PROVO — When Naomi Udall moved to her house on Cherry Lane in 1971, most of her neighbors were Brigham Young University faculty members and their families.
Now, the area east of BYU — known as the "Tree Streets" because of street names like Cherry, Locust and Cedar — is populated largely by BYU students. That shift during the past 30 years made the neighborhood a less desirable place to live for people like Udall.
"It's truly sad what's happened," said Udall, who will call on the Provo City Council Tuesday night for help. "Without owners around, the yards don't get taken care of."
Longtime residents of the neighborhood, located roughly between Kiwanis Park and BYU's Wymount Terrace, complain an overabundance of college students translates into parking problems, zoning infractions, unkempt landscaping and other nuisances. But Udall and others say they don't consider students the problem.
"My main complaint is the city doesn't enforce the laws it already has," said Udall, pessimistic that any new zoning requirements adopted Tuesday night will fail without strict compliance.
The City Council will weigh four options aimed at increasing owner occupancy and decreasing transience in the Tree Streets and the Pleasant View neighborhood, located north of BYU's campus. The debate, which resurfaced last year, is not new.
A BYU geography graduate student tackled the topic in a master's thesis more than a decade ago. When Bill Peperone, now a professional planner and Orem city councilman, reflects on his thesis, he agrees that not much has changed in the past 12 years.
In his study, Peperone found that homes built decades ago were designed to accommodate only one car each. That, plus the increased percentage of students who own cars compared to 20 years ago, makes parking in the Tree Streets today a nightmare.
Peperone found problems due to absentee landlords. He also discovered many residents ignorantly or willfully disobeying zoning ordinances. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Complaints of residents today center on parking, zoning violations, nuisance and the transient nature of the neighborhood, said Richard Secrist, Provo's community development director.
A resident-initiated drive has resulted in the creation of four options: requiring homeowners who rent their basements to live upstairs (but providing a permanent grandfather clause); requiring absentee landlords to discontinue renting within five years; discontinuing permission to rent upon sale of the house; and making decisions regarding use on a case-by-case basis.
Several of the options would set up a process by which owners who purchased homes as investment properties could recoup their investment before renting becomes illegal. That process — called amortization of nonconforming uses — was called "political suicide" by Peperone a decade ago.
But now the Orem councilman believes residents might support such a plan. Under Provo's proposal, absentee landlords would recoup their money through rent, and no money would come from the city.
In addition, city planners emphasize that homeowners who rent to just one family would not be affected by any changes made.
"Single-family houses could be owner- or renter-occupied," said Neil Lindberg, the Provo City Council's attorney.
An idea that Peperone suggested in 1988 is a shuttle service that would effectively increase parking on BYU's campus by making lots near Cougar Stadium and the Marriott Center more attractive for students. But BYU has not started such a shuttle, even though residents would like to see it.
"I'm a supporter of BYU, but I think the 'Y' needs to face up to parking problems," said Udall, who sent five children to school at the LDS Church-owned institution.
The City Council meets at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 351 W. Center St.