stop “the creep,” or influx, of student residents, is to support the proposal.
“I came here to raise my kids,” she said. “It’s not going to be the place to raise my kids if there are no kids to play with.”
The city committee will report its findings to the planning commission in a public meeting Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. in City Hall. BYU students are invited to attend.
