HomeMy WebLinkAbout4/15/2025 Item 7a, Eidelman
Jeff Eidelman <
To:Kathie Walker
Cc:Stewart, Erica A; Marx, Jan; Francis, Emily; Boswell, Mike; Shoresman, Michelle; E-mail
Council Website
Subject:Re: 4/15/2025 Item 7.a. : City Livability - Greek Life & Illegal Fraternity Operations
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Dear Kathie, Mayor Stewart and City Council members,
I completely concur with Kathie’s letter!
I have lived in my current home for 24 years at Ground zero, Hell’s Kitchen!
Although the police are polite and responsive to my calls, about 3 per month, nothing has really
improved. When I called on a recent Saturday about the regular weekly, really loud party with
amplification speakers at the 1300 block of Foothill , the dispatcher basically told me , I have to call each
time there is a noise violation. This is a weekly regular abuse and there is nothing that is really done
except they get a DAC and then it is paid (when they do get one). Nothing changes! There needs to be
much better regulation of this party scene. Chronic landlord denial of their tenants behavior should be
met with large fines and the possibility of terminations of the leases by the city. My Alta Vista neighbor is
completely different than when I moved in, in 2001. It was definitely more peaceful back then with very
sporadic noise problems. We have been requesting neighborhood wellness for years. This is noted by
many past city councils that I have spoken in front of, including heads nods, people feeling sorry for us
and that’s about it. If this happened out in the expensive neighbors , like Los Ranchos near the airport, it
would never be tolerated, NEVER! Because we are in such close proximity to Cal Poly, it seems to be
‘overlooked’. Truthfully I find this abhorrent! For once, please take this issue seriously and use your
knowledge, training and experience, legal and police efforts, to clean up this mess that I live in. I’m now
too ‘old' to move and it’s too expensive to do so. I’m just hoping my hearing gets a lot worse as I continue
to age!
Thanks you for your understanding !
Sincerely,
Jeff Eidelman
On Apr 14, 2025, at 5:14 PM, kathie walker < wrote:
Dear Councilmembers,
Please provide funding to solve the "fraternity problem" that has plagued our
neighborhoods for several years. There are over 50 illegal fraternity houses in San Luis
Obispo, where fraternity members have rented houses in residential neighborhoods
(zoned R-1 & R-2) and are holding fraternity-related events, including rush events and large,
noisy parties that are disrupting the peace of others who live nearby. Of the 19 current
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fraternities at Cal Poly, only six have Conditional Use Permits. Most fraternities have
their MAIN CHAPTER HOUSES in R-1 and R-2 residential neighborhoods, primarily in the
Alta Vista neighborhood. Additionally, most of the 19 fraternities have multiple satellite
fraternity houses that hold fraternity events, including large, noisy parties.
In 2023, the City was given documentation, including Cal Poly's AB 524 Reports, that
showed the addresses of every fraternity, yet the main chapter houses for every fraternity
listed in the report continue to operate illegally. None have stopped operating and are full-
fledged fraternity houses in our residential neighborhoods.
Since 2023, ongoing documentation and evidence have continued to be supplied to the
City, yet none of the fraternity operations have been shut down. These illegal fraternity
houses have made the neighborhoods unlivable. It's beyond frustrating!
The current system is broken, and the City must fix the problem. Please provide funding to
Community Development and SLOPD for a program to solve this problem so those who live
in the affected neighborhoods can have the quiet enjoyment they are legally entitled to.
The necessary tools to solve the problem include:
A dedicated Code Enforcement Officer to document every Cal Poly fraternity
operation, ensure they have CUPs, bring them into compliance, and handle
complaints.
Community Service Officers (CSOs) to respond to noise complaints on weekends.
IT to create and coordinate a database between Community Development and
SLOPD with documented fraternity houses, terms of their CUPs, and violations,
including noise and municipal code violations, so there is essential communication
and coordination between these departments.
There should be regular meetings between Code Enforcement, SLOPD, and
representatives in the affected neighborhoods or RQN to evaluate whether current tools
are effective. Adjustments should be made until the problem is brought under control. For
example, documented illegal fraternity houses should not be allowed to wipe their citation
history clean through SLOPD's Early Removal Program to evade fines for
citations. Meetings between Code Enforcement and SLOPD should be scheduled to
continue regularly, to ensure compliance.
Approxiamtely 20% of Cal Poly students are involved in Greek Life. Additionally, Cal Poly
has approved the expansion of more fraternities that do not have CUPs or legal locations
for operation, such as Pi Kappa Alpha or PIKE. The City needs to get control of the situation
as soon as possible, and it can only be solved if funding is provided to create a program to
handle the problem. Thank you for taking this problem seriously and working toward a
solution.
Sincerely,
Kathie Walker
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