By Amelia Nielson-Stowell
In four years, BYU approved-status will be revoked for student housing outside of a two-mile radius from campus.
The new boundaries will take effect on April 30, 2007. According to the BYU off-campus housing website, boundaries will extend from: 500 West to 1450 East; the north boundary will be along 2200 and 2230 North from Carterville Road to North Temple Drive; the south boundary will be along Provo Center Street from Seven Peaks Boulevard to 500 West.
Carri Jenkins, assistant to the president for University Communications, said the reason for the limited boundaries is because there is too much BYU approved student housing to provide the environment students expect.
'This valley has grown considerably in the last 10 to 15 years,' said Jenkins. 'With that growth we see every year, we have more apartment complexes and condominium complexes being built in this valley so given these facts, BYU has had to review its off-campus housing situation and we came to the conclusion that we need to establish boundaries.'
The number of rental spaces has risen steadily over the years. As of May 2000, 23,142 rental spaces were BYU approved off-campus. Only 14,738 of them were occupied by BYU students this past winter semester.
Jenkins said that 40 rental units will be affected by the new boundaries. Thirty-six of the units are small units and four are larger complexes, including Parkway Crossing, College Terrace Apartments and Lakeridge Condominiums.
However, there is a discrepancy of the number of BYU students who live in these complexes.
Jenkins said 93 to 94 percent of all approved housing currently resides within the boundaries.
'Thirty years ago it wasn''t necessary,' she said. 'The majority of housing complexes were in a two-mile radius. As the valley has grown, UVSC has grown, we''ve seen available student housing spread across the entire valley so it is necessary to establish boundaries.'
Numerous national studies, Jenkins said, have found that students who live near campus do better academically.
'It is important not only the academic environment, but the moral environment,' Jenkins said. 'Part of the BYU experience is to live in a strong moral environment. We have limited resources at BYU and we can not keep stretching those resources and provide the environment our students expect.'
When asked if administration has received a demand from Provo landlords to fix the housing situation, Jenkins replied, 'This has grown as a concern.'
BYU sent letters to all the owners of approved students housing outside of the new boundaries last week. The letter informed owners of the boundaries and read that as of the new date, students housing outside the boundaries 'will not qualify for BYU approved status.'
Parkway Crossing, the newest and largest student-housing complex, has recently started phase two of six phases in completion of the complex.
As of August, Parkway Crossing was over 40 percent occupied by BYU students.
'It sucks for the people that bought these places , because it''s really going to hurt their property value,' said Steve Paul, a senior majoring in construction management.
Paul said he was in shock over the new policy and hoped Parkway Crossing would be an exception.
'That''s a huge, multi-million dollar complex, so from their standpoint, that''s extremely detrimental,' Paul said. 'It''s terrible for them. They advertise in The Daily Universe almost every day.'
Craig Pickering, co-owner of Parkway Crossing, did not want to comment because he said he has not seen a copy of the policy.
Landlords like Sandy Davidson, a realtor for Remax Alliance Realty, feels changing the boundaries 'is not the answer' to solve the housing growth problem.
'We have two colleges in this town and I can see why they are going where they''re going,' Davidson said. 'But with the modern transportation we have, it is not a reliable way to handle the student population in Provo.'
Davidson said that in the past, when Orem housing was not available, it caused higher rent and higher sales prices for rental units in Provo. Davidson said landlords 'could get away with less than adequate housing because they were in the Provo area' and because BYU students are required to live in approved housing.
'Provo apartment complexes are currently not full and not running on capacity,' she said. 'If their view is to help the Provo economy, this will help it.'
'I''m half vacant at the current time, so I''m not against it,' she said. 'It benefits the landlord more than the student.'
As Davidson noted, BYU has 'almost had this policy for a while now.' Over a year ago, BYU stopped approving student housing outside of Provo. During this time, the university also reviewed the off-campus housing program.
Selling condos or complexes will also be a problem.
The letter BYU sent to owners also stated if a BYU approved rental facility outside the new boundaries is sold before April 30, 2007, BYU approval will not be transferable to the new owner, 'but will end immediately.'
Paul, who lives in Lakeridge Condominiums with his wife, Brittney, is currently renting the condo he and Brittney live in.
'We were considering buying one of the condos in here,' Paul said. 'But now, I wouldn''t buy one.'
Paul said he feels terrible for the owners of the condos, because they will lose a lot of money if they sell their condos. Paul said that a three to four bedroom townhouse is the same price as the two-bedroom condo he and Brittney live in, because the condos are BYU approved.
'I know 2007 seems like a long time away, but it still hurts the retail value if they ever want to get out of them,' he said.
'I talked to the guy that built these and he said there are 100 units in here that are individually owned that are all BYU approved and it was hard for them to get that,' Paul said. 'Before they could rent to pretty much anyone. Now they can only rent to UVSC or married people.'
Paul feels the new policy 'is terrible' for the property owners in Orem.
'It''s benefiting all the places in Provo because there''s less supply and more demand,' he said. 'I know 2007 seems like a long time away, but it still hurts the retail value if they ever want to get out of them.'
Single students who live with their parents will continue to qualify for BYU approved housing. Married students are not required to live in BYU approved housing.