Cal Poly Fraternity and Sorority Life have a new event registration procedure. This change comes after the City met with Cal Poly and the Interfraternity Council to inform them that fraternities operating in R-1 and R-2 neighborhoods were illegal. Fraternities are allowed to operate in higher-density R-3 and R-4 zoned neighborhoods with a conditional use permit.
On August 28, 2024, Cal Poly said it was updating its Party Registration Policy and Guidelines for Greek Life, which were put in place as a result of the Deferred Recruitment Compromise. It claimed that the Deferred Recruitment Compromise is outdated yet the terms of the Compromise that are favorable to the fraternities remain in place, such as Cal Poly supporting continued recruitment of new fraternity Chapters.
In the same correspondence, Cal Poly stated:
“Cal Poly has no control over the location of chapter houses or other houses used by fraternities.”
The New Event Registration Procedure removes the satellite house definition and mentions that all off-campus events with alcohol must be held at a residence, including a chapter facility or a third-party venue. The new procedure doesn’t change much from the replaced Party Registration Policy and Guidelines except it removes the definition of what constitutes a satellite house. The definition of a satellite house in the old policy was:
A satellite house is any residence where the majority of occupants are members of the chapter for the purpose of this policy
Cal Poly Greek Life knows fraternities operate illegally in R-1 and R-2 neighborhoods such as the Alta Vista neighborhood. By definition, “operation” means holding fraternity events or gatherings. There are 19 fraternity chapters registered with the IFC; only 6 have main chapter houses operating legally with conditional use permits in the correct city zone. 9 fraternity chapters have their main chapter house operating illegally in low-density R-1 and R-2 neighborhoods. All fraternity chapters have multiple fraternities or residences operating illegally in the city neighborhoods. Is it ethical, therefore, for Cal Poly to hide the locations of their fraternity houses from the City and the neighborhoods?