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HomeMy WebLinkAbout7/15/2025 Item 8a, Rowley Sandra Rowley < To:E-mail Council Website Subject:Item 8a, Ad Hoc Committee Dear Mayor Stewart and Members of the Council, An ad hoc committee is a good idea, not to refute the Grand Jury findings, but to use them as a basis to formulate actions to address the findings and recommendations delineated in the report. In addition to council members and city staff, it should include residents from the Alta Vista and Monterey Heights neighborhoods (illegal fraternities are there, too), and other interested groups - such as RQN and owners/property managers whose property and/or tenants have been negatively affected by fraternity activities and events. The Civility Report, begun in 2013 and finalized in Spring 2015, was used by SCLC for two or three years but is no longer - even though many of the Desired Outcomes identified in the report have not been accomplished. With the exception of the 2024 update to the Safety Enhancement Zone (originated in 2004) and the 2015 update to the Unruly Gathering Ordinance (originated in 2010) most actions, i.e., ordinances addressing negative behaviors in the neighborhoods, are 15 years old. Some things have changed since then - like the proliferation of fraternities in neighborhoods (with more being approved) and the reduced cooperation and support of Cal Poly to take responsibility for and assist in correcting student actions that negatively affect the city - but do not affect the campus. The council, city staff and residents need to get together and to renew the innovative approaches mentioned in the staff report to address today's problems. Hopefully, an ad hoc committee composed as suggested above will be able to do so. Additional actions for Council to consider: - Doing whatever is necessary, including taking legal action, to require Cal Poly to conform to the AB 528 guidelines by publishing the addresses for fraternity main and satellite houses. - Establishing specific guidelines to follow for declaring a property a nuisance when x number of disruptive/illegal events are held. - Reconsidering/restructuring appeal fees so that residents are not out-priced. For example: few, if any, resident appeals concern all of the intricacies of a large development project. - Reconsidering funding additional code enforcement staff and alternative work schedules. - Supporting the equivalent of SLOPD's 2025 St Fratty's Day Enforcement Plan until the event is eliminated. Thank you for your time and consideration of these comments. Sincerely, Sandra Rowley SLO Resident 1