Politics and Policing
Politics
Cal Poly and their students play an important part in the local economy. On September 16, 2024, the City announced, “Cal Poly is Back” and cited a report that found “Cal Poly makes significant contributions to the region surrounding its campus in San Luis Obispo (SLO) County … its annual economic contribution is estimated at $2.6 billion. Considering factors most closely related to enrollment, the impact works out to $41,380 per student.”
The college is well known for its hands-on approach, and many of the people of San Luis Obispo are either alumni, employees, professors, or retired from Cal Poly. Much like the trivia game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, it is difficult to find someone unrelated to Cal Poly. In 2025, four SLO City Council members are related to Cal Poly, by employment, their spouse’s employment, or receiving a retirement pension. Three generations of our family including four of our children and our son-in-law went to Cal Poly, too. It’s a great college.
Does being an important contributor to the economy give you influence or allowances in the City’s politics? Does it give illegal fraternities a pass to do whatever they want in R-1 and R-2 residential neighborhoods? Or any neighborhoods, for that matter?
It’s Complicated
The politics of San Luis Obispo are complicated, particularly when it comes to the relationship between the City and Cal Poly. It doesn’t need to be. The City has to have the political willpower to solve the issue of illegal fraternity houses in residential areas. Cal Poly will not solve the problem since the neighborhoods are their de facto Greek Row. Cal Poly Greek Life has the addresses of their fraternities in the City. The City has also known this issue for years but it has been allowed to continue.
Policies
San Luis Obispo’s General Plan also states that the city shall work with Cal Poly to locate fraternities and sororities on campus, but the city has not done so.
Land Use Element: Policy 2.6.5: Student and Campus Housing, Fraternities & Sororities: The City
shall work with Cal Poly to develop a proposal to locate fraternities and sororities on campus for
consideration by the CSU Board. If locations on campus cannot be provided, fraternities and sororities
should be limited to medium-high and high-density residential areas near campus. (Adopted 2014)
Housing Element: Program 8.15: Fraternities and Sororities: Work with Cal Poly University
Administration to secure designation of on-campus fraternity/sorority living groups.
Housing Element: Policy 8.5: Fraternities and Sororities: Locate fraternities and sororities on the Cal
Poly University campus. Until that is possible, they should be located in medium-high and high-density
residential zones near campus.
The City has not followed these Policies and/or Programs. They should have done so a long time ago.
Partner?
When I watch a City Council meeting, the word I commonly hear used by the council, city manager, and other leadership to refer to Cal Poly is “partner”. As a community member, I have no insight into the political partnership or alliances between the City and Cal Poly. However, I do see the real-world consequences of a seemingly one-sided partnership in my neighborhood, the Alta Vista neighborhood, where fraternity main chapter houses and other illegal fraternity houses have been allowed to operate illegally with impunity, contrary to the City’s zoning ordinances.
In 2008, Cal Poly student Carson Starkey died at an illegal satellite house from alcohol poisoning at a fraternity hazing event.
In 2009, St. Fratty’s Day started and is discussed in more detail here. The day is dedicated to drinking and parties rage before dawn. There’s a lull in activity as people recharge in the afternoon for parties held at fraternities throughout the residential neighborhood later that night.
In 2013, Cal Poly and the Interfraternity Council reached the Deferred Recruitment Compromise. Cal Poly committed to recruiting more fraternities, which they did. There is no Greek Row, and there are over 60 documented illegal fraternity houses in the city, many of them operating as main Chapter houses the their fraternities.
In 2015, a roof collapsed on St. Fratty’s Day. The collapse was due to the excessive weight of partying people on the rooftop. A local ER doctor at Sierra Vista Hospital wrote to the City Council with his concerns based on his experiences with the non-stop revolving door of intoxicated college students in the Emergency Room.
In 2016, Cal Poly’s IFC (Interfraternity Council) approved an eight-year expansion plan that invited four new fraternity Chapters to campus. An expansion committee, including Cal Poly staff, created the plan. Pi Kappa Phi (Pi Kapp) joined Cal Poly IFC in the Fall of 2016, Alpha Sigma Phi in the Fall of 2018, Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) in the Fall of 2020, and Phi Delta Theta in the Fall of 2022. The Mustang News covered this in an article. Three of these chapters operate their main chapter fraternity houses in R-1 and R-2 residential neighborhoods, and one operates in a house just outside the city limits in the former This Old House Restaurant location on Foothill Blvd. All of them have illegal satellite houses in the neighborhood as well.
In 2022, year-round residents in the City went to the San Luis Obispo City Council to describe what happened at St Fratty’s Day 2022 and expressed their concerns about the upcoming 2023 St. Patrick’s Day. They explained it was the perfect storm. St. Patrick’s Day and Saint Fratty’s Day were back-to-back on Friday and Saturday. The Council did not take any action.
Also in 2022, we were targeted by a fraternity that lived next door and reached out to Cal Poly because we didn’t know what to do.
The summarized response from Cal Poly was that they were not responsible for the fraternity’s conduct; it was a City problem. If we had an issue, we should contact the San Luis Obispo Police Department. This brought us full circle. The reason we were being harassed was because we contacted the police due to the fraternity’s noisy parties and they finally received a citation, which started the cycle of cyberstalking and other harassment.
In October 2023, Terrance Harris, Vice President of Strategic Enrollment Management at Cal Poly, addressed the San Luis Obispo City Council and announced that a 300, 400, or 500 student enrollment increase will burden the city neighborhoods when they move to year-round college in 2025. His remark can be seen around the 30:50 minute mark in the video below. One Council member, Andy Pease, questioned Mr. Harris, emphasizing the impact on the City of the added students was not a small thing. There were no other comments or pushback. It was accepted by the City Council and City Staff.
Impact
Taking the low end of his estimate, an extra 300 students put into the community will have negative consequences. Break that down into five-bedroom houses. It’s 60 houses. According to the Cal Poly Greek Life webpage, 20% would show interest in Greek life, equating to 12 Greek houses. I’m obviously assuming one person per bedroom and simplifying the math. I also question how these numbers were calculated using Cal Poly’s new three-semester, year-round rotation system. Does anyone believe that student residents are going to give up their accommodation for one semester? With the critical housing shortage, I just don’t see people giving up their year leases once they’ve secured their housing. Our current student neighbors sign a lease for an entire year and pay for the summer, even though they don’t live in the house.
Has the City thought this through to understand the real impact on our already-strained housing problem? With a more limited supply, won’t housing get even more expensive? It’s already unaffordable for most people to live here. Students combine resources and pay higher rent than most families can afford. Many people already work in SLO but can’t afford to live here so they commute from other places. Will the loss of housing in our neighborhoods from the increased student enrollment cause more workers to live outside of the City? What about the City’s Climate Action Plan, a Major City Goal?
The neighborhoods are going to get a lot more complicated. Has this been really analyzed by the City? As a resident, I have no say in the politics of these decisions. I can only observe what’s happening in my neighborhood year after year. The City Council members are my elected representatives.
At the 2023 annual Residents for Quality Neighborhoods dinner, the San Luis Obispo City Manager, Derek Johnson, was a guest speaker. He also sat at our table of 8. During a conversation, he was asked why neighborhood wellness was no longer a major city goal since there was a notable increase in fraternity party noise. He replied that “the city is headed in a different direction”. During his presentation Q & A, he said that “Neighborhood Wellness” was specifically removed from the list of options to be presented to and voted on by the public for Major City Goals. This, in combination with the increase in Cal Poly enrollment and proportional Greek Life, will increase the negative impacts on the neighborhoods by illegal fraternities.
Student Community Liason Committee
The following statement is taken from the Student Community Liaison Committee (SCLC) web page and describes their role. “The Student Community Liaison Committee (SCLC) serves as a mechanism of communication among Cal Poly, Cuesta College, the City and County of San Luis Obispo, and community organizations. The mission of SCLC is to proactively engage in discussions to promote positive relations, mutual respect, and improved quality of life for all citizens of San Luis Obispo.” So SCLC serves as a conduit of communication between San Luis Obispo leadership and Cal Poly.
Tail wagging the dog?
In early 2022, non-student residents of the City went to SLO City Council, their elected representatives, to warn them about 2023 St. Fratty’s Day, which would be back-to-back with St. Patrick’s Day on Friday and Saturday. They asked that a “safety enhancement zone” be put in place for St. Fratty’s Day. Fines for citations are doubled during a “safety enhancement zone”. The Council declined to take action.
In November 2023, the Mayor of San Luis Obispo, Mayor Stewart, acknowledged at an SCLC meeting that she relied on a student-led effort to do better for St. Fratty’s Day 2023. She said she’d spoken with student leaders the year before and they asked to be given the opportunity to change their behavior. Despite those promises, the illegal event doubled in size, growing to 4,000 people in 2023 from 2000 people the previous year. Because the unlawful event had become so dangerous and destructive, she said the City would impose a safety enhancement zone for St. Fratty’s Day 2024 and beyond.
However, momentum was already in place from the previous two years when the City Council downplayed the event and decided not to implement any changes. Despite the double fines for citations, the event grew to approximately 7,000 people in 2024. People destroyed property and vandalized parked cars. It was through sheer luck that no one was seriously hurt or killed. Multiple students went to the hospital with alcohol poisoning and it was reported that the guy who fell from the electrical line broke his arm. The City dodged a bullet.
As a resident, I have no say in the politics of these decisions. I can only observe what’s happening around me in my neighborhood year after year. I scratch my head in bewilderment sometimes. When I describe what’s happening to my friends overseas, they can’t believe the “power” Cal Poly has. One of them lives in Bristol, a university town, and he says, “This is just crazy!” when he sees YouTube videos of the event. It’s shocking to outsiders who cannot understand why the City has not stepped up to stop it from happening.
The City Council is supposed to represent all residents in the impacted neighborhood, including non-student residents. Why does city leadership refuse to stop dangerous events and other illegal events at illegal fraternity houses that harm the community? Is it because it’s Cal Poly? Does Cal Poly have such an influence on our City’s decisions? Is the City doing the right thing?
Policing
When it comes to policing, it’s equally complicated.
Response
Noise in our neighborhood is generated by illegal fraternity houses having parties starting anywhere from Thursday to Sunday during the school year. The police response to one of these illegal fraternity houses can range from a SNAP (Student Neighborhood Assistance Program) employee to a sworn officer. It is the officer’s discretion as to how they resolve the situation or the call. They could issue a warning and ask that the party be shut down. If they respond again, the party would more than likely get a noise violation. Or the police officers could issue a noise violation, which may result in a fine.
Two sworn SLOPD officers respond to a noise call at a known fraternity (listed in SLOPD’s database) for officer safety. SNAP employees are not supposed to respond to fraternity parties. Another response to the noise call would be “could not locate.” This is where the unit responded, drove around the vicinity, and couldn’t find the source of the noise.
SNAP
SNAP employees or Student Neighborhood Assistance Program (SNAP) employees respond to noise complaints. They are Cuesta and Cal Poly students who are employed by the San Luis Obispo Police Department and act as first responders to noise complaints. If they verify a noise violation, they can issue a Disturbance Advisement Card (DAC), a formal warning. They report to a civilian employee of SLOPD, Christine Wallace, Police Public Affairs Manager.
If SNAP employees are met with verbal abuse or uncooperative behavior by the party-goers, they have the option of calling a police officer. They are not supposed to respond to fraternities. They do since there are so many illegal satellite fraternity houses operating in the neighborhood. I have witnessed SNAP’s response to an illegal satellite fraternity party in the neighborhood where fraternity members argued and used intimidation. Ultimately they got a DAC, a written warning. A DAC is better than a noise violation because there is no fine. Noise citations start at $350 and go up to $1,000. But SNAP employees don’t have the authority to issue a noise citation.
Shift
In 2021 a new Police Chief was hired. There was also a palpable shift in the noise level in our neighborhood.
In Fall 2021, loud parties with larger crowds than usual were more frequent in the neighborhood, as the number of fraternities had exponentially increased. Calls to SLOPD for noisy parties were cleared as “Negative Violation” or “Unable to Locate”.
In October 2021, several neighbors responded to a group email stating that the noise levels had increased to unbearable levels. Some said they had resorted to turning up their television and running fans to dampen the noise. One long-term resident said that a fraternity lived next door, and they had to keep their windows closed even though the weather was hot and they did not have air conditioning. We had a similar situation at the start of the 2022 academic year when a fraternity moved in next door to us, and soon after that, Kathie discovered that there were 50 illegal satellite fraternity houses in our neighborhood. They ultimately sold their home and moved away in 2023 because they could no longer bear the noisy parties and non-enforcement. Kathie began documenting the outrageous parties with video because it was outlandish that many of the calls for service to party noise in our neighborhood continued to be cleared as “Negative Violations” or “Unable to Locate”.
Noise Violations
The San Luis Obispo Police Department website’s Neighborhood Outreach Page provides a source for explaining noise violations and citation fines. For the first noise complaint, a college student from the SNAP program usually responds and can give a free “warning” called a Disturbance Advisement Card (DAC). After a DAC, other noise complaints to that property require that a SLOPD officer respond. The fine for the first citation is $350, the second is $750, and then it’s $1,000 for each subsequent noise violation. The property owners also get fined. So it costs the tenants $1,000 and the property owner $1,000.
What happens if some illegal satellite fraternities just don’t care or don’t want to comply? What if the noise citations don’t change their behavior? What happens then? The answer is nothing. They can go on collecting them and the City doesn’t do anything. Yes, it is a public nuisance. No, the City doesn’t care.
Early Removal Program
The noise citations stay on the property’s record for a year and the fines are based on that record. But there is a way to get all the citations scrubbed from your record so you can start over with a free “warning” DAC when you have another loud party. It also stops the police from responding and sends a college student from SNAP.
The City created an “Early Removal Program” through SLOPD to allow property to wipe the slate clean. The property owner fills out a form online and states there’s been a turnover of residents. It’s not under penalty of perjury, so there aren’t any potential legal consequences if they’re not being honest. They provide some new names as tenants and the $1,000 fines disappear.
Fraternities that are legal, with conditional use permits, are not allowed to use this program. But only 7 of the 19 fraternities at Cal Poly have conditional use permits. The dozens of illegal fraternity houses in R-1 and R-2 neighborhoods are not recognized by the City or SLOPD, and they use the Early Removal Program to wipe away the consequences of their previous noise citations and associated fines.
What is the city’s actual cost in responding to these nuisance houses over time? If you live in San Luis Obispo, I ask: How many noise citations have you had?
On 5/25/2024, San Luis Obispo Police Department (SLOPD), was called to respond to an extremely loud party, a dayge (daytime rager), at an illegal fraternity house. The noise from that party is at the beginning of the video, which can be seen on this page. SLOPD responded to the party three times, and although they issued citations, officers did not shut down the party and left it to continue. The blaring music and screaming people could be heard for blocks and continued over the course of several hours. After a few hours, we walked down to see what was happening and saw two police units parked on Kentucky and Hathway. One SLOPD officer said they’d already responded twice and issued two citations, but the fraternity refused to stop the party. The officer had called his sergeant to respond so they could figure out what to do. If SLOPD had proactively shut down the illegal party after the first complaint, they could have prevented it from continuing for several hours and disrupting the neighborhood.
Kid Gloves?
It is noticeable that there is a stark contrast to how Cal Poly and the City handle student resident disorder. San Luis Obispo Police Department uses what as described as a least-harm and restorative approach policing model. An article on the “First Do No Harm” Model of Policing written by Matt Dolan can be found here.
Cal Poly, on the other hand, handles disorder differently in its jurisdiction. On May 23rd, 2024, people were arrested (or this link) for blocking an entrance to the college during a protest. Once law enforcement arrived, the matter was quickly resolved. SLO County Sheriff was the prominent agency that handled the matter even though it happened on the cusp of Cal Poly and the City of San Luis Obispo. Cal Poly’s spokesperson, Matt Lazier, said, “Ensuring the safety and well-being of all campus community members and visitors is a priority for the university, and Cal Poly will fully enforce the laws and rules governing its campus to maintain that standard. Anyone who jeopardizes or undermines that through unlawful activity or violations of university policy is subject to the consequences of their actions.”
Students Leading City Affairs?
During a debrief of the St. Frattys event at the SCLC meeting, a student-led body, on 4/18/2024, San Luis Obispo Police Department Leadership called St. Fratty’s Day an unlawful assembly. Yet it has been allowed to continue and escalate unchecked since 2021. It was also mentioned during the debrief that prevention (of this unlawful assembly) is going to have to be student-led or a student partnership-type board. Really? Just judging from how a fraternity refused to shut down a party on 5/25/2024, I’m not sure that the City should be using this as a viable plan. Alcohol changes everything. The saying “the fox in charge of the hen house” springs to mind.
Equity?
If you look at the totality of all this information and the recent expansion of parties and events related to illegal fraternities in the neighborhood. I question the equity of the City and Cal Poly partnership. I question the City’s resolve to solve the issue. Long-time non-student residents are being constructively evicted by illegal activity. Is this inclusive? I also question the ethics of Cal Poly’s fraternity recruitment for years without an on-campus Greek row. Recruiting with the knowledge that the neighborhoods will just have to accept, absorb, and deal with the negative impacts of illegal satellite houses. That was the fraternity housing plan. As a community, is it acceptable? Would this be tolerated or be allowed to happen in any other neighborhood? Because Cal Poly is a major player in the city’s economy, does it give Cal Poly Greek life license to do what they want or is it a reasonable expectation that city laws and norms be followed?