By AMY K. STEWART

The Daily Herald

PROVO -- The City Council may change the SCAMP moratorium boundaries at its meeting tonight.

SCAMP, or the South Campus Area Master Plan, is a high-density student-housing project to be located just south of BYU in Joaquin neighborhood.

The City Council approved a six-month moratorium on development from University Avenue to 900 East and 800 North to Center Street on Feb. 15.

But on their agenda for tonight's meeting is a proposed ordinance to amend the moratorium boundaries to be a smaller area including: University Avenue, Center Street, 400 East, 300 North, 900 East and 800 North.

Basically, this proposal would mean taking about a fourth of the moratorium area out -- the section located in the southwest corner.

The actual SCAMP development is slated to include University Avenue, 800 North, 500 North and 700 East.

The SCAMP agenda item is not scheduled as an official public hearing tonight but sometimes the Council will allow the public to speak on important controversial issues such as SCAMP.

Mayor Lewis K. Billings said there have been some questions about the SCAMP boundary being adequately noticed when it was discussed on Feb. 15.

What was advertised was the Council was proposing boundaries to include University Avenue, 900 East, 500 North and 800 North.

However, people during the meeting told the Council they wanted the boundary to go farther south than was proposed. So the Council voted for the boundary to extend clear to Center Street.

"In just wanting to know we have crossed all our T's and dotted all our I's, we're going to discuss whether or not we felt like we acted sufficiently or if we need to take action," Billings said.

People who didn't want the moratorium to go that far south may not have had a chance to speak since the moratorium wasn't noticed as going south to Center Street, he said.

Meanwhile, SCAMP plans will forge ahead, since the area in question isn't where the student-housing development is slated to be anyway.

"It won't affect SCAMP at all," Billings said. "We're still moving forward. There's still an aggressive effort going on to finish within the time we are allowed."

The ultimate goal of SCAMP is to replace some of the current rundown rentals with more classy condensed apartments intermingled with commercial entities typically used by students.

Fewer parking spaces, the proximity to campus and the availability of a bus system are all hoped to reduce the need for cars for those living in the student-housing project. This would in turn reduce traffic in the area.

The city has designated a SCAMP committee which has met three times now. It will have a plan to recommend to the city by June.

The whole planning process should be wrapped up by August, coinciding with the end of the SCAMP moratorium.

The next SCAMP committee meeting is 4 p.m., April 27, in the East Bay Golf Course clubhouse. The public is invited to come and watch, but not take part in discussions.

Amy K. Stewart can be reached at 344-2552 or astewart@heraldextra.com