PROVO — In most towns across America, home is where the heart is. In Provo, however, home is where Provo's elected chiefs say you can live.
That's what some Brigham Young University students are saying after the passage of housing ordinances that officials say will revitalize neighborhoods because more people will own — not rent — the houses in which they live.
"Provo city has been absolutely incredible in their attempt to gain more control," said Mat Whoolery, who is pursuing a doctorate degree at the Provo-based private university. "BYU is part of what really makes Provo go, and yet they act as if students don't matter."
News of a modified version of a controversial development plan that sought to create a student village on 30 square blocks south of the BYU campus is receiving mixed reviews from students who want better housing but don't want to be told where to live.
The proposed project, which was first discussed in 2000 but placed on the city's back burner in April 2002, is called SCAMP, an acronym for South Campus Area Master Plan.
Here's the most recent development: The block between 620 North and 800 North and 800 and 900 East may be turned into a large condominium complex — without shops and stores. SCAMP's initial plans called for shops, parks and other amenities so students didn't feel the need to have a car to get groceries or run other errands.
Provo Councilman Dennis Poulsen says he sympathizes with students, renters and owners.
"When you start messing with controlling one's property, it very much has an impact on liberty," Poulsen said. "When you give so much police power to government, it become intrusive. It almost puts people into bondage."
Other council members, such as Dave Knecht, say SCAMP is part of a plan to cure some of Provo's neighborhood ills. In parts of the city, student apartment complexes intertwine with homes occupied by families.
That urban patchwork, according to Knecht, lowers property values and causes other problems for the city. Knecht bemoans the lack of empty lots in Provo on which to build student housing. Orem, on the other hand, encourages development on empty lots near Utah Valley State College.
"Orem has the luxury of doing it right the first time," Knecht said. "For us it is more difficult because we have to redevelop. We have to tear down something to build something like what Orem is building now."
Despite BYU's initial support of SCAMP, Knecht said the university's housing department hesitated approving the most recent development — the condo complex.
"We're not going to take in things we feel our students wouldn't be interested in," said Julie Franklin, an official with BYU's housing department, which has since given "BYU-approved status" to the project.
Only owners who pledge to uphold the LDS Church-owned school's honor code and have apartments that comply with Provo's building code can become approved.
BYU requires that apartments where single students live must be segregated by gender, prohibit tobacco, drugs and alcohol on the premises and ban overnight guests of the opposite sex.
Knecht supports student involvement in city planning, saying their input is crucial to community success. However, he reminds students of the big Provo picture, which is a colorful landscape of families, singles and students."We are listening to students, but we also need to listen to the families," Knecht said. "We are trying to accommodate the needs of both."
Whoolery understands Knecht's need to please Provo's voting population — but hopes students will raise their voice and rally against SCAMP.
"The city in all reality doesn't have to respond to student needs because students don't vote," Whoolery said. "But it should really come down to the needs of the students."
E-mail: lsanderson@desnews.com