HomeMy WebLinkAboutBatch 31
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Friday, November 15, 2024 10:51 AM
To:Scott, Rick
Cc:Tway, Timothea (Timmi); Mezzapesa, John; McDonald, Whitney
Subject:Re: Illegal Fraternities and Communication Between SLOPD & Code Enforcement
Thank you for the clarification, Chief Scott. Your email also states that SLOPD began flagging "known/nuisance"
properties last spring and that was put in place last spring. So presumably, you have identified those addresses
somehow. Would you please send me a list of the property addresses that SLOPD considered
"known/nuisance" properties?
Q: Illegal fraternity properties should not be eligible to register their parties through SLOPD.
A: Agreed. We put that into place last spring, based on “known/nuisance” properties. However, unknown or not
defined “satellite” properties where fraternity people may live can register if they meet the party reg
requirements. Again, our goal is to bring this in alignment with Code’s infraction list on this one as well,
provided it can be verified by the City.
Were you aware that SNAP officers do not want to respond to frats? The SNAP officer expressed this to me last
night, and others have told Steve and I that last year. I have sent you correspondence about witnessing bullying
and intimidation of SNAP officers by fraternity members, yet they continue to respond to large fraternity parties.
Do you feel that is acceptable? If not, what have you done to correct it?
To All: I'm not sure why there is a delay in coordination between Code Enforcement and SLOPD. The Planning
Commission was mystified about why this was not happening. The report that identified illegal fraternities and
Cal Poly's AB 524 report that identified illegal fraternity houses was provided to Community Development over a
year ago. SLOPD has been aware of the nuisance properties and fraternity houses in our lower-density
residential neighborhoods for years. I have been sending videos of enormous, disruptive parties to SLOPD that
were cleared as Negative Violation or Unable to Locate since Fall 2021. Coordination between Code
Enforcement and SLOPD should have happened long ago and should be a priority now.
Thank you for your efforts.
-Kathie
On Fri, Nov 15, 2024 at 10:30 AM Scott, Rick <rscott@slocity.org> wrote:
BCC CC:
Hi Kathie,
2
I believe the statement you are attributing to me below in your email is not accurate. My last email to you is attached
for reference and here is the excerpt from that email on your question specifically. I only agreed with you and stated
we are working towards that process. SLOPD does not yet flag “illegal” fraternity houses. This is a new approach,
and we are beginning an integrated process where all departments can work from a single list as validated by Code
Enforcement, the police department does not evaluate zoning legalities.
Q: Illegal fraternity properties should not be eligible for a DAC and should receive a citation for a
noise violation which means SLOPD responds.
A: Agreed. We are currently evaluating a validated and defensible method of identifying “nuisance” locations.
Most likely we will utilize Code’s infraction list, provided they encompass the properties which are in fact
“satellite” properties and a “nuisance” as they determine.
Thank you,
Rick Scott
Police Chief
Police Department
1042 Walnut Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-2729
E rscott@slocity.org
T 805.781.7256
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
This e-mail, and any files transmitted with it, are intended only for the person or entity to which it is
addressed and may contain confidential, protected, and/or privileged material. Any review, re-transmission,
dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon this information by persons or entities
other than the intended recipient, is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and
delete the material from any computer.
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Friday, November 15, 2024 9:55 AM
To: Scott, Rick <rscott@slocity.org>; Tway, Timothea (Timmi) <TTway@slocity.org>; Mezzapesa, John <JMezzape@slocity.org>;
E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org>; McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org>
Subject: Illegal Fraternities and Communication Between SLOPD & Code Enforcement
3
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear City Leaders,
Unfortunately, we were surrounded by noisy fraternity parties and loud people passing by our house to and
from parties last night and it was only Thursday, so it seems this weekend is going to be rough. It is so
disappointing and I am angry that we can't live a normal life because of the huge number of illegal fraternities in
our neighborhood and their party guests that negatively impact us almost every weekend.
Recent correspondence from SLOPD Chief Rick Scott indicated that SLOPD is flagging illegal fraternity houses
that are communicated to them by Code Enforcement. Please send me a list of the addresses provided by
Community Development to SLOPD as of today, 11/15/2024. Let me know if I need to file a formal request per
the CPRA. Otherwise, if this request is sufficient, please forward the addresses to me as soon as you can,
within 10 days.
The property at 299 Albert Drive had a VERY large, loud party on 11/14/2024. This property is an illegal fraternity
Alpha Sigma Pi and received a Notice of Violation (NOV) for illegal fraternity operations on 3/5/2024. A
screenshot is below. The owner of this property, Sanjay Ganpule a.k.a. Fredericks LLC and SLOCA LLC, also
owns the house next door to us which was an illegal fraternity house two years ago, and owns another illegal
fraternity at 1700 Fredericks Street that was issued an NOV. Despite the NOV for 299 Albert Drive, SNAP was
dispatched to the party and issued a DAC, which has no fine and essentially zero consequence for the illegal
fraternity.
4
There was another equally large and loud party at 1646 Fredericks Street, an illegal fraternity house for Zeta
Beta Tau. It was a Christmas-themed party, with sorority members dressed in tiny red shorts and halters
wearing Santa hats, and a large tent in the backyard with red and green lights blaring music. Cal Poly registered
and approved this party to be held in an R-1 residential neighborhood, even though Cal Poly has been notified
by Code Enforcement that it is illegal for fraternities to hold events in R-1 and R-2 neighborhoods. This property
aslo held a rush recruitment event on 10/6/2024 and I was notified by Code Enforcement that the property
received a Notice of Violation for illegal fraternity operations for that event. I was not provided a copy of the
NOV so am unsure of the date it was issued.
Did Code Enforcement communicate these addresses to SLOPD?
I was able to speak with the SNAP officers at 299 Albert Drive. I told them the property was a documented
fraternity house and it was my understanding, based on communication from the Police Chief, that SLOPD
officers would respond to fraternities, including illegal fraternities. The SNAP officers had not heard anything
about SLOPD's plan and one of them said it would be great if they didn't have to respond to fraternities. He
asked me to contact the Police Chief to re-confirm the plan because (his words) "We don't want to respond to
frats." The fraternity guys did not turn down the music or stop the party, even though SNAP officers were there.
5
There is no parity when SNAP officers respond to a large fraternity party and it is unfair to the SNAP officers. I
remember when the SNAP program was started and it was not set up for these sorts of calls. It was meant to be
a peer-to-peer situation. I have previously communicated with SLOPD leadership that Steve and I witnessed
SNAP officers being bullied and berated by some fraternity guys on Albert Drive during Halloweekend 2023. I
have also communicated that we have witnessed SNAP walk away from large, loud fraternity parties and clear
them as Negative Violations, including 290 Chaplin Lane and 1350 Stafford Street. It was obvious that SNAP
was intimidated and uncomfortable citing a large group of fraternity guys. I am unsure why SNAP is still being
dispatched to fraternity parties and it should stop.
On 11/13/2024, the Planning Commission held a hearing for the re-review of Alpha Epsilon Pi's CUP. I was in
support of the CUP and felt the new conditions were fair. However, after hearing testimony and considering the
impact of fraternities in our neighborhood on the residents, the Planning Commission expressed deep concern
about several aspects of fraternity operations in our neighborhoods and two of six Commissioners voted to
deny the CUP. Several of the Commissioners said that there is zero tolerance for future violations of the CUP
and they will have no problem revoking the CUP if the fraternity has a single violation that constitutes a public
nuisance, such as a noise citation. They specifically verified with the city attorney that a noise citation
constitutes a public nuisance because a condition of the CUP states it can be revoked if there is a single
incident that constitutes a public nuisance. If you have not seen the hearing, I suggest you watch it. Here is a
link.
All six Commissioners told Deputy Director Tyler Corey that the fraternity problem needs to be solved. Some
directions were (1) make sure there is communication between Code Enforcement and SLOPD so every noise
call or code enforcement violation to a fraternity, including illegal fraternities, is communicated between the
departments; (2) possibly developing a group such as a task force including Cal Poly, the City, residents of the
neighborhood, and the Interfraternity Council to ensure the fraternities are not operating illegally, and
relocating fraternities to a Greek Row on Cal Poly's campus, etc.; (3) fund a program or staff for enforcement of
illegal fraternities and fraternity operations, including CUPs, and looking at the greater adverse impacts of Cal
Poly overall, including its increased enrollment and impact on housing. There will be more discussion about
the funding of this as a major city goal during the next Planning Commission meeting on 12/11/2024. The
Commission said that Cal Poly has escaped accountability for too long and it's time for them to step up and
take ownership of their negative impacts. The tide is finally beginning to turn.
For now, I want to dig deeper into the communication between Code Enforcement and SLOPD, and
SLOPD's response to illegal fraternities in our neighborhoods. We have been dealing with this since the Fall of
2021 when there was a palpable shift with a significant increase in fraternities and disruptions in our
neighborhood. I began sending videos to SLOPD because huge parties were being cleared as Negative
Violation or Unable to Locate. Spring 2022 brought the reemergence of St. Fratty's Day with 2,000 people and it
exponentially ballooned to 7,000 attendees in 2024. There are many, many illegal fraternity houses operating
as full-fledged fraternities, holding events sanctioned by Cal Poly in our neighborhoods. Let's get the fraternity
problem solved.
6
Thank you,
Kathie
1
From:Scott, Rick
Sent:Friday, November 15, 2024 12:07 PM
To:kathie walker
Cc:Tway, Timothea (Timmi); Mezzapesa, John; McDonald, Whitney
Subject:RE: Illegal Fraternities and Communication Between SLOPD & Code Enforcement
Kathie,
Last spring, when Community Development received the extensive list of properties that you had identified as “illegal
fraternity houses”, we determined that those houses would no longer be eligible for party registration. We do not have
a mechanism for collecting that information, but as you had gleaned the information from your sources, presumably
from the AB 524 report, we choose to rescind party registration opportunities from those properties. We agreed and
determined it was inappropriate to provide residents with the ability to register an event while simultaneously violating
the municipal code and will maintain this best practice while Community Development works to streamline their
enforcement process with illegal use of residential properties.
As previously mentioned, the operation of an illegal business/fraternity must route to Code Enforcement to validate.
Once locations continue to be validated in the future, we’ll have a list for further enforcement opportunities and in turn
Code will be able to obtain calls for service from those same properties to assist with their enforcement as well. Right
now and in good faith, we are using the list of “known nuisances” you provided to deny party registrations.
Thank you,
Rick Scott
Police Chief
Police Department
1042 Walnut Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-2729
E rscott@slocity.org
T 805.781.7256
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
This e-mail, and any files transmitted with it, are intended only for the person or entity to which it is
addressed and may contain confidential, protected, and/or privileged material. Any review, re-transmission,
dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon this information by persons or entities
other than the intended recipient, is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and
delete the material from any computer.
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Friday, November 15, 2024 10:51 AM
To: Scott, Rick <rscott@slocity.org>
Cc: Tway, Timothea (Timmi) <TTway@slocity.org>; Mezzapesa, John <JMezzape@slocity.org>; McDonald, Whitney
<WMcDonal@slocity.org>
Subject: Re: Illegal Fraternities and Communication Between SLOPD & Code Enforcement
2
Thank you for the clarification, Chief Scott. Your email also states that SLOPD began flagging "known/nuisance"
properties last spring and that was put in place last spring. So presumably, you have identified those addresses
somehow. Would you please send me a list of the property addresses that SLOPD considered
"known/nuisance" properties?
Q: Illegal fraternity properties should not be eligible to register their parties through SLOPD.
A: Agreed. We put that into place last spring, based on “known/nuisance” properties. However, unknown or not
defined “satellite” properties where fraternity people may live can register if they meet the party reg
requirements. Again, our goal is to bring this in alignment with Code’s infraction list on this one as well,
provided it can be verified by the City.
Were you aware that SNAP officers do not want to respond to frats? The SNAP officer expressed this to me last
night, and others have told Steve and I that last year. I have sent you correspondence about witnessing bullying
and intimidation of SNAP officers by fraternity members, yet they continue to respond to large fraternity parties.
Do you feel that is acceptable? If not, what have you done to correct it?
To All: I'm not sure why there is a delay in coordination between Code Enforcement and SLOPD. The Planning
Commission was mystified about why this was not happening. The report that identified illegal fraternities and
Cal Poly's AB 524 report that identified illegal fraternity houses was provided to Community Development over a
year ago. SLOPD has been aware of the nuisance properties and fraternity houses in our lower-density
residential neighborhoods for years. I have been sending videos of enormous, disruptive parties to SLOPD that
were cleared as Negative Violation or Unable to Locate since Fall 2021. Coordination between Code
Enforcement and SLOPD should have happened long ago and should be a priority now.
Thank you for your efforts.
-Kathie
On Fri, Nov 15, 2024 at 10:30 AM Scott, Rick <rscott@slocity.org> wrote:
BCC CC:
Hi Kathie,
I believe the statement you are attributing to me below in your email is not accurate. My last email to you is attached
for reference and here is the excerpt from that email on your question specifically. I only agreed with you and stated
we are working towards that process. SLOPD does not yet flag “illegal” fraternity houses. This is a new approach,
and we are beginning an integrated process where all departments can work from a single list as validated by Code
Enforcement, the police department does not evaluate zoning legalities.
3
Q: Illegal fraternity properties should not be eligible for a DAC and should receive a citation for a
noise violation which means SLOPD responds.
A: Agreed. We are currently evaluating a validated and defensible method of identifying “nuisance” locations.
Most likely we will utilize Code’s infraction list, provided they encompass the properties which are in fact
“satellite” properties and a “nuisance” as they determine.
Thank you,
Rick Scott
Police Chief
Police Department
1042 Walnut Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-2729
E rscott@slocity.org
T 805.781.7256
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
This e-mail, and any files transmitted with it, are intended only for the person or entity to which it is
addressed and may contain confidential, protected, and/or privileged material. Any review, re-transmission,
dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon this information by persons or entities
other than the intended recipient, is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and
delete the material from any computer.
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Friday, November 15, 2024 9:55 AM
To: Scott, Rick <rscott@slocity.org>; Tway, Timothea (Timmi) <TTway@slocity.org>; Mezzapesa, John <JMezzape@slocity.org>;
E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org>; McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org>
Subject: Illegal Fraternities and Communication Between SLOPD & Code Enforcement
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear City Leaders,
4
Unfortunately, we were surrounded by noisy fraternity parties and loud people passing by our house to and
from parties last night and it was only Thursday, so it seems this weekend is going to be rough. It is so
disappointing and I am angry that we can't live a normal life because of the huge number of illegal fraternities in
our neighborhood and their party guests that negatively impact us almost every weekend.
Recent correspondence from SLOPD Chief Rick Scott indicated that SLOPD is flagging illegal fraternity houses
that are communicated to them by Code Enforcement. Please send me a list of the addresses provided by
Community Development to SLOPD as of today, 11/15/2024. Let me know if I need to file a formal request per
the CPRA. Otherwise, if this request is sufficient, please forward the addresses to me as soon as you can,
within 10 days.
The property at 299 Albert Drive had a VERY large, loud party on 11/14/2024. This property is an illegal fraternity
Alpha Sigma Pi and received a Notice of Violation (NOV) for illegal fraternity operations on 3/5/2024. A
screenshot is below. The owner of this property, Sanjay Ganpule a.k.a. Fredericks LLC and SLOCA LLC, also
owns the house next door to us which was an illegal fraternity house two years ago, and owns another illegal
fraternity at 1700 Fredericks Street that was issued an NOV. Despite the NOV for 299 Albert Drive, SNAP was
dispatched to the party and issued a DAC, which has no fine and essentially zero consequence for the illegal
fraternity.
5
There was another equally large and loud party at 1646 Fredericks Street, an illegal fraternity house for Zeta
Beta Tau. It was a Christmas-themed party, with sorority members dressed in tiny red shorts and halters
wearing Santa hats, and a large tent in the backyard with red and green lights blaring music. Cal Poly registered
and approved this party to be held in an R-1 residential neighborhood, even though Cal Poly has been notified
by Code Enforcement that it is illegal for fraternities to hold events in R-1 and R-2 neighborhoods. This property
aslo held a rush recruitment event on 10/6/2024 and I was notified by Code Enforcement that the property
received a Notice of Violation for illegal fraternity operations for that event. I was not provided a copy of the
NOV so am unsure of the date it was issued.
Did Code Enforcement communicate these addresses to SLOPD?
I was able to speak with the SNAP officers at 299 Albert Drive. I told them the property was a documented
fraternity house and it was my understanding, based on communication from the Police Chief, that SLOPD
officers would respond to fraternities, including illegal fraternities. The SNAP officers had not heard anything
about SLOPD's plan and one of them said it would be great if they didn't have to respond to fraternities. He
asked me to contact the Police Chief to re-confirm the plan because (his words) "We don't want to respond to
frats." The fraternity guys did not turn down the music or stop the party, even though SNAP officers were there.
There is no parity when SNAP officers respond to a large fraternity party and it is unfair to the SNAP officers. I
remember when the SNAP program was started and it was not set up for these sorts of calls. It was meant to be
a peer-to-peer situation. I have previously communicated with SLOPD leadership that Steve and I witnessed
SNAP officers being bullied and berated by some fraternity guys on Albert Drive during Halloweekend 2023. I
have also communicated that we have witnessed SNAP walk away from large, loud fraternity parties and clear
them as Negative Violations, including 290 Chaplin Lane and 1350 Stafford Street. It was obvious that SNAP
was intimidated and uncomfortable citing a large group of fraternity guys. I am unsure why SNAP is still being
dispatched to fraternity parties and it should stop.
On 11/13/2024, the Planning Commission held a hearing for the re-review of Alpha Epsilon Pi's CUP. I was in
support of the CUP and felt the new conditions were fair. However, after hearing testimony and considering the
impact of fraternities in our neighborhood on the residents, the Planning Commission expressed deep concern
about several aspects of fraternity operations in our neighborhoods and two of six Commissioners voted to
deny the CUP. Several of the Commissioners said that there is zero tolerance for future violations of the CUP
and they will have no problem revoking the CUP if the fraternity has a single violation that constitutes a public
nuisance, such as a noise citation. They specifically verified with the city attorney that a noise citation
constitutes a public nuisance because a condition of the CUP states it can be revoked if there is a single
incident that constitutes a public nuisance. If you have not seen the hearing, I suggest you watch it. Here is a
link.
All six Commissioners told Deputy Director Tyler Corey that the fraternity problem needs to be solved. Some
directions were (1) make sure there is communication between Code Enforcement and SLOPD so every noise
call or code enforcement violation to a fraternity, including illegal fraternities, is communicated between the
6
departments; (2) possibly developing a group such as a task force including Cal Poly, the City, residents of the
neighborhood, and the Interfraternity Council to ensure the fraternities are not operating illegally, and
relocating fraternities to a Greek Row on Cal Poly's campus, etc.; (3) fund a program or staff for enforcement of
illegal fraternities and fraternity operations, including CUPs, and looking at the greater adverse impacts of Cal
Poly overall, including its increased enrollment and impact on housing. There will be more discussion about
the funding of this as a major city goal during the next Planning Commission meeting on 12/11/2024. The
Commission said that Cal Poly has escaped accountability for too long and it's time for them to step up and
take ownership of their negative impacts. The tide is finally beginning to turn.
For now, I want to dig deeper into the communication between Code Enforcement and SLOPD, and
SLOPD's response to illegal fraternities in our neighborhoods. We have been dealing with this since the Fall of
2021 when there was a palpable shift with a significant increase in fraternities and disruptions in our
neighborhood. I began sending videos to SLOPD because huge parties were being cleared as Negative
Violation or Unable to Locate. Spring 2022 brought the reemergence of St. Fratty's Day with 2,000 people and it
exponentially ballooned to 7,000 attendees in 2024. There are many, many illegal fraternity houses operating
as full-fledged fraternities, holding events sanctioned by Cal Poly in our neighborhoods. Let's get the fraternity
problem solved.
Thank you,
Kathie
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Friday, November 15, 2024 2:21 PM
To:Scott, Rick
Cc:Tway, Timothea (Timmi); Mezzapesa, John; McDonald, Whitney; E-mail Council Website
Subject:Re: Illegal Fraternities and Communication Between SLOPD & Code Enforcement
Flag Status:Completed
Chief Scott,
I think I understand what you're saying. Just to clarify:
- SLOPD won't be sending me a list I requested of the "known/nuisance" properties that are prohibited from
registering parties because SLOPD is using the list I provided last academic year, which documented legal and
illegal fraternities in the city. I already have that list. Note: Most fraternities are illegal because only six
fraternities have Conditional Use Permits and there are 19 fraternities with over 80 fraternity locations. There are
also new fraternities this year that held documented rush/recruitment events.
-SLOPD is not using the list I provided that documented legal and illegal fraternities for police response to noisy
parties until or "while Community Development works to streamline their enforcement process with illegal use
of residential properties." So meanwhile, SLOPD dispatch is sending college student SNAP officers to respond
to fraternity parties in our neighborhoods a.k.a. "known/nuisance" properties.
"We agreed and determined it was inappropriate to provide residents with the ability to register an event while
simultaneously violating the municipal code and will maintain this best practice while Community Development works
to streamline their enforcement process with illegal use of residential properties."
I don't mean to be difficult and am really just trying to solve a problem that seems bogged down by bureaucracy.
Wouldn't it be fairly easy to use that same list for SLOPD to dictate the response to "known/nuisance"
properties? Currently, fraternities with CUPs require a response from SLOPD and SNAP does not respond to
"legal" fraternities. SNAP officers are young and some don't want to respond to fraternity parties. It is
intimidating to pull up to a house with 100+ people, including fraternity guys hosting a party with sororities and
other females who don't appreciate their party being ruined. You have specifically told me that it is dangerous
for me to approach or video fraternity parties.
While SNAP officers may be required to approach these fraternity parties, they do not issue DACs most of
the time even if the party can be heard from a block away. I completely understand the awkward position they
are put in and don't blame them. The bottom line is that it is not effective enforcement of the noise ordinance
because the property must receive a DAC before it is elevated to a response from SLOPD and potentially given a
noise citation. When DACs are not issued, properties never move on to SLOPD response and are not held
accountable. Also, it is not fair to these young college student SNAP officers, dealing with a large group of
fraternity members with a high potential for conflict. Responding to a "regular" party is reasonable and that's
what the SNAP program was set up for. Sending SNAP to deal with fraternity parties is not reasonable or fair to
the college student officers, or the residents in the neighborhood because of the fallout from non-enforcement.
What does SLOPD need to enact this change and require sworn SLOPD officers to respond to fraternity parties?
Is it possible for CSOs to help fill that role? Do you have enough officers during the targeted period
on weekends, beginning on Thursday, to address the increased calls from fraternity parties?
2
I don't think it is fair for the residents of our neighborhood to endure the ongoing non-enforcement of the noise
ordinance for another academic year. I love the SNAP program. It's just not a good fit for SNAP to respond to
fraternity parties. Please let me know what you think would help move the process along so our neighborhood
doesn't have to endure another academic year where fraternities are mostly not held responsible for their loud
parties because SNAP is not issuing DACs most of the time.
Thank you,
Kathie
On Fri, Nov 15, 2024 at 12:06 PM Scott, Rick <rscott@slocity.org> wrote:
Kathie,
Last spring, when Community Development received the extensive list of properties that you had identified as “illegal
fraternity houses”, we determined that those houses would no longer be eligible for party registration. We do not have
a mechanism for collecting that information, but as you had gleaned the information from your sources, presumably
from the AB 524 report, we choose to rescind party registration opportunities from those properties. We agreed and
determined it was inappropriate to provide residents with the ability to register an event while simultaneously violating
the municipal code and will maintain this best practice while Community Development works to streamline their
enforcement process with illegal use of residential properties.
As previously mentioned, the operation of an illegal business/fraternity must route to Code Enforcement to validate.
Once locations continue to be validated in the future, we’ll have a list for further enforcement opportunities and in turn
Code will be able to obtain calls for service from those same properties to assist with their enforcement as well. Right
now and in good faith, we are using the list of “known nuisances” you provided to deny party registrations.
Thank you,
Rick Scott
Police Chief
Police Department
1042 Walnut Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-2729
E rscott@slocity.org
T 805.781.7256
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
3
This e-mail, and any files transmitted with it, are intended only for the person or entity to which it is
addressed and may contain confidential, protected, and/or privileged material. Any review, re-transmission,
dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon this information by persons or entities
other than the intended recipient, is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and
delete the material from any computer.
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Friday, November 15, 2024 10:51 AM
To: Scott, Rick <rscott@slocity.org>
Cc: Tway, Timothea (Timmi) <TTway@slocity.org>; Mezzapesa, John <JMezzape@slocity.org>; McDonald, Whitney
<WMcDonal@slocity.org>
Subject: Re: Illegal Fraternities and Communication Between SLOPD & Code Enforcement
Thank you for the clarification, Chief Scott. Your email also states that SLOPD began flagging
"known/nuisance" properties last spring and that was put in place last spring. So presumably, you have
identified those addresses somehow. Would you please send me a list of the property addresses that SLOPD
considered "known/nuisance" properties?
Q: Illegal fraternity properties should not be eligible to register their parties through SLOPD.
A: Agreed. We put that into place last spring, based on “known/nuisance” properties. However, unknown or
not defined “satellite” properties where fraternity people may live can register if they meet the party reg
requirements. Again, our goal is to bring this in alignment with Code’s infraction list on this one as well,
provided it can be verified by the City.
Were you aware that SNAP officers do not want to respond to frats? The SNAP officer expressed this to me last
night, and others have told Steve and I that last year. I have sent you correspondence about witnessing bullying
and intimidation of SNAP officers by fraternity members, yet they continue to respond to large fraternity
parties. Do you feel that is acceptable? If not, what have you done to correct it?
To All: I'm not sure why there is a delay in coordination between Code Enforcement and SLOPD. The Planning
Commission was mystified about why this was not happening. The report that identified illegal fraternities and
Cal Poly's AB 524 report that identified illegal fraternity houses was provided to Community Development over
a year ago. SLOPD has been aware of the nuisance properties and fraternity houses in our lower-density
residential neighborhoods for years. I have been sending videos of enormous, disruptive parties to SLOPD that
were cleared as Negative Violation or Unable to Locate since Fall 2021. Coordination between Code
Enforcement and SLOPD should have happened long ago and should be a priority now.
Thank you for your efforts.
4
-Kathie
On Fri, Nov 15, 2024 at 10:30 AM Scott, Rick <rscott@slocity.org> wrote:
BCC CC:
Hi Kathie,
I believe the statement you are attributing to me below in your email is not accurate. My last email to you is attached
for reference and here is the excerpt from that email on your question specifically. I only agreed with you and stated
we are working towards that process. SLOPD does not yet flag “illegal” fraternity houses. This is a new approach,
and we are beginning an integrated process where all departments can work from a single list as validated by Code
Enforcement, the police department does not evaluate zoning legalities.
Q: Illegal fraternity properties should not be eligible for a DAC and should receive a citation for a
noise violation which means SLOPD responds.
A: Agreed. We are currently evaluating a validated and defensible method of identifying “nuisance” locations.
Most likely we will utilize Code’s infraction list, provided they encompass the properties which are in fact
“satellite” properties and a “nuisance” as they determine.
Thank you,
Rick Scott
Police Chief
Police Department
1042 Walnut Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-2729
E rscott@slocity.org
T 805.781.7256
slocity.org
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From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Friday, November 15, 2024 9:55 AM
To: Scott, Rick <rscott@slocity.org>; Tway, Timothea (Timmi) <TTway@slocity.org>; Mezzapesa, John
<JMezzape@slocity.org>; E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org>; McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org>
Subject: Illegal Fraternities and Communication Between SLOPD & Code Enforcement
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear City Leaders,
Unfortunately, we were surrounded by noisy fraternity parties and loud people passing by our house to and
from parties last night and it was only Thursday, so it seems this weekend is going to be rough. It is so
disappointing and I am angry that we can't live a normal life because of the huge number of illegal fraternities
in our neighborhood and their party guests that negatively impact us almost every weekend.
Recent correspondence from SLOPD Chief Rick Scott indicated that SLOPD is flagging illegal fraternity houses
that are communicated to them by Code Enforcement. Please send me a list of the addresses provided by
Community Development to SLOPD as of today, 11/15/2024. Let me know if I need to file a formal request per
the CPRA. Otherwise, if this request is sufficient, please forward the addresses to me as soon as you can,
within 10 days.
The property at 299 Albert Drive had a VERY large, loud party on 11/14/2024. This property is an illegal
fraternity Alpha Sigma Pi and received a Notice of Violation (NOV) for illegal fraternity operations on 3/5/2024.
A screenshot is below. The owner of this property, Sanjay Ganpule a.k.a. Fredericks LLC and SLOCA LLC, also
owns the house next door to us which was an illegal fraternity house two years ago, and owns another illegal
fraternity at 1700 Fredericks Street that was issued an NOV. Despite the NOV for 299 Albert Drive, SNAP was
dispatched to the party and issued a DAC, which has no fine and essentially zero consequence for the illegal
fraternity.
6
There was another equally large and loud party at 1646 Fredericks Street, an illegal fraternity house for Zeta
Beta Tau. It was a Christmas-themed party, with sorority members dressed in tiny red shorts and halters
wearing Santa hats, and a large tent in the backyard with red and green lights blaring music. Cal Poly
registered and approved this party to be held in an R-1 residential neighborhood, even though Cal Poly has
been notified by Code Enforcement that it is illegal for fraternities to hold events in R-1 and R-2
neighborhoods. This property aslo held a rush recruitment event on 10/6/2024 and I was notified by Code
Enforcement that the property received a Notice of Violation for illegal fraternity operations for that event. I
was not provided a copy of the NOV so am unsure of the date it was issued.
Did Code Enforcement communicate these addresses to SLOPD?
I was able to speak with the SNAP officers at 299 Albert Drive. I told them the property was a documented
fraternity house and it was my understanding, based on communication from the Police Chief, that SLOPD
officers would respond to fraternities, including illegal fraternities. The SNAP officers had not heard anything
about SLOPD's plan and one of them said it would be great if they didn't have to respond to fraternities. He
asked me to contact the Police Chief to re-confirm the plan because (his words) "We don't want to respond to
frats." The fraternity guys did not turn down the music or stop the party, even though SNAP officers were
there.
7
There is no parity when SNAP officers respond to a large fraternity party and it is unfair to the SNAP officers. I
remember when the SNAP program was started and it was not set up for these sorts of calls. It was meant to
be a peer-to-peer situation. I have previously communicated with SLOPD leadership that Steve and I
witnessed SNAP officers being bullied and berated by some fraternity guys on Albert Drive during
Halloweekend 2023. I have also communicated that we have witnessed SNAP walk away from large, loud
fraternity parties and clear them as Negative Violations, including 290 Chaplin Lane and 1350 Stafford Street.
It was obvious that SNAP was intimidated and uncomfortable citing a large group of fraternity guys. I am
unsure why SNAP is still being dispatched to fraternity parties and it should stop.
On 11/13/2024, the Planning Commission held a hearing for the re-review of Alpha Epsilon Pi's CUP. I was in
support of the CUP and felt the new conditions were fair. However, after hearing testimony and considering
the impact of fraternities in our neighborhood on the residents, the Planning Commission expressed deep
concern about several aspects of fraternity operations in our neighborhoods and two of six Commissioners
voted to deny the CUP. Several of the Commissioners said that there is zero tolerance for future violations of
the CUP and they will have no problem revoking the CUP if the fraternity has a single violation that constitutes
a public nuisance, such as a noise citation. They specifically verified with the city attorney that a noise citation
constitutes a public nuisance because a condition of the CUP states it can be revoked if there is a single
incident that constitutes a public nuisance. If you have not seen the hearing, I suggest you watch it. Here is a
link.
All six Commissioners told Deputy Director Tyler Corey that the fraternity problem needs to be solved. Some
directions were (1) make sure there is communication between Code Enforcement and SLOPD so every noise
call or code enforcement violation to a fraternity, including illegal fraternities, is communicated between the
departments; (2) possibly developing a group such as a task force including Cal Poly, the City, residents of the
neighborhood, and the Interfraternity Council to ensure the fraternities are not operating illegally, and
relocating fraternities to a Greek Row on Cal Poly's campus, etc.; (3) fund a program or staff for enforcement
of illegal fraternities and fraternity operations, including CUPs, and looking at the greater adverse impacts of
Cal Poly overall, including its increased enrollment and impact on housing. There will be more discussion
about the funding of this as a major city goal during the next Planning Commission meeting on 12/11/2024.
The Commission said that Cal Poly has escaped accountability for too long and it's time for them to step up
and take ownership of their negative impacts. The tide is finally beginning to turn.
For now, I want to dig deeper into the communication between Code Enforcement and SLOPD, and
SLOPD's response to illegal fraternities in our neighborhoods. We have been dealing with this since the Fall of
2021 when there was a palpable shift with a significant increase in fraternities and disruptions in our
neighborhood. I began sending videos to SLOPD because huge parties were being cleared as Negative
Violation or Unable to Locate. Spring 2022 brought the reemergence of St. Fratty's Day with 2,000 people and
it exponentially ballooned to 7,000 attendees in 2024. There are many, many illegal fraternity houses
operating as full-fledged fraternities, holding events sanctioned by Cal Poly in our neighborhoods. Let's get
the fraternity problem solved.
8
Thank you,
Kathie
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Friday, November 15, 2024 9:55 AM
To:Scott, Rick; Tway, Timothea (Timmi); Mezzapesa, John; E-mail Council Website; McDonald,
Whitney
Subject:Illegal Fraternities and Communication Between SLOPD & Code Enforcement
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear City Leaders,
Unfortunately, we were surrounded by noisy fraternity parties and loud people passing by our house to and from
parties last night and it was only Thursday, so it seems this weekend is going to be rough. It is so disappointing
and I am angry that we can't live a normal life because of the huge number of illegal fraternities in our
neighborhood and their party guests that negatively impact us almost every weekend.
Recent correspondence from SLOPD Chief Rick Scott indicated that SLOPD is flagging illegal fraternity houses
that are communicated to them by Code Enforcement. Please send me a list of the addresses provided by
Community Development to SLOPD as of today, 11/15/2024. Let me know if I need to file a formal request per
the CPRA. Otherwise, if this request is sufficient, please forward the addresses to me as soon as you can, within
10 days.
The property at 299 Albert Drive had a VERY large, loud party on 11/14/2024. This property is an illegal fraternity
Alpha Sigma Pi and received a Notice of Violation (NOV) for illegal fraternity operations on 3/5/2024. A
screenshot is below. The owner of this property, Sanjay Ganpule a.k.a. Fredericks LLC and SLOCA LLC, also
owns the house next door to us which was an illegal fraternity house two years ago, and owns another illegal
fraternity at 1700 Fredericks Street that was issued an NOV. Despite the NOV for 299 Albert Drive, SNAP was
dispatched to the party and issued a DAC, which has no fine and essentially zero consequence for the illegal
fraternity.
2
There was another equally large and loud party at 1646 Fredericks Street, an illegal fraternity house for Zeta Beta
Tau. It was a Christmas-themed party, with sorority members dressed in tiny red shorts and halters
wearing Santa hats, and a large tent in the backyard with red and green lights blaring music. Cal Poly registered
and approved this party to be held in an R-1 residential neighborhood, even though Cal Poly has been notified by
Code Enforcement that it is illegal for fraternities to hold events in R-1 and R-2 neighborhoods. This property
aslo held a rush recruitment event on 10/6/2024 and I was notified by Code Enforcement that the property
received a Notice of Violation for illegal fraternity operations for that event. I was not provided a copy of the NOV
so am unsure of the date it was issued.
Did Code Enforcement communicate these addresses to SLOPD?
I was able to speak with the SNAP officers at 299 Albert Drive. I told them the property was a documented
fraternity house and it was my understanding, based on communication from the Police Chief, that SLOPD
officers would respond to fraternities, including illegal fraternities. The SNAP officers had not heard anything
about SLOPD's plan and one of them said it would be great if they didn't have to respond to fraternities. He
asked me to contact the Police Chief to re-confirm the plan because (his words) "We don't want to respond to
frats." The fraternity guys did not turn down the music or stop the party, even though SNAP officers were there.
There is no parity when SNAP officers respond to a large fraternity party and it is unfair to the SNAP officers. I
remember when the SNAP program was started and it was not set up for these sorts of calls. It was meant to be
a peer-to-peer situation. I have previously communicated with SLOPD leadership that Steve and I witnessed
SNAP officers being bullied and berated by some fraternity guys on Albert Drive during Halloweekend 2023. I
have also communicated that we have witnessed SNAP walk away from large, loud fraternity parties and clear
them as Negative Violations, including 290 Chaplin Lane and 1350 Stafford Street. It was obvious that SNAP was
3
intimidated and uncomfortable citing a large group of fraternity guys. I am unsure why SNAP is still being
dispatched to fraternity parties and it should stop.
On 11/13/2024, the Planning Commission held a hearing for the re-review of Alpha Epsilon Pi's CUP. I was in
support of the CUP and felt the new conditions were fair. However, after hearing testimony and considering the
impact of fraternities in our neighborhood on the residents, the Planning Commission expressed deep concern
about several aspects of fraternity operations in our neighborhoods and two of six Commissioners voted to deny
the CUP. Several of the Commissioners said that there is zero tolerance fo r future violations of the CUP and they
will have no problem revoking the CUP if the fraternity has a single violation that constitutes a public
nuisance, such as a noise citation. They specifically verified with the city attorney that a noise citation
constitutes a public nuisance because a condition of the CUP states it can be revoked if there is a single
incident that constitutes a public nuisance. If you have not seen the hearing, I suggest you watch it. Here is a
link.
All six Commissioners told Deputy Director Tyler Corey that the fraternity problem needs to be solved. Some
directions were (1) make sure there is communication between Code Enforcement and SLOPD so every noise
call or code enforcement violation to a fraternity, including illegal fraternities, is communicated between the
departments; (2) possibly developing a group such as a task force including Cal Poly, the City, residents of the
neighborhood, and the Interfraternity Council to ensure the fraternities are not operating illegally, and relocating
fraternities to a Greek Row on Cal Poly's campus, etc.; (3) fund a program or staff for enforcement of illegal
fraternities and fraternity operations, including CUPs, and looking at the greater adverse impacts of Cal Poly
overall, including its increased enrollment and impact on housing. There will be more discussion about the
funding of this as a major city goal during the next Planning Commission meeting on 12/11/2024. The
Commission said that Cal Poly has escaped accountability for too long and it's time for them to step up and
take ownership of their negative impacts. The tide is finally beginning to turn.
For now, I want to dig deeper into the communication between Code Enforcement and SLOPD, and
SLOPD's response to illegal fraternities in our neighborhoods. We have been dealing with this since the Fall of
2021 when there was a palpable shift with a significant increase in fraternities and disruptions in our
neighborhood. I began sending videos to SLOPD because huge parties were being cleared as Negative
Violation or Unable to Locate. Spring 2022 brought the reemergence of St. Fratty's Day with 2,000 people and it
exponentially ballooned to 7,000 attendees in 2024. There are many, many illegal fraternity houses operating as
full-fledged fraternities, holding events sanctioned by Cal Poly in our neighborhoods. Let's get the fraternity
problem solved.
Thank you,
Kathie
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Friday, November 15, 2024 12:07 PM
To:Advisory Bodies; Tway, Timothea (Timmi); Kersten, Markie; Corey, Tyler; Hanh, Hannah
Cc:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Planning Commission 11/13/2024, follow up
Attachments:CDD fraternity action.pdf; AB 524 REPORTS Before and After Addresses Removed.pdf; Email
7.17.2024. Cal Poly is hiding the locations of illegal fraternities.pdf
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear Planning Commissioners and City Staff,
Follow-up Information is provided below to answer some questions asked during the Planning Commission
meeting on 11/13/2024 for which city staff indicated they did not know the answer.
Were letters to property owners of Cal Poly fraternities lost by the Community Development Department
(CDD)?
Yes.
A public records request was made on 9/12/2024 for any records sent to property owners of illegal fraternities in
San Luis Obispo from 11/8/2023 to the present. The reason records were requested beginning on 11/8/2023 is
that there was a meeting between Timmi Tway, John Mezzapesa, Brett Cross (of RQN), and me on 11/8/2023.
During the meeting, I provided Ms. Tway and Mr. Mezzapesa with a detailed report and documentation of the
address locations of dozens of illegal fraternity houses operating as full-fledged fraternities in the city's
neighborhoods.
In response to my request for records, on 9/23/2024, the City Clerk sent a link to the records available and
stated that some of the letters sent to property owners were lost by the Community Development Department
so were not able to be produced.
2
On 9/27/2024, I sent an email to Ms. Tway, Mr. Mezzapesa, the City Manager, the City Council, RQN Board
members, and the president of the Alta Vista Neighborhood Association (AVNA), expressing my concern about
the lost letters, undated Notices of Violation, and the overall failure to address the fraternity problem. Also,
many well-documented fraternity houses were overlooked and not sent Advisory Letters or Notices of
Violations, including the main chapter houses for some fraternities. I also recognized that Mr. Mezzapesa was
great to work with and acknowledged that he expressed that Code Enforcement has limited resources and
insufficient staff to deal with this huge problem.
Sixteen (16) Advisory Letters were lost and eighteen (18) fraternity houses were not issued any letters or notices,
even though they are operating as a fraternity and documented in Cal Poly's AB 524 report, and/or advertised
fraternity-related events on social media. My email on 9/27/2024 included further documentation of the
fraternity operations at those 18 fraternity locations and also included a list of the addresses for the letters that
were lost. (See Attachment: CDD fraternity action)
Did Cal Poly erase the addresses of its fraternities in a public report that was required by some sort of
legislation?
Yes.
On 10/1/2023, Cal Poly published a report for each fraternity and a spreadsheet that listed the date, time, and
address of each sanctioned event during the academic year 2022-2023. In July 2024, after Code Enforcement
sent Advisory Letters and Notices of Violation to many property owners with illegal fraternity operations within
the city's neighborhoods, Cal Poly erased all the addresses of sanctioned events held at its fraternity in the AB
524 report. It appears Cal Poly is hiding the addresses because it doesn't want Code Enforcement to know
where the illegal fraternities are located in the city. Below is an example of one fraternity. The original report
for Phi Sigma Kappa on 10/1/2023 listed the addresses (top) and in July 2024, the addresses were replaced with
"San Luis Obispo" in the edited report (bottom). I've attached three more examples to this email. (Attachment:
AB 524 REPORTS Before and After) This was done for each of the 17 fraternities for the 2022-2023 academic
year.
3
The CSU system provided a template to each of the 23 campuses within the CSU system to streamline and
standardize the AB 524 reports for each campus. The template specifically says "Address (On and Off-campus)"
in the heading of the spreadsheets, as shown below. Cal Poly provided a hyperlink in the "Address" column that
leads to the blue spreadsheets with a heading that says "Location".
4
On 7/17/2024, I notified the City and the RQN Board members that Cal Poly had erased the addresses of
fraternity events during the 2022-2023 academic year from its AB 524 report. Ms. Tway responded, "We are
disappointed to see the change that occurred with the AB524 report information that is provided online. We will
be providing your email to Cal Poly leadership and speaking with them about the changes to the report
information as well as the role that the University can play in addressing this issue." (Attachment: Email
7.17.2024 Cal Poly is hiding the locations of illegal fraternities)
Courtney Kienow responded on behalf of Cal Poly explaining that Cal Poly had realized that they were the only
CSU of all 23 campuses that included addresses of fraternity events in the report, so the addresses were
removed to be consistent with the other CSU campuses. However, only five of the 23 CSU campuses did not
include the addresses of fraternity events. When this information was provided to Ms. Kienow, she said that the
addresses were removed to protect the privacy of Cal Poly's students. The address information did not include
any personally identifiable information that would identify a particular student, so did not violate a student's
privacy according to Federal and State law. Nonetheless, Cal Poly has doubled down on its narrative.
On 10/1/2024, Cal Poly published a report for each fraternity, as required by AB 524, and did not list the
addresses for sanctioned events held by fraternities during the 2023-2024 academic year. Instead, they listed
"San Luis Obispo" as the address. The requirements of AB 524 were adopted as the California Education Code
beginning with section 66310 and the purpose is to provide transparency.
Hopefully, this information helps to clarify some of the questions asked during Wednesday night's Planning
Commission meeting.
Best Regards,
Kathie Walker
Spreadsheet from Community Development with addresses that received Notices of
Violation (NOV) and Advisory Letters (AL) for illegal fraternity operations……………………………...... 2
Documented illegal fraternity houses in AB 524 report and/or social media and in my report
provided to Community Development on 11/8/2023 not included in City’s spreadsheet.
(Some are the main Chapter houses for the fraternity)……………………………………………………… 3
Beta Theta Pi 1220 Fredericks Street………………………………………………………………………. 4
Delta Upsilon 281 Albert Drive…………………………………………….…………………………………. 5 - 6
Delta Upsilon 1555 Slack……………………….……………………………………………………………… 7
Delta Upsilon 388 Chaplin Lane…………………………………………………………………………….. 8 – 9
Lambda Chi Alpha 253 Albert Drive……………………………………………………………………………….. 10
Phi Delta Theta 470 Grand Ave…………………………………………………………………………………. 11
Phi Gamma Delta 1256 Bond St ………………………………………………………………….………………. 12
Phi Kappa Psi 2061 Hope Street………………………………………………………………….…………. 13
Phi Kappa Psi 1271, 1273 & 1275 Stafford Street ………………………………………….….………. 14
Phi Sigma Kappa 348 & 350 Hathway Avenue (a.k.a “the Pink House”) …………………………….. 15-17
Phi Sigma Kappa 1908 Loomis……………………………………………………………………………………. 18
Pi Kappa Phi 66 Rafael Wy …………………………………………………………………………..………. 19
Pi Kappa Phi 447 N. Chorro……………………………………………………………………….…………. 20
Sigma Nu 290 Chaplin Lane……………………………………….……………………………….…… 21
Theta Chi 1350 Stafford Street…………………………………………………………………………. 22
Theta Chi 410 Grand Avenue………………………………………………………………………...... 23
Zeta Beta Tau 654 Graves…………………………………………………………………………………….. 24
Zeta Beta Tau 244 Albert Drive a.k.a. “The Zoo” ………………………………………………………………… 25-26
Notice of Violation for 1525 Slack Street – Sigma Pi NO DATE on Notice of Violation…………….. 27
Notice of Violation for 1327 E. Foothill – Beta Theta Pi NO DATE on Notice of Violation………… 28
Advisory Letter for 1740 Fredericks St – Phi Kappa Psi WRONG ADDRESS in Letter……........ 29
List of 17 Notices of Violation and Advisory Letters that were “lost” by the City
therefore, were not included in responsive documents for my public records request…………… 30
Table of Contents
1
Theta Chi 1441 Slack St
Delta Upsilon 1700 Fredericks St
Lambda Chi Alpha 171 Orange Dr
Theta Chi 1820 Hope St
Sigma Phi Epsilon 2090 Hays St
Lambda Chi Alpha 12 Hathway Ave
Alpha Sigma Phi 1218 Bond St
Phi Gamma Delta 1229 Fredericks St
Sigma Pi 124 Stenner St
Lambda Chi Alpha 1243 Monte Vista Pl
Sigma Pi 1525 Slack St
Sigma Nu 250 Grand Ave
Lambda Chi Alpha 278 Albert Dr
Alpha Sigma Phi 299 Albert Dr
Sigma Nu 301 Hathway Ave
Alpha Epsilon Pi 331 Hathway Ave
Beta Theta Pi 1327 E. Foothill Blvd
Kappa Sigma 1861 Hope St
Theta Chi 2149 Santa Ynez Ave
Phi Kappa Psi 1740 Fredericks St
Zeta Beta Tau 2044 Loomis St
? 212 Albert Dr
? 1744 McCollum St
Zeta Beta Tau 1841 Slack St
Kappa Sigma 1990 McCollum St
311 E. Foothill Blvd
Kappa Sigma 322 Hathway Ave
Phi Kappa Psi 346 Grand Ave
Kappa Sigma 526 Kentucky St
“ “
“ “
“ “
“ “
“ “
Used as Event Venue 1010 Paseo De Caballo
Sigma Nu 1621 McCollum St
Theta Chi 1661 McCollum St
Phi Kappa Psi 237 Albert Dr
Phi Gamma Delta 385 Chaplin Ln
? 525 El Camino Real
? 1130 Olive St
Kappa Sigma 1142 Montalban St
1725 Santa Barbara Ave
Zeta Beta Tau 1928 Garfield St
typo on AB524rpt (1238) 238 Foothill Blvd
Beta Theta Pi 556 Hathway Ave
Zeta Beta Tau 658 Graves Ave
Kappa Sigma 108 Crandall Wy
Theta Chi 1238 E. Foothill Blvd
Lambda Chi Alpha 1241 Monte Vista Pl
Phi Gamma Delta 1254 Bond St
Theta Chi 191 Kentucky St
Kappa Sigma 281 Hathway
? 618 Felton Wy
2
Notices of Violation (NOV) and Advisory Letters (AL) not included in City’s spreadsheet.
Documented in AB 524 report and/or social media and in my report provided on 11/8/2023.
Some are the main Chapter houses for the fraternity. Not sure how they were missed.
Beta Theta Pi 1220 Fredericks Street (see attachment/documentation)
Delta Upsilon 281Albert Drive (see attachment/documentation)
388 Chaplin Lane (see attachment/documentation)
1555 Slack St (see attachment/documentation)
Lambda Chi Alpha 253 Albert Drive (see attachment/documentation)
178 Chaplin Lane
Phi Delta Theta 470 Grand Ave (see attachment/documentation)
260 Chaplin Lane* (not listed on City’s spreadsheet but AL sent)
251 Highland Dr (not on City’s spreadsheet but AL sent)
568 Ellen Way (not on City’s spreadsheet but AL sent)
Phi Gamma Delta 1256 Bond St* not included (separate address from 1254 Bond)
Also 1254 Bond received AL but this is the fraternity’s
main Chapter house (see attachment/documentation)
Phi Kappa Psi 2061 Hope St (see attachment/documentation)
1271, 1273 & 1275 Stafford (see attachment/documentation)
Phi Sigma Kappa 348 & 350 Hathway Ave* (see attachment/documentation)
1908 Loomis St (see attachment/documentation)
Pi Kappa Phi 447 N. Chorro
66 Rafael Way**(see attachment/documentation)
Sigma Nu 290 Chaplin Lane (see attachment/documentation)
Theta Chi 496 Kentucky St (see attachment/documentation)
1350 Stafford St (see attachment/documentation)
410 Grand Ave
Zeta Beta Tau 654 Graves* Shown as main Chapter house on AB 524 Report
see attachment/documentation)
244 Albert Drive (see attachment/documentation)
*Property is the main Chapter house for the fraternity
**Property is the main Chapter house for the fraternity within the City limits
3
Beta Theta Pi 1220 Fredericks Street
Beta Theta Pi’s AB 524 report shows event at 1220 Fredericks St
Rush events on Fredericks St posted on Beta Theta Pi’s Instagram account show an
event at 1220 Fredericks St on 10/11/2023 during 2023-2024 academic year
See: https://www.instagram.com/beta_calpoly/
Rush event at 1220 Fredericks St
10/12/2023 4
Delta Upsilon 281 Albert Drive
Delta Upsilon listed multiple events at 281 Albert Drive in their AB 524 report
Delta Upsilon continued to host fraternity events at 281 Albert Drive during the
2023-2024 year 5
Delta Upsilon 281 Albert Drive
Delta Upsilon also listed a rush event at 281 Albert Drive during fall and winter rush 2023
During 2023-2024 academic year 6
Delta Upsilon 1555 Slack
Delta Upsilon held a fraternity-related event at 1555 Slack St 5/12/2024 posted on Instagram
Delta Upsilon listed events at 1555 Slack St in their AB 524 report
7
Delta Upsilon 388 Chaplin Lane
Delta Upsilon had events listed at 388 Chaplin in their AB 524 report
Delta Upsilon had a rush event at 388 Chaplin, posted on their Instagram page
8
Delta Upsilon 388 Chaplin Lane
Delta Upsilon had another rush event at 388 Chaplin, posted on their Instagram page
Delta Upsilon had an event at 388 Chaplin on 2/17/2024 during 2023-2024 academic year
posted on their Instagram page
9
Lambda Chi Alpha 253 Albert Drive
Lambda Chi Alpha rush event at 253 Albert Dr on 10/12/2023
posted on their Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/lambdachi_calpoly/
Lambda Chi Alpha event advertised at 253 Albert Dr on 3/10/2024 10
Phi Delta Theta 470 Grand Ave
A video posted on Phi Delta Theta’s Instagram page shows the fraternity brothers
“getting ready for rush” at the house at 470 Grand Ave.
Another post shows the fraternity guys on the roof and yard in the house at 470 Grand Ave
With the caption “RUSH PHI DELT”
470 A Grand Ave
11
Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) 1256 Bond St
Phi Gamma Delta had events at 1256 Bond St on their AB 524 report
The main Chapter house for Phi Gamma Delta “FIJI” is the duplex at
1254 & 1256 Bond St. The fraternity’s logo is a drawing of the house at 1254 /1256 Bond.
This is their main Chapter facility in an R-1 zone.
FIJI held their annual Dad’s weekend event
at 1256 Bond St (and 1254 Bond St)
3/2-3/3/2024
12
Phi Kappa Psi 2061 Hope Street
Phi Kappa Psi rush at 2061 Hope St 10/12/2023
Phi Kappa Psi held rush event at 2061 Hope St (posted 10/9/2023)
13
Phi Kappa Psi 1271, 1273 & 1275 Stafford Street
Phi Kappa Psi fraternity event in courtyard of the three houses
This is a new fraternity compound for Phi Kappa Psi established
at the beginning of 2023-2024 academic year 14
Phi Sigma Kappa 348 & 350 Hathway Avenue (“the Pink House”)
Phi Sigma Kappa Winder Rush Schedule
Lists 348 Hathway Ave
Video on Phi Sigma Kappa’s
Instagram page identifies
348 Hathway Ave as the
main Chapter house
Phi Sigma Kappa’s rush events
Winter 2024 identifies 348 Hathway Ave
Phi Sigma Kappa’s rush promotion photo shows
party in backyard of 348 Hathway Ave
15
Phi Sigma Kappa 348 & 350 Hathway Avenue (“the Pink House”)
Phi Sigma Kappa’s rush events
Fall 2023 identifies 348
Hathway Ave
Phi Sigma Kappa’s spring“dayge”
(daytime rager) held at 348 Hathway
May 2024
Phi Sigma Kappa’s “philanthropy” event painting fences with
other fraternities and sororities
Event posted on their Instagram page, June 2024
16
Phi Sigma Kappa 348 & 350 Hathway Avenue (“the Pink House”)
Phi Sigma Kappa’s “ back house at 350 Hathway Ave
It is on the same parcel but recognized as separate address
for citations, so they are divided between 348 and 350
Hathway
Phi Sigma Kappa’s “ back house at 350 Hathway Ave listed in AB 524 Report
17
Phi Sigma Kappa 1908 Loomis Street
Phi Sigma Kappa’s “ back house at 1908 Loomis listed in AB 524 Report
Video on Phi Sigma Kappa’s
Instagram page identifies
1908 Loomis St as the
satellite house
Rush event at 1908 Loomis 10/12/2023
18
Pi Kappa Phi 66 Rafael Way
19
Pi Kappa Phi 447 N. Chorro
Pi Kappa Phi winter rush 2024
Rush event at 447 N. Chorro
10/11/2023
20
Sigma Nu 290 Chaplin Lane
Fraternity members in front of their house
at 290 Chaplin Lane
This fraternity house hosted several events with
sororities, during the 2023-2024 academic year,
including a party with over 100 people on 10/27/2023
The party will likely be listed on Cal Poly’s AB 524 report
posted 10/1/2024
21
Theta Chi 1350 Stafford Street
Theta Chi rush event posted on
Instagram at 1350 Stafford
10/11/2023
Photo of Theta Chi Board Members
at 1350 Stafford
The house at 1350 Stafford became a fraternity in
academic year 2023 – 2024
It has held MANY fraternity parties, hosting sororities,
and has been extremely disruptive in the neighborhood.
Most parties were cleared by SNAP as ‘negative
violation’ despite being heard from a block away
22
Theta Chi 410 Grand Avenue
Screenshot of Theta Chi at 410 Grand
from Theta Chi’s rush promotion video
posted on Instagram.
This was a new fraternity house in 2023 – 2023
academic year and hosted many events and
parties that would appear on Cal Poly’s AB 524
Report to be posted on 10/1/2024
23
Zeta Beta Tau 654 Graves
The main Chapter house for Zeta Beta Tau is one of the few fraternity houses identified in
Cal Poly’s AB 524 report as “Affiliated Chapter Houses” at 654 Graves Ave.
This is the main Chapter facility for Zeta Beta Tau.
654 Graves is also listed multiple times in the “sanctioned events” for the fraternity in the
AB 524 report.
24
Zeta Beta Tau 244 Albert Drive a.k.a. “The Zoo”
Zeta Beta Tau held “sanctioned events” at 244 Albert Drive including a St. Fratty’s Day event
that was shut down by SLOPD with a Report filed by the officer re: the event. A photo of the
Backyard at 244 Albert Dr is used by Zeta Beta Tau to recruit new members (below)
25
Zeta Beta Tau 244 Albert Drive
244 Albert Drive, referred to as “the Zoo” had an event with a live band on January 12, 2024,
and a music video for the band was filmed during the concert in the backyard.
The band posted clips from the concert at 244 Albert on their Instagram page (below)
26
No Date on Notice of Violation
1525 Slack Street – Sigma Pi
27
No Date on Notice of Violation
1327 E. Foothill Blvd – Beta Theta Pi
28
Wrong address cited in letter
(should be 1740 not 1704)
1740 Fredericks Street – Phi Kappa Psi
29
The City’s spreadsheet (page 2) shows Notices of Violation and Advisory Letters were sent
to the following addresses, but the City claims the letters were “lost” by the Community
Development Department.
How will the City have a record of the violation and/or follow-up since the letters are lost?
Lost Notice of Violation:
1. Beta Theta Pi 1327 E. Foothill Blvd *main Chapter house for the fraternity
Lost Advisory Letters:
2. Kappa Sigma 1861 Hope St
3. Phi Kappa Psi 1740 Fredericks St
4. Phi Kappa Psi 346 Grand Ave
5. Sigma Nu 1621 McCollum St
6. Theta Chi 1661 McCollum St
7. Phi Kappa Psi 237 Albert Dr
8. Phi Gamma Delta 385 Chaplin Ln
9.Kappa Sigma 108 Crandall Wy
10. Theta Chi 1238 E. Foothill Blvd
11. Phi Gamma Delta 1254 Bond St
12. Theta Chi 191 Kentucky St
13. Kappa Sigma 281 Hathway Ave *main Chapter house for the fraternity
14. Unknown Fraternity 525 El Camino Real
15. Unknown Fraternity 1130 Olive St
16. Unknown Fraternity 618 Felton Wy
17. Used as Event Venue 1010 Paseo DeCaballo
30
SIGMA NU Fraternity “Sanctioned Events” in Cal Poly’s AB 524 Report, 10/3/2023 (above)
SIGMA NU Fraternity “Sanctioned Events” in Cal Poly’s AB 524 Report, 7/15/2024 (above)
KAPPA SIGMA Fraternity “Sanctioned Events” in Cal Poly’s AB 524 Report, 10/3/2023 (above)
KAPPA SIGMA Fraternity “Sanctioned Events” in Cal Poly’s AB 524 Report, 7/15/2024 (above)
LAMBDA CHI ALPHA Fraternity “Sanctioned Events” in Cal Poly’s AB 524 Report, 10/3/2023 (above)
LAMBDA CHI ALPHA Fraternity “Sanctioned Events” in Cal Poly’s AB 524 Report, 7/15/2024 (above)
Cal Poly is hiding the locations of their illegal fraternities
kathie walker < > Wed, Jul 17, 2024 at 8:13 PM
To: "Mezzapesa, John" <JMezzape@slocity.org>, "Tway, Timothea (Timmi)" <ttway@slocity.org>, "Scott, Rick" <rscott@slocity.org>,
emailcouncil@slocity.org, wmcdonald@slocity.org, "Stewart, Erica A" <estewart@slocity.org>, "Shoresman, Michelle" <mshoresm@slocity.org>, "Francis,
Emily" <EFrancis@slocity.org>, "Pease, Andy" <apease@slocity.org>, Jan Marx <jmarx@slocity.org>
Cc: Sandra Rowley < , Brett Cross < , Carolyn Smith < , Karen Adler
< , Stewjenkins Info < , Doug Irion <
San Luis Obispo City Leaders and Elected Representatives,
I have worked very hard for the past couple of years to solve the problem of illegal satellite fraternity houses in our neighborhoods in
San Luis Obispo because their parties and other disruptive behavior have ruined the quality of life for many of us, including me and my
family. I spent many months preparing a report identifying illegal satellite fraternity houses in R-1 and R-2 neighborhoods, which
include the main chapter houses for several fraternities at Cal Poly.
Last year, all colleges and universities in California were required to publish a report online including the locations of their fraternities
and the location, dates, and times of all "sanctioned events" held by every fraternity and sorority per Assembly Bill 524: The Campus-
Recognized Sorority and Fraternity Transparency Act (AB 524; Sections 66310-66312 of California Education Code). Most of the
locations for "sanctioned events" listed in the AB 524 Report were at illegal fraternity houses in R-1 and R-2 residential neighborhoods.
It is against the City's municipal code and zoning regulations for fraternities to operate in R-1 and R-2 neighborhoods. I cross-
referenced the addresses from my report with Cal Poly's AB 524 report, which confirmed the locations of satellite fraternity houses in
our neighborhoods. Subsequently, I provided my report to Community Development Director, Timmi Tway and Code Enforcement
Supervisor, John Mezzapesa during a meeting on 11/8/2023. I have also kept John Mezzapesa updated about the fraternity's social
media posts, advertising fraternity events at the illegal fraternities in our neighborhood.
The last academic school year was worse than ever, as evidenced by the explosion of the number of calls to SLOPD during the 3-night
Halloweekend event and the enormous turnout for St. Fratty's Day. As a side note, I contacted the property owner of 348 Hathway
before St. Fratty's Day and he promised that the fraternity members would block off their property and they would not participate in the
event. Still, several fraternities did host parties that day, and as you know, the event was a nightmare. It is by sheer luck that no one
was hurt or killed during the event.
From September to June, dozens of illegal fraternities in our neighborhood continued to operate Thursday - Sunday and the loud
parties have made our lives a living hell. Summer and Winter Break are the only reprieves we have from the regular, disruptive, noisy
fraternity parties operating illegally in our neighborhood.
Recently, the City issued Notices of Violation and advisory letters to over 50 of the illegal fraternity houses. After the property owners
and/or property managers received these notifications from the City, they contacted the City and Cal Poly's Greek Life office. Many
claimed they were unaware that the house was holding fraternity events and they wanted their homes removed from Cal Poly's list of
"satellite fraternity houses."
As a result of this pushback, Cal Poly told the City that they will no longer keep track of their fraternity's satellite fraternity
houses. These "satellite fraternity houses" are operated as full-fledged fraternity houses, with rush events, huge parties that host
sororities, and other "philanthropic" events with tons of loud, boisterous, intoxicated people. It's like having multiple nightclubs in a
residential neighborhood with people walking from party to party, every weekend. Notably, some of these "satellite" fraternity houses
are the main chapter houses for the fraternity and are located in R-1 and R-2 neighborhoods. These illegal fraternity houses have
changed the fabric of our neighborhood and have made it unlivable every weekend that Cal Poly is in session. Several people,
including me, my neighbors, and code enforcement, have been awaiting the publication of Cal Poly's AB 524 Report on 10/1/2024 so
we can confirm new illegal fraternity houses that have popped up in our neighborhood, and those that still exist.
It has come to my attention today that Cal Poly Greek Life just removed the addresses from their AB 524 Report online that
identified "sanctioned events" at illegal fraternity houses within the neighborhoods in San Luis Obispo. They have replaced
the addresses with "San Luis Obispo". The only logical explanation for this action is that Cal Poly wants to hide the location
of their illegal fraternity houses from the public and from the City of San Luis Obispo's code enforcement department. This
also indicates that Cal Poly will not release the addresses in their report on 10/1/2024, for the events held at illegal fraternities during
the last academic year, 2023-2024.
Below is an example of Cal Poly's AB 524 Report when it was originally published on 10/1/2023 compared to today. As you can see,
someone at Cal Poly recently altered the report and removed all the addresses. They did the same for every one of their 18 fraternities.
Cal Poly does not care about our neighborhoods. They don't care that the ongoing disruptive parties at illegal satellite fraternity houses
are destroying our lives. Otherwise, they would not try to secret their locations by removing them from the AB 524 report and telling the
City's code enforcement that they will no longer keep track of satellite fraternity locations. Why doesn't Cal Poly do something to solve
the problem rather than continue to place the burden on the people who live near the nuisance fraternities? During the last academic
school year, we could not sleep, rest, or enjoy our property from Thursday to Sunday. How is that okay?
Last year, the Cal Poly employee who oversees Greek Life, Elizabeth Aiello-Coppola, told me that the disruptions caused by
fraternities are not Cal Poly's responsibility. She suggested that I contact SLOPD and/or Code Enforcement. I did so, and now Greek
Life is trying to make it difficult for San Luis Obispo to enforce its laws related to illegal fraternities. That isn't right.
Throughout the past year, I have contacted the City Council about this ongoing issue and have received the same response: "We're
working with Cal Poly." I want you to realize that this tactic did not work. Cal Poly does not want to cooperate. So now what? What is
the City going to do to solve this problem since it is obvious that Cal Poly does not want to be part of the solution? There are dozens of
illegal fraternities in our neighborhood that are taking up city resources with SLOPD response and ruining the quality of life for those
who live here. Please let me know the next steps the City will take to tackle this problem that has become out of control.
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
P.S. The city could have done something in 2015 after the roof collapsed during St. Fratty's Day and Cal Poly issued a report to the
City and the community that identified illegal fraternities in R-1 and R-2 residential zones on Hathway. Back then, there were only a
few illegal fraternities (all on Hathway Avenue) and ZERO near our home or in the Monterey Heights neighborhood. Now there are
over 60! If the city were proactive then, this would not have happened. The illegal fraternities have exponentially overtaken the
neighborhoods and continue to expand further each year. This situation is unacceptable and needs to be fixed.
Tway, Timothea (Timmi) <TTway@slocity.org>Thu, Jul 18, 2024 at 11:56 AM
To: kathie walker < >
Cc: Sandra Rowley < , Brett Cross < , Carolyn Smith < , Karen Adler
< , Stewjenkins Info < , Doug Irion < , "Mezzapesa, John" <JMezzape@slocity.org>
BCC:CC
Good morning, Kathie,
First, Code Enforcement staff would like to thank you and the other members of RQN for the productive meeting yesterday about
fraternities and the issues that you are facing in the neighborhood. As you know, we have been working to educate students and
landlords about regulations and also enforce the zoning code when violations are identified.
As you stated in your email, Community Development staff has also been working with Cal Poly over the past year to address the
issues in the neighborhood. While it is true that the City’s Code Enforcement staff is ultimately responsible for ensuring zoning code
compliance, there is a role for the university to play in ensuring that students and student groups are operating within the bounds of
established regulations and educated about what the regulations are. We are disappointed to see the change that occurred with the
AB524 report information that is provided online. We will be providing your email to Cal Poly leadership and speaking with them
about the changes to the report information as well as the role that the University can play in addressing this issue.
Thank you,
Timothea (Timmi) Tway
Director of Community Development
Community Development
919 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3249E TTway@slocity.orgT 805.781.7187
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
1
From:Armas, Sara
Sent:Friday, November 15, 2024 12:50 PM
To:kathie walker
Cc:CityClerk
Subject:RE: Planning Commission 11/13/2024, follow up
Hi Kathie Walker,
Your written comment has been entered into the public archive for the November 13, 2024 Planning Commission
Meeting and provided to the Commissioners.
BCC: Council_All
Regards,
Sara Armas
pronouns she/her/hers
Deputy City Clerk I
City Administration
990 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3218
E SArmas@slocity.org
T 805.781.7110
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Friday, November 15, 2024 12:07 PM
To: Advisory Bodies <advisorybodies@slocity.org>; Tway, Timothea (Timmi) <TTway@slocity.org>; Kersten, Markie
<mkersten@slocity.org>; Corey, Tyler <tcorey@slocity.org>; Hanh, Hannah <hhanh@slocity.org>
Cc: E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org>
Subject: Planning Commission 11/13/2024, follow up
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear Planning Commissioners and City Staff,
Follow-up Information is provided below to answer some questions asked during the Planning Commission
meeting on 11/13/2024 for which city staff indicated they did not know the answer.
Were letters to property owners of Cal Poly fraternities lost by the Community Development Department
(CDD)?
Yes.
A public records request was made on 9/12/2024 for any records sent to property owners of illegal fraternities in
San Luis Obispo from 11/8/2023 to the present. The reason records were requested beginning on 11/8/2023 is
that there was a meeting between Timmi Tway, John Mezzapesa, Brett Cross (of RQN), and me on 11/8/2023.
2
During the meeting, I provided Ms. Tway and Mr. Mezzapesa with a detailed report and documentation of the
address locations of dozens of illegal fraternity houses operating as full-fledged fraternities in the city's
neighborhoods.
In response to my request for records, on 9/23/2024, the City Clerk sent a link to the records available and
stated that some of the letters sent to property owners were lost by the Community Development Department
so were not able to be produced.
On 9/27/2024, I sent an email to Ms. Tway, Mr. Mezzapesa, the City Manager, the City Council, RQN Board
members, and the president of the Alta Vista Neighborhood Association (AVNA), expressing my concern about
the lost letters, undated Notices of Violation, and the overall failure to address the fraternity problem. Also,
many well-documented fraternity houses were overlooked and not sent Advisory Letters or Notices of
Violations, including the main chapter houses for some fraternities. I also recognized that Mr. Mezzapesa was
great to work with and acknowledged that he expressed that Code Enforcement has limited resources and
insufficient staff to deal with this huge problem.
Sixteen (16) Advisory Letters were lost and eighteen (18) fraternity houses were not issued any letters or notices,
even though they are operating as a fraternity and documented in Cal Poly's AB 524 report, and/or advertised
fraternity-related events on social media. My email on 9/27/2024 included further documentation of the
fraternity operations at those 18 fraternity locations and also included a list of the addresses for the letters that
were lost. (See Attachment: CDD fraternity action)
Did Cal Poly erase the addresses of its fraternities in a public report that was required by some sort of
legislation?
Yes.
On 10/1/2023, Cal Poly published a report for each fraternity and a spreadsheet that listed the date, time, and
address of each sanctioned event during the academic year 2022-2023. In July 2024, after Code Enforcement
sent Advisory Letters and Notices of Violation to many property owners with illegal fraternity operations within
the city's neighborhoods, Cal Poly erased all the addresses of sanctioned events held at its fraternity in the AB
524 report. It appears Cal Poly is hiding the addresses because it doesn't want Code Enforcement to know
where the illegal fraternities are located in the city. Below is an example of one fraternity. The original report
3
for Phi Sigma Kappa on 10/1/2023 listed the addresses (top) and in July 2024, the addresses were replaced with
"San Luis Obispo" in the edited report (bottom). I've attached three more examples to this email. (Attachment:
AB 524 REPORTS Before and After) This was done for each of the 17 fraternities for the 2022-2023 academic
year.
The CSU system provided a template to each of the 23 campuses within the CSU system to streamline and
standardize the AB 524 reports for each campus. The template specifically says "Address (On and Off-campus)"
in the heading of the spreadsheets, as shown below. Cal Poly provided a hyperlink in the "Address" column that
leads to the blue spreadsheets with a heading that says "Location".
4
On 7/17/2024, I notified the City and the RQN Board members that Cal Poly had erased the addresses of
fraternity events during the 2022-2023 academic year from its AB 524 report. Ms. Tway responded, "We are
disappointed to see the change that occurred with the AB524 report information that is provided online. We will
be providing your email to Cal Poly leadership and speaking with them about the changes to the report
information as well as the role that the University can play in addressing this issue." (Attachment: Email
7.17.2024 Cal Poly is hiding the locations of illegal fraternities)
Courtney Kienow responded on behalf of Cal Poly explaining that Cal Poly had realized that they were the only
CSU of all 23 campuses that included addresses of fraternity events in the report, so the addresses were
removed to be consistent with the other CSU campuses. However, only five of the 23 CSU campuses did not
include the addresses of fraternity events. When this information was provided to Ms. Kienow, she said that the
addresses were removed to protect the privacy of Cal Poly's students. The address information did not include
any personally identifiable information that would identify a particular student, so did not violate a student's
privacy according to Federal and State law. Nonetheless, Cal Poly has doubled down on its narrative.
On 10/1/2024, Cal Poly published a report for each fraternity, as required by AB 524, and did not list the
addresses for sanctioned events held by fraternities during the 2023-2024 academic year. Instead, they listed
"San Luis Obispo" as the address. The requirements of AB 524 were adopted as the California Education Code
beginning with section 66310 and the purpose is to provide transparency.
Hopefully, this information helps to clarify some of the questions asked during Wednesday night's Planning
Commission meeting.
Best Regards,
Kathie Walker
1
From:Shoresman, Michelle
Sent:Sunday, November 17, 2024 5:16 PM
To:kathie walker
Subject:RE: Illegal Fraternities and Communication Between SLOPD & Code Enforcement
Hi again Kathie,
I am so sorry to hear all that you have been through, both recently and 30 years ago. That must make you feel
incredibly vulnerable and I appreciate your openness to sharing with me. It is a good thing you have cameras on your
home and I am glad to hear that SLOPD was able to take action during your recent incident. So scary.
We will continue to work on this. I promise you that.
It is also frustrating to me that, as a councilmember, I only generally “get” to attend one SCLC meeting a year,
because the mayor attends them all, and so only one other councilmember can be present each time. So, we rotate. I
have not been since last school year, and was supposed to attend in October….but got put on a jury that day! So, I
missed what was supposed to be my one chance! I have however talked with the City Clerk about assigning me in the
early part of the new year, so I hope to attend a meeting before St. Fratty’s so I can be part of the discussion as well.
Thanks for staying engaged and keeping us informed. I really appreciate this extra context about the recent SCLC
meetings.
Michelle
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Friday, November 15, 2024 11:06 PM
To: Shoresman, Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org>
Subject: Re: Illegal Fraternities and Communication Between SLOPD & Code Enforcement
Hi Michelle,
Thank you so much for the response. Last night was horrendous with so many fraternity parties and I guess it
was a difficult realization that fraternities are not curbing their parties, after feeling hopeful last weekend
because it was quiet. And there are more tonight.
I love your suggestion about approaching the Regents and other local state representatives. I crossed paths
with Dawn Addis years ago when I was helping run Heidi Harmon's campaign but she may not remember me.
I'm not super comfortable in the forefront but am great as a supporter in the background for more extroverted
people who enjoy the spotlight. I may have to step out of my comfort zone and be more public with this issue to
get it solved.
To touch briefly on another matter that is somewhat related to Greek life, I am very nervous about St. Fratty's
Day and have been meeting with neighbors to strategize. Unfortunately, there has not been outreach from the
2
city and we feel alone over here. I've been attending SCLC for the past year. During the first meeting this
academic year, there was an exercise to choose goals for initiatives. Whitney McDonald's only goal was to stop
St. Fratty's Day. I was teamed up with Whitney and someone from Cal Poly in a small group, and the Cal Poly rep
said that she's on the task force for St. Fratty's Day and Cal Poly was leaning toward holding a sanctioned event
in the city. Whitney looked sideways and shook her head. It was the first time she'd heard of Cal Poly's plans for
the City.
During the next meeting, the Chair (Ashely Spragins) showed a list of initiatives, and St. Fratty's Day was not
included. Whitney spoke up and it took some arm-twisting from city representatives on SCLC, including Erica
Stewart and me, to get it included. (I happened to be sitting in for Mila during that time.) I reminded the group
Rick Scott told SCLC last year in his debrief of St. Fratty's Day, that it needed to be student-led and SCLC was
the best forum for that. Overall, I feel Cal Poly and its task force for St. Fratty's Day does not have the City's best
interest in mind. Their focus is on protecting their campus and dorms. This sort of lines up with their approach to
their illegal fraternities, which they are not sharing with the city but are still sa nctioning parties. It would be great
if the City took a stronger stance to look out for itself. A report from Cal Poly's task force is a standing item on
the SCLC agenda so I look forward to hearing what they say on Thursday.
Thank you for your email and constructive ideas to approach the fraternity problem from another angle. I know
you share my frustration and agree that the issue should be solved. Your communication is appreciated! (Sorry
for all of the emails.)
-Kathie
On Fri, Nov 15, 2024 at 10:08 PM Shoresman, Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org> wrote:
Hi Kathie,
Thanks for the letter.
You are very diligent in your writing and reporting to us. And, I am pretty sure you were present at the council
meeting when several of us (from the dias) expressed frustration with Cal Poly as well. I wondered if you have given
any thought to advocating about this problem to your local state representatives or the CSU Board of Regents? I
don’t know if that will help or not, but it is worth advocacy at every level I think. As you know, we are working on
things from our end…but every little bit helps, from every angle, I think.
Thanks again.
Michelle
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Friday, November 15, 2024 9:55 AM
To: Scott, Rick <rscott@slocity.org>; Tway, Timothea (Timmi) <TTway@slocity.org>; Mezzapesa, John <JMezzape@slocity.org>;
3
E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org>; McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org>
Subject: Illegal Fraternities and Communication Between SLOPD & Code Enforcement
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear City Leaders,
Unfortunately, we were surrounded by noisy fraternity parties and loud people passing by our house to and
from parties last night and it was only Thursday, so it seems this weekend is going to be rough. It is so
disappointing and I am angry that we can't live a normal life because of the huge number of illegal fraternities in
our neighborhood and their party guests that negatively impact us almost every weekend.
Recent correspondence from SLOPD Chief Rick Scott indicated that SLOPD is flagging illegal fraternity houses
that are communicated to them by Code Enforcement. Please send me a list of the addresses provided by
Community Development to SLOPD as of today, 11/15/2024. Let me know if I need to file a formal request per
the CPRA. Otherwise, if this request is sufficient, please forward the addresses to me as soon as you can,
within 10 days.
The property at 299 Albert Drive had a VERY large, loud party on 11/14/2024. This property is an illegal fraternity
Alpha Sigma Pi and received a Notice of Violation (NOV) for illegal fraternity operations on 3/5/2024. A
screenshot is below. The owner of this property, Sanjay Ganpule a.k.a. Fredericks LLC and SLOCA LLC, also
owns the house next door to us which was an illegal fraternity house two years ago, and owns another illegal
fraternity at 1700 Fredericks Street that was issued an NOV. Despite the NOV for 299 Albert Drive, SNAP was
dispatched to the party and issued a DAC, which has no fine and essentially zero consequence for the illegal
fraternity.
4
There was another equally large and loud party at 1646 Fredericks Street, an illegal fraternity house for Zeta
Beta Tau. It was a Christmas-themed party, with sorority members dressed in tiny red shorts and halters
wearing Santa hats, and a large tent in the backyard with red and green lights blaring music. Cal Poly registered
and approved this party to be held in an R-1 residential neighborhood, even though Cal Poly has been notified
by Code Enforcement that it is illegal for fraternities to hold events in R-1 and R-2 neighborhoods. This property
aslo held a rush recruitment event on 10/6/2024 and I was notified by Code Enforcement that the property
received a Notice of Violation for illegal fraternity operations for that event. I was not provided a copy of the
NOV so am unsure of the date it was issued.
Did Code Enforcement communicate these addresses to SLOPD?
I was able to speak with the SNAP officers at 299 Albert Drive. I told them the property was a documented
fraternity house and it was my understanding, based on communication from the Police Chief, that SLOPD
officers would respond to fraternities, including illegal fraternities. The SNAP officers had not heard anything
about SLOPD's plan and one of them said it would be great if they didn't have to respond to fraternities. He
asked me to contact the Police Chief to re-confirm the plan because (his words) "We don't want to respond to
frats." The fraternity guys did not turn down the music or stop the party, even though SNAP officers were there.
5
There is no parity when SNAP officers respond to a large fraternity party and it is unfair to the SNAP officers. I
remember when the SNAP program was started and it was not set up for these sorts of calls. It was meant to be
a peer-to-peer situation. I have previously communicated with SLOPD leadership that Steve and I witnessed
SNAP officers being bullied and berated by some fraternity guys on Albert Drive during Halloweekend 2023. I
have also communicated that we have witnessed SNAP walk away from large, loud fraternity parties and clear
them as Negative Violations, including 290 Chaplin Lane and 1350 Stafford Street. It was obvious that SNAP
was intimidated and uncomfortable citing a large group of fraternity guys. I am unsure why SNAP is still being
dispatched to fraternity parties and it should stop.
On 11/13/2024, the Planning Commission held a hearing for the re-review of Alpha Epsilon Pi's CUP. I was in
support of the CUP and felt the new conditions were fair. However, after hearing testimony and considering the
impact of fraternities in our neighborhood on the residents, the Planning Commission expressed deep concern
about several aspects of fraternity operations in our neighborhoods and two of six Commissioners voted to
deny the CUP. Several of the Commissioners said that there is zero tolerance for future violations of the CUP
and they will have no problem revoking the CUP if the fraternity has a single violation that constitutes a public
nuisance, such as a noise citation. They specifically verified with the city attorney that a noise citation
constitutes a public nuisance because a condition of the CUP states it can be revoked if there is a single
incident that constitutes a public nuisance. If you have not seen the hearing, I suggest you watch it. Here is a
link.
All six Commissioners told Deputy Director Tyler Corey that the fraternity problem needs to be solved. Some
directions were (1) make sure there is communication between Code Enforcement and SLOPD so every noise
call or code enforcement violation to a fraternity, including illegal fraternities, is communicated between the
departments; (2) possibly developing a group such as a task force including Cal Poly, the City, residents of the
neighborhood, and the Interfraternity Council to ensure the fraternities are not operating illegally, and
relocating fraternities to a Greek Row on Cal Poly's campus, etc.; (3) fund a program or staff for enforcement of
illegal fraternities and fraternity operations, including CUPs, and looking at the greater adverse impacts of Cal
Poly overall, including its increased enrollment and impact on housing. There will be more discussion about
the funding of this as a major city goal during the next Planning Commission meeting on 12/11/2024. The
Commission said that Cal Poly has escaped accountability for too long and it's time for them to step up and
take ownership of their negative impacts. The tide is finally beginning to turn.
For now, I want to dig deeper into the communication between Code Enforcement and SLOPD, and
SLOPD's response to illegal fraternities in our neighborhoods. We have been dealing with this since the Fall of
2021 when there was a palpable shift with a significant increase in fraternities and disruptions in our
neighborhood. I began sending videos to SLOPD because huge parties were being cleared as Negative
Violation or Unable to Locate. Spring 2022 brought the reemergence of St. Fratty's Day with 2,000 people and it
exponentially ballooned to 7,000 attendees in 2024. There are many, many illegal fraternity houses operating
as full-fledged fraternities, holding events sanctioned by Cal Poly in our neighborhoods. Let's get the fraternity
problem solved.
6
Thank you,
Kathie
1
From:Colunga-Lopez, Andrea
Sent:Monday, November 18, 2024 11:56 AM
To:kathie walker
Cc:CityClerk
Subject:RE: Election System Proposal
Hi Kathie,
Thank you for your input, it has been sent to the City Council members. It is now placed in the public archive for the
upcoming meeting.
Best,
Andrea Colunga-Lopez
pronouns she/her/hers
Administrative Assistant II
City Administration
E AColunga@slocity.org
T 805.781.7105
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Monday, November 18, 2024 11:42 AM
To: E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org>
Subject: Election System Proposal
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear Councilmembers,
I believe district elections will are the best solution for San Luis Obispo for the following reasons:
1. It will allow specific neighborhoods to be represented by someone who lives there and understands the
unique circumstances of that district.
We live in the northern part of the city and do not have a representative who lives here. Over the past three
years, the residents in our neighborhood have been unable to have peace from Thursday to Sunday due to
extreme noise generated at illegal fraternity houses in our neighborhood. I have sent video and
correspondence to SLOPD and to the Council related to the lack of enforcement of noisy parties and, most
importantly, the illegal fraternity houses located in Alta Vista, Monterey Heights, and spreading to
neighborhoods west of Santa Rosa near Foothill. One Council member wrote to me after viewing a video and
said they didn't know what they would do if they lived here. It's been three years and the problem has not been
solved.
2
Each district in the city has unique situations (i.e. Laguna Lake, the airport area, etc.) The constituents need and
deserve to have representation in those districts.
2. It will be more inclusive because candidates can run a more affordable campaign.
I was involved in running an election campaign for a SLO mayor several years ago and was privy to the inner
workings of a campaign. It is expensive and special interest groups can contribute significant amounts by having
themselves, their family, and their friends give the maximum contribution, which was limited to $300 per
person. It adds up when many related people are each contributing $300. I also witnessed back-room deals
where a council person who wanted an endorsement "convinced" another well-known person in politics not to
run against the mayoral candidate and in exchange, the city council candidate received an endorsement from
the political party and won the election. I became disenchanted and lost faith in the fairness of politics, even on
a local level. Money and endorsements by a political party are the primary factors that determine the winner of
elections in SLO. Districts allow a more focused approach and are more affordable for potential candidates
because they only need to reach those in their district. They would represent the specific needs of the residents
in their district.
The argument that the district voters can only vote for their representative once every four years is not
consequential because the constituents have direct representation. If the City feels they should be able to vote
every two years, then change the process to align with the mayoral election and have voting every two years for
all candidates.
Thank you for your consideration,
Kathie Walker
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Monday, November 18, 2024 10:53 PM
To:Shoresman, Michelle
Subject:Re: Election System Proposal
Yes, I realize that the neighborhoods around Cal Poly would be diluted because of the total population of the
city. Our neighborhood's district in San Luis Coastal Unified also dips down to include the San Luis Drive
neighborhood and some of the neighborhood east of Johnson Avenue. The school board member for our district
lives in that area east of Johnson.
I feel the district model is more inclusive because it allows folks to campaign to a smaller segment of people
which is more affordable. The district representatives are likely familiar with issues in their district and more
accessible to those in their district who wish to bring issues to their attention.
I can see both sides of the argument. It would be great for the constituents to be able to decide what they want. I
have heard there is a movement toward bringing an initiative forward but have been more preoccupied with
solving the fraternity issue so am not super clear about the details. But I have heard from many people who
prefer the district model or ranked voting, which I understand is not financially feasible.
On Mon, Nov 18, 2024 at 8:42 PM Shoresman, Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org> wrote:
Thank you Kathie.
I wish we had more options in this situation. Did you get a chance to look at the proposed map?
Thank you again,
Michelle
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Monday, November 18, 2024 11:42:19 AM
To: E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org>
Subject: Election System Proposal
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear Councilmembers,
I believe district elections will are the best solution for San Luis Obispo for the following reasons:
1. It will allow specific neighborhoods to be represented by someone who lives there and understands the
unique circumstances of that district.
We live in the northern part of the city and do not have a representative who lives here. Over the past three
years, the residents in our neighborhood have been unable to have peace from Thursday to Sunday due to
extreme noise generated at illegal fraternity houses in our neighborhood. I have sent video and
correspondence to SLOPD and to the Council related to the lack of enforcement of noisy parties and, most
importantly, the illegal fraternity houses located in Alta Vista, Monterey Heights, and spreading to
neighborhoods west of Santa Rosa near Foothill. One Council member wrote to me after viewing a video and
2
said they didn't know what they would do if they lived here. It's been three years and the problem has not been
solved.
Each district in the city has unique situations (i.e. Laguna Lake, the airport area, etc.) The constituents need
and deserve to have representation in those districts.
2. It will be more inclusive because candidates can run a more affordable campaign.
I was involved in running an election campaign for a SLO mayor several years ago and was privy to the inner
workings of a campaign. It is expensive and special interest groups can contribute significant amounts by
having themselves, their family, and their friends give the maximum contribution, which was limited to $300
per person. It adds up when many related people are each contributing $300. I also witnessed back-room
deals where a council person who wanted an endorsement "convinced" another well-known person in politics
not to run against the mayoral candidate and in exchange, the city council candidate received an endorsement
from the political party and won the election. I became disenchanted and lost faith in the fairness of politics,
even on a local level. Money and endorsements by a political party are the primary factors that determine the
winner of elections in SLO. Districts allow a more focused approach and are more affordable for potential
candidates because they only need to reach those in their district. They would represent the specific needs of
the residents in their district.
The argument that the district voters can only vote for their representative once every four years is not
consequential because the constituents have direct representation. If the City feels they should be able to vote
every two years, then change the process to align with the mayoral election and have voting every two years for
all candidates.
Thank you for your consideration,
Kathie Walker
1
From:Shoresman, Michelle
Sent:Monday, November 18, 2024 8:43 PM
To:kathie walker
Subject:Re: Election System Proposal
Thank you Kathie.
I wish we had more options in this situation. Did you get a chance to look at the proposed map?
Thank you again,
Michelle
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Monday, November 18, 2024 11:42:19 AM
To: E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org>
Subject: Election System Proposal
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear Councilmembers,
I believe district elections will are the best solution for San Luis Obispo for the following reasons:
1. It will allow specific neighborhoods to be represented by someone who lives there and understands the
unique circumstances of that district.
We live in the northern part of the city and do not have a representative who lives here. Over the past three
years, the residents in our neighborhood have been unable to have peace from Thursday to Sunday due to
extreme noise generated at illegal fraternity houses in our neighborhood. I have sent video and
correspondence to SLOPD and to the Council related to the lack of enforcement of noisy parties and, most
importantly, the illegal fraternity houses located in Alta Vista, Monterey Heights, and spreading to
neighborhoods west of Santa Rosa near Foothill. One Council member wrote to me after viewing a video and
said they didn't know what they would do if they lived here. It's been three years and the problem has not been
solved.
Each district in the city has unique situations (i.e. Laguna Lake, the airport area, etc.) The constituents need and
deserve to have representation in those districts.
2. It will be more inclusive because candidates can run a more affordable campaign.
I was involved in running an election campaign for a SLO mayor several years ago and was privy to the inner
workings of a campaign. It is expensive and special interest groups can contribute significant amounts by having
themselves, their family, and their friends give the maximum contribution, which was limited to $300 per
person. It adds up when many related people are each contributing $300. I also witnessed back-room deals
where a council person who wanted an endorsement "convinced" another well-known person in politics not to
run against the mayoral candidate and in exchange, the city council candidate received an endorsement from
the political party and won the election. I became disenchanted and lost faith in the fairness of politics, even on
a local level. Money and endorsements by a political party are the primary factors that determine the winner of
2
elections in SLO. Districts allow a more focused approach and are more affordable for potential candidates
because they only need to reach those in their district. They would represent the specific needs of the residents
in their district.
The argument that the district voters can only vote for their representative once every four years is not
consequential because the constituents have direct representation. If the City feels they should be able to vote
every two years, then change the process to align with the mayoral election and have voting every two years for
all candidates.
Thank you for your consideration,
Kathie Walker
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Monday, November 18, 2024 11:42 AM
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Election System Proposal
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear Councilmembers,
I believe district elections will are the best solution for San Luis Obispo for the following reasons:
1. It will allow specific neighborhoods to be represented by someone who lives there and understands the
unique circumstances of that district.
We live in the northern part of the city and do not have a representative who lives here. Over the past three
years, the residents in our neighborhood have been unable to have peace from Thursday to Sunday due to
extreme noise generated at illegal fraternity houses in our neighborhood. I have sent video and
correspondence to SLOPD and to the Council related to the lack of enforcement of noisy parties and, most
importantly, the illegal fraternity houses located in Alta Vista, Monterey Heights, and spreading to
neighborhoods west of Santa Rosa near Foothill. One Council member wrote to me after viewing a video and
said they didn't know what they would do if they lived here. It's been three years and the problem has not been
solved.
Each district in the city has unique situations (i.e. Laguna Lake, the airport area, etc.) The constituents need and
deserve to have representation in those districts.
2. It will be more inclusive because candidates can run a more affordable campaign.
I was involved in running an election campaign for a SLO mayor several years ago and was privy to the inner
workings of a campaign. It is expensive and special interest groups can contribute significant amounts by having
themselves, their family, and their friends give the maximum contribution, which was limited to $300 per
person. It adds up when many related people are each contributing $300. I also witnessed back-room deals
where a council person who wanted an endorsement "convinced" another well-known person in politics not to
run against the mayoral candidate and in exchange, the city council candidate received an endorsement from
the political party and won the election. I became disenchanted and lost faith in the fairness of politics, even on
a local level. Money and endorsements by a political party are the primary factors that determine the winner of
elections in SLO. Districts allow a more focused approach and are more affordable for potential candidates
because they only need to reach those in their district. They would represent the specific needs of the residents
in their district.
The argument that the district voters can only vote for their representative once every four years is not
consequential because the constituents have direct representation. If the City feels they should be able to vote
every two years, then change the process to align with the mayoral election and have voting every two years for
all candidates.
Thank you for your consideration,
Kathie Walker
2
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Tuesday, November 19, 2024 7:48 AM
To:Shoresman, Michelle
Subject:Re: Election System Proposal
Yeah, I am not a proponent of ranked choice. I was just communicating that I'd heard from some people who
like ranked choice, and the vast majority of others who prefer the district model. My preference is districts.
Thank you again for your time.
On Tue, Nov 19, 2024 at 7:31 AM Shoresman, Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org> wrote:
Ranked choice is not only financially infeasible…it’s actually not allowed by the state Secretary of State and
our Clerk Recorder has said they would not be able to run an election of that type. So we, as a city, would have
to run our own election, which we are not experts in. So, expensive and probably not realistically feasible. So,
unfortunately, it has several things going against it.
Thanks again.
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Monday, November 18, 2024 10:52:49 PM
To: Shoresman, Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org>
Subject: Re: Election System Proposal
Yes, I realize that the neighborhoods around Cal Poly would be diluted because of the total population of the
city. Our neighborhood's district in San Luis Coastal Unified also dips down to include the San Luis Drive
neighborhood and some of the neighborhood east of Johnson Avenue. The school board member for our
district lives in that area east of Johnson.
I feel the district model is more inclusive because it allows folks to campaign to a smaller segment of people
which is more affordable. The district representatives are likely familiar with issues in their district and more
accessible to those in their district who wish to bring issues to their attention.
I can see both sides of the argument. It would be great for the constituents to be able to decide what they want.
I have heard there is a movement toward bringing an initiative forward but have been more preoccupied with
solving the fraternity issue so am not super clear about the details. But I have heard from many people who
prefer the district model or ranked voting, which I understand is not financially feasible.
On Mon, Nov 18, 2024 at 8:42 PM Shoresman, Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org> wrote:
Thank you Kathie.
I wish we had more options in this situation. Did you get a chance to look at the proposed map?
Thank you again,
Michelle
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Monday, November 18, 2024 11:42:19 AM
2
To: E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org>
Subject: Election System Proposal
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear Councilmembers,
I believe district elections will are the best solution for San Luis Obispo for the following reasons:
1. It will allow specific neighborhoods to be represented by someone who lives there and understands the
unique circumstances of that district.
We live in the northern part of the city and do not have a representative who lives here. Over the past three
years, the residents in our neighborhood have been unable to have peace from Thursday to Sunday due to
extreme noise generated at illegal fraternity houses in our neighborhood. I have sent video and
correspondence to SLOPD and to the Council related to the lack of enforcement of noisy parties and, most
importantly, the illegal fraternity houses located in Alta Vista, Monterey Heights, and spreading to
neighborhoods west of Santa Rosa near Foothill. One Council member wrote to me after viewing a video and
said they didn't know what they would do if they lived here. It's been three years and the problem has not been
solved.
Each district in the city has unique situations (i.e. Laguna Lake, the airport area, etc.) The constituents need
and deserve to have representation in those districts.
2. It will be more inclusive because candidates can run a more affordable campaign.
I was involved in running an election campaign for a SLO mayor several years ago and was privy to the inner
workings of a campaign. It is expensive and special interest groups can contribute significant amounts by
having themselves, their family, and their friends give the maximum contribution, which was limited to $300
per person. It adds up when many related people are each contributing $300. I also witnessed back-room
deals where a council person who wanted an endorsement "convinced" another well-known p erson in politics
not to run against the mayoral candidate and in exchange, the city council candidate received an
endorsement from the political party and won the election. I became disenchanted and lost faith in the
fairness of politics, even on a local level. Money and endorsements by a political party are the primary factors
that determine the winner of elections in SLO. Districts allow a more focused approach and are more
affordable for potential candidates because they only need to reach those in their district. They would
represent the specific needs of the residents in their district.
The argument that the district voters can only vote for their representative once every four years is not
consequential because the constituents have direct representation. If the City feels they should be able to
vote every two years, then change the process to align with the mayoral election and have voting every two
years for all candidates.
Thank you for your consideration,
Kathie Walker
1
From:Shoresman, Michelle
Sent:Tuesday, November 19, 2024 7:31 AM
To:kathie walker
Subject:Re: Election System Proposal
Ranked choice is not only financially infeasible…it’s actually not allowed by the state Secretary of State and our
Clerk Recorder has said they would not be able to run an election of that type. So we, as a city, would have to
run our own election, which we are not experts in. So, expensive and probably not realistically feasible. So,
unfortunately, it has several things going against it.
Thanks again.
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Monday, November 18, 2024 10:52:49 PM
To: Shoresman, Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org>
Subject: Re: Election System Proposal
Yes, I realize that the neighborhoods around Cal Poly would be diluted because of the total population of the
city. Our neighborhood's district in San Luis Coastal Unified also dips down to include the San Luis Drive
neighborhood and some of the neighborhood east of Johnson Avenue. The school board member for our district
lives in that area east of Johnson.
I feel the district model is more inclusive because it allows folks to campaign to a smaller segment of people
which is more affordable. The district representatives are likely familiar with issues in their district and more
accessible to those in their district who wish to bring issues to their attention.
I can see both sides of the argument. It would be great for the constituents to be able to decide what they want. I
have heard there is a movement toward bringing an initiative forward but have been more preoccupied with
solving the fraternity issue so am not super clear about the details. But I have heard from many people who
prefer the district model or ranked voting, which I understand is not financially feasible.
On Mon, Nov 18, 2024 at 8:42 PM Shoresman, Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org> wrote:
Thank you Kathie.
I wish we had more options in this situation. Did you get a chance to look at the proposed map?
Thank you again,
Michelle
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Monday, November 18, 2024 11:42:19 AM
To: E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org>
Subject: Election System Proposal
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
2
Dear Councilmembers,
I believe district elections will are the best solution for San Luis Obispo for the following reasons:
1. It will allow specific neighborhoods to be represented by someone who lives there and understands the
unique circumstances of that district.
We live in the northern part of the city and do not have a representative who lives here. Over the past three
years, the residents in our neighborhood have been unable to have peace from Thursday to Sunday due to
extreme noise generated at illegal fraternity houses in our neighborhood. I have sent video and
correspondence to SLOPD and to the Council related to the lack of enforcement of noisy parties and, most
importantly, the illegal fraternity houses located in Alta Vista, Monterey Heights, and spreading to
neighborhoods west of Santa Rosa near Foothill. One Council member wrote to me after viewing a video and
said they didn't know what they would do if they lived here. It's been three years and the problem has not been
solved.
Each district in the city has unique situations (i.e. Laguna Lake, the airport area, etc.) The constituents need
and deserve to have representation in those districts.
2. It will be more inclusive because candidates can run a more affordable campaign.
I was involved in running an election campaign for a SLO mayor several years ago and was privy to the inner
workings of a campaign. It is expensive and special interest groups can contribute significant amounts by
having themselves, their family, and their friends give the maximum contribution, which was limited to $300
per person. It adds up when many related people are each contributing $300. I also witnessed back-room
deals where a council person who wanted an endorsement "convinced" another well-known person in politics
not to run against the mayoral candidate and in exchange, the city council candidate received an endorsement
from the political party and won the election. I became disenchanted and lost faith in the fairness of politics,
even on a local level. Money and endorsements by a political party are the primary factors that determine the
winner of elections in SLO. Districts allow a more focused approach and are more affordable for potential
candidates because they only need to reach those in their district. They would represent the specific needs of
the residents in their district.
The argument that the district voters can only vote for their representative once every four years is not
consequential because the constituents have direct representation. If the City feels they should be able to vote
every two years, then change the process to align with the mayoral election and have voting every two years for
all candidates.
Thank you for your consideration,
Kathie Walker
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Tuesday, November 19, 2024 9:17 PM
To:Stewart, Erica A
Subject:Appreciation
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Erica,
I watched the Council meeting and appreciated your explanation about diversity, your thoughts about the
settlement agreement, and your questions to Mr. Shenkman. Until tonight, I did not realize the extensive history,
and now realize it's been a difficult, long-term situation. I just wanted to say that I am thankful for your
leadership.
-Kathie
1
From:Stewart, Erica A
Sent:Wednesday, November 20, 2024 8:17 AM
To:kathie walker
Subject:Re: Appreciation
Thank you, Kathie. I appreciate your note and kind words.
Warmest regards,
Erica
Erica A. Stewart
pronouns she/her/hers
Mayor
To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.City of San Luis Obispo
Office of the City Council
990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3249
estewart@slocity.org
805.540.1154
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
The best way to report general issues within City limits or to request City services during this time is via Ask
SLO, www.slocity.org/Ask.
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Tuesday, November 19, 2024 9:16:33 PM
To: Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>
Subject: Appreciation
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Erica,
I watched the Council meeting and appreciated your explanation about diversity, your thoughts about the
settlement agreement, and your questions to Mr. Shenkman. Until tonight, I did not realize the extensive history,
and now realize it's been a difficult, long-term situation. I just wanted to say that I am thankful for your
leadership.
-Kathie
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Friday, November 22, 2024 11:06 AM
To:E-mail Council Website
Cc:Sandra Rowley; Carolyn Smith; Brett Cross; Stewjenkins Info; Mila Vujovich-LaBarre
Subject:Weekly noise report re: SLOPD response to fraternities
Attachments:SLOPD noise to frats 11.14 - 11.16.2024.pdf
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
I have attached my weekly fraternity noise report for last weekend, 11/14 - 11/16/2024. There were sixteen (16)
noise calls for fraternities and fifteen (15) were at documented illegal fraternity houses. The noise kept me
awake every night and it was beyond frustrating. It was difficult to function for the first part of the week because
I was exhausted from being kept awake all weekend by the noisy parties and roving people, screaming past our
home.
Fraternities register their party locations with Cal Poly, including the number of guests they will have, and the
parties are approved by the Greek Life administration beforehand. Cal Poly knows these parties are illegal in the
neighborhoods but approves them anyway.
Finally, I don't think the noise ordinance is understood by most people. Unfortunately, I've learned it since we
are subjected to extreme noise, mostly from illegal fraternities. The noise ordinance is a 24/7 regulation. The
exterior decibel limit prohibited during the day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. is only 5 decibels more than the noise
level prohibited at night. Noise that measures 70 dBA is prohibited and isn't that loud. For clarification, I suggest
you speak with the city attorney. SLOPD doesn't use decibel meters so it is impossible to know the exact sound
level but common sense can be used, and when music can be heard a block away, that's an obvious violation.
2
Thank you,
Kathie
Date Time Call Address Res Fraternity Clearance Code Call Comments on SLOPD log
Received Main Chapter in Bold_________Zone___Chapter____________ by SLOPD_____________________________________
1) 11/14/2024 08:20 pm 1684 Mill St R-2 Delta Sigma Phi DAC (SNAP) Loud bass music unkwn address
2) 11/14/2024 09:00 pm 1220 Fredericks St R-2 Beta Theta Pi Neg Vio (SNAP) Loud music
3) 11/14/2024 09:10 pm 1646 Fredericks St R-1 Zeta Beta Tau DAC (SNAP) Loud party at loc
4) 11/14/2024 09:14 pm 1525 Slack St R-1 Sigma Pi Neg Vio (SNAP & Cox) Loud music at loc
5) 1/14/2024 09:19 pm 299 Albert Dr R-1 Alpha Sigma Pi DAC (SNAP) Loud party at loc
6) 11/14/2024 10:17 pm 1555 Slack Street R-1 Delta Upsilon DAC (SNAP) Loud music and bass
7) 11/14/2024 10:54 pm 1276 Bond St R-1 Phi Kappa Psi DAC (SNAP) Loud party
8) 11/15/2024 12:48 pm 171 Orange R-1 Lambda Chi Alpha Neg Vio (Cutler) Large party at fraternity
9) 11/15/2024 09:29 am 1861 Hope St R-1 Kappa Sigma DAC (SNAP) Loud party at loc
10) 11/15/2024 09:39 pm 1908 Loomis R-1 Phi Sigma Kappa DAC (SNAP) Loud people and music
11) 11/15/2024 10:00 pm 720 Foothill (Permitted - CUP) R-4 Delta Upsilon Neg Vio (Brewer) Frat House
12) 11/15/2024 10:23 pm 385 Chaplin Ln R-1 Phi Gamma Delta FIJI Citation (Perlette) Loud music/bass and people
13) 11/15/2024 10:58 pm 1229 Fredericks St R-2 Phi Gamma Delta FIJI Neg Vio (SNAP) Loud party
14) 11/15/2024 11:37 pm 1275 Stafford #A* R-2 Phi Kappa Psi DAC (SNAP) Loud party
15) 11/16/2024 12:58 pm 1229 Fredericks/Hathway Ally R-2 Phi Gamma Delta FIJI Neg Vio (Cutler) Loud music & carwash - 1229 Fr
16) 11/16/2024 01:30pm Hathway Ally (behind 1229 Fre) R-2 Phi Gamma Delta FIJI Neg Vio (Cutler) Car wash and loud music
*On 10/29/2024, I sent the City Council a weekend report (“Noise Report 10/25 -10/26/2024”) and referred to the Phi Kappa Psi compound at 1275 A/B, 1273,
and 1271 Stafford, which is one parcel with three houses and four addresses.
I explained the strategy used by fraternities with multiple addresses on one APN, and how they game the system by cycling through each address to have a zero-
fine DAC issued before it requires SLOPD response and a potential citation with a fine. The parties are held outside in a central courtyard so essentially, this
property will likely get four DACs before it ever moves to a citation. As predicted, the address at 1275 Stafford received another DAC by shifting the address from
unit B to unit A of the house. A screenshot of the relevant portion of my Noise Report 10/25- 10/26/2024 is below:
Regarding the “Negative Violation” at 1229 Fredericks/Hathway Alley for a car wash with loud music - noted as calls #15 and #16 - this property is five doors
down from our house. I called SLOPD for this at 12:58 pm and don’t know who called the second time. The car wash was blaring music, heard clearly inside our
house, and guys were standing in the street on Fredericks and Kentucky holding signs, so people kept honking at them as they drove by. My husband was working
nightshift and trying to sleep during the day because he had to leave for work at 7 p.m. for a 12-14 hour shift, and the noise made it impossible to rest.
The noise ordinance is a 24/7 regulation. The exterior decibel limit prohibited during the day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. is only 5 decibels more than the noise level
prohibited during nighttime from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. During the day, noise with music or speech measuring 70 dBA is prohibited according to a “noise standard”
table in SLOMC 9.12.060. (I can’t believe I know this stuff and wish I never had to look it up to understand but have done so because of over-the-top disruptive
noise in our neighborhood since the Fall of 2021.)
I took a screenshot of Phi Gamma Delta’s Instagram post advertising the carwash (below). It happened and unfortunately was not cited.
1
From:Wilbanks, Megan
Sent:Friday, November 22, 2024 11:35 AM
To:Kathie Walker
Cc:Tway, Timothea (Timmi); Scott, Rick
Subject:cc Walker - Weekly noise report re: SLOPD response to fraternities
Attachments:SLOPD noise to frats 11.14 - 11.16.2024.pdf
BCC: Council All
Kathie Walker,
Thank you for providing your comments to City Council, they were provided directly to them. By copy on this note,
Director of Community Development Timmi Tway and Police Chief Rick Scott are being made aware.
City Clerk’s Office
City Administration
City Clerk's Office
990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3218
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Friday, November 22, 2024 11:06 AM
To: E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org>
Cc: Sandra Rowley < ; Carolyn Smith < ; Brett Cross < ;
Stewjenkins Info < ; Mila Vujovich-LaBarre <
Subject: Weekly noise report re: SLOPD response to fraternities
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
I have attached my weekly fraternity noise report for last weekend, 11/14 - 11/16/2024. There were sixteen (16)
noise calls for fraternities and fifteen (15) were at documented illegal fraternity houses. The noise kept me
awake every night and it was beyond frustrating. It was difficult to function for the first part of the week because
I was exhausted from being kept awake all weekend by the noisy parties and roving people, screaming past our
home.
Fraternities register their party locations with Cal Poly, including the number of guests they will have, and the
parties are approved by the Greek Life administration beforehand. Cal Poly knows these parties are illegal in the
neighborhoods but approves them anyway.
Finally, I don't think the noise ordinance is understood by most people. Unfortunately, I've learned it since we
are subjected to extreme noise, mostly from illegal fraternities. The noise ordinance is a 24/7 regulation. The
exterior decibel limit prohibited during the day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. is only 5 decibels more than the noise
level prohibited at night. Noise that measures 70 dBA is prohibited and isn't that loud. For clarification, I suggest
2
you speak with the city attorney. SLOPD doesn't use decibel meters so it is impossible to know the exact sound
level but common sense can be used, and when music can be heard a block away, that's an obvious violation.
Thank you,
Kathie
Date Time Call Address Res Fraternity Clearance Code Call Comments on SLOPD log
Received Main Chapter in Bold_________Zone___Chapter____________ by SLOPD_____________________________________
1) 11/14/2024 08:20 pm 1684 Mill St R-2 Delta Sigma Phi DAC (SNAP) Loud bass music unkwn address
2) 11/14/2024 09:00 pm 1220 Fredericks St R-2 Beta Theta Pi Neg Vio (SNAP) Loud music
3) 11/14/2024 09:10 pm 1646 Fredericks St R-1 Zeta Beta Tau DAC (SNAP) Loud party at loc
4) 11/14/2024 09:14 pm 1525 Slack St R-1 Sigma Pi Neg Vio (SNAP & Cox) Loud music at loc
5) 1/14/2024 09:19 pm 299 Albert Dr R-1 Alpha Sigma Pi DAC (SNAP) Loud party at loc
6) 11/14/2024 10:17 pm 1555 Slack Street R-1 Delta Upsilon DAC (SNAP) Loud music and bass
7) 11/14/2024 10:54 pm 1276 Bond St R-1 Phi Kappa Psi DAC (SNAP) Loud party
8) 11/15/2024 12:48 pm 171 Orange R-1 Lambda Chi Alpha Neg Vio (Cutler) Large party at fraternity
9) 11/15/2024 09:29 am 1861 Hope St R-1 Kappa Sigma DAC (SNAP) Loud party at loc
10) 11/15/2024 09:39 pm 1908 Loomis R-1 Phi Sigma Kappa DAC (SNAP) Loud people and music
11) 11/15/2024 10:00 pm 720 Foothill (Permitted - CUP) R-4 Delta Upsilon Neg Vio (Brewer) Frat House
12) 11/15/2024 10:23 pm 385 Chaplin Ln R-1 Phi Gamma Delta FIJI Citation (Perlette) Loud music/bass and people
13) 11/15/2024 10:58 pm 1229 Fredericks St R-2 Phi Gamma Delta FIJI Neg Vio (SNAP) Loud party
14) 11/15/2024 11:37 pm 1275 Stafford #A* R-2 Phi Kappa Psi DAC (SNAP) Loud party
15) 11/16/2024 12:58 pm 1229 Fredericks/Hathway Ally R-2 Phi Gamma Delta FIJI Neg Vio (Cutler) Loud music & carwash - 1229 Fr
16) 11/16/2024 01:30pm Hathway Ally (behind 1229 Fre) R-2 Phi Gamma Delta FIJI Neg Vio (Cutler) Car wash and loud music
*On 10/29/2024, I sent the City Council a weekend report (“Noise Report 10/25 -10/26/2024”) and referred to the Phi Kappa Psi compound at 1275 A/B, 1273,
and 1271 Stafford, which is one parcel with three houses and four addresses.
I explained the strategy used by fraternities with multiple addresses on one APN, and how they game the system by cycling through each address to have a zero-
fine DAC issued before it requires SLOPD response and a potential citation with a fine. The parties are held outside in a central courtyard so essentially, this
property will likely get four DACs before it ever moves to a citation. As predicted, the address at 1275 Stafford received another DAC by shifting the address from
unit B to unit A of the house. A screenshot of the relevant portion of my Noise Report 10/25- 10/26/2024 is below:
Regarding the “Negative Violation” at 1229 Fredericks/Hathway Alley for a car wash with loud music - noted as calls #15 and #16 - this property is five doors
down from our house. I called SLOPD for this at 12:58 pm and don’t know who called the second time. The car wash was blaring music, heard clearly inside our
house, and guys were standing in the street on Fredericks and Kentucky holding signs, so people kept honking at them as they drove by. My husband was working
nightshift and trying to sleep during the day because he had to leave for work at 7 p.m. for a 12-14 hour shift, and the noise made it impossible to rest.
The noise ordinance is a 24/7 regulation. The exterior decibel limit prohibited during the day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. is only 5 decibels more than the noise level
prohibited during nighttime from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. During the day, noise with music or speech measuring 70 dBA is prohibited according to a “noise standard”
table in SLOMC 9.12.060. (I can’t believe I know this stuff and wish I never had to look it up to understand but have done so because of over-the-top disruptive
noise in our neighborhood since the Fall of 2021.)
I took a screenshot of Phi Gamma Delta’s Instagram post advertising the carwash (below). It happened and unfortunately was not cited.
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Friday, November 22, 2024 1:05 PM
To:Wilbanks, Megan; Stewart, Erica A; Shoresman, Michelle; Pease, Andy; Marx, Jan; Francis, Emily;
E-mail Council Website
Cc:Tway, Timothea (Timmi); Scott, Rick
Subject:Re: cc Walker - Weekly noise report re: SLOPD response to fraternities
I forgot an important note in my email this morning:
The previous week, 11/7 - 11/10/2024 there were very few noise calls to fraternities which I celebrated in my
weekly fraternity noise report to you last week. I recently learned that some of Cal Poly's fraternities were placed
on social probation due to alcohol violations, and prohibited from hosting events before the weekend of 11/7 -
11/10/2024. This was also mentioned during the SCLC meeting yesterday.
Also, Lambda Chi Alpha recently received its 3rd citation since the beginning of this academic year, in
violation of its CUP. A Mustang News reporter reached out to RQN two days ago about doing a story on
fraternities in the neighborhood, and specifically said that "Lambda Chi Alpha is on a tight leash lately". They are
likely not holding parties that could potentially prompt SLOPD response.
Additionally, Alpha Epsilon Pi had a hearing at the Planning Commission for a re-review of its CUP on
11/13/2024, and the president of the fraternity said that they have turned over a new leaf and will not be hosting
disruptive parties anymore.
Therefore, I feel the combination of these factors contributed to the lack of noise on 11/7-11/10/2024. Also, it
was Veteran's Day and some students may have left town.
However, during the past weekend, 11/15 - 11/17/2024, one of the fraternities placed on social probation
pending an investigation by Cal Poly, Phi Kappa Psi, did hold two noisy parties in our neighborhood at
documented illegal fraternity houses. One was at 1276 Bond and one was at 1275 Stafford. Unfortunately, the
fraternity members cited in the DACs were not honest about their school information or refused to answer the
SLOPD officer about what school they went to, lied about not having alcohol at the party, and did not provide an
accurate number of people in attendance at the party. I have previously said that it's not great policy to rely on
the host to tell the officer the number of people at the party, which is often way under the actual amount, and to
rely on them to tell the officer if there is alcohol or not. That DAC or Citaiton becomes a permanent record with
inaccurate information.
Thank you, again, for your work in improving the situation and getting the illegal fraternities out of our
neighborhood.
-Kathie
On Fri, Nov 22, 2024 at 11:35 AM Wilbanks, Megan <mwilbanks@slocity.org> wrote:
BCC: Council All
Kathie Walker,
2
Thank you for providing your comments to City Council, they were provided directly to them. By copy on this note,
Director of Community Development Timmi Tway and Police Chief Rick Scott are being made aware.
City Clerk’s Office
City Administration
City Clerk's Office
990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3218
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Friday, November 22, 2024 11:06 AM
To: E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org>
Cc: Sandra Rowley < ; Carolyn Smith < ; Brett Cross < ;
Stewjenkins Info < ; Mila Vujovich-LaBarre <
Subject: Weekly noise report re: SLOPD response to fraternities
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
I have attached my weekly fraternity noise report for last weekend, 11/14 - 11/16/2024. There were sixteen (16)
noise calls for fraternities and fifteen (15) were at documented illegal fraternity houses. The noise kept me
awake every night and it was beyond frustrating. It was difficult to function for the first part of the week because
I was exhausted from being kept awake all weekend by the noisy parties and roving people, screaming past our
home.
Fraternities register their party locations with Cal Poly, including the number of guests they will have, and the
parties are approved by the Greek Life administration beforehand. Cal Poly knows these parties are illegal in
the neighborhoods but approves them anyway.
Finally, I don't think the noise ordinance is understood by most people. Unfortunately, I've learned it since we
are subjected to extreme noise, mostly from illegal fraternities. The noise ordinance is a 24/7 regulation. The
exterior decibel limit prohibited during the day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. is only 5 decibels more than the noise
level prohibited at night. Noise that measures 70 dBA is prohibited and isn't that loud. For clarification, I
suggest you speak with the city attorney. SLOPD doesn't use decibel meters so it is impossible to know the
3
exact sound level but common sense can be used, and when music can be heard a block away, that's an
obvious violation.
Thank you,
Kathie
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Tuesday, December 3, 2024 5:33 PM
To:McDonald, Whitney
Cc:Stewart, Erica A; Cindy Vix; Marlin D. Vix; Karen Adler; Steven Walker; Jeff Eidelman; Darrell Voss;
Scott, Rick
Subject:Re: St. Fratty's Day Committee
Good evening, Whitney.
Thank you for your email.
Are you referring to the meeting on December 11 at 2 p.m. at the Church of the Nazarene? Fred Mickel reached
out today to move the originally scheduled meeting on December 18th to December 11th. I just want to make
sure we are talking about the same meeting and that you are available to attend at that date and time.
Thank you,
Kathie
On Tue, Dec 3, 2024 at 5:26 PM McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org> wrote:
Good evening, Kathie.
Thank you for reaching out. We certainly understand the concern of residents and property owners, and we are
happy to hear your insights and ideas to address the event. Chief Scott is planning to meet with RQN to discuss St.
Fratty’s Day later this month. In order to make sure that we are all hearing and discussing the same information, we
would like to suggest that the Mayor and I join that meeting as our next step with the hope that you all would be able
to attend as well, and then we can go from there.
Many thanks,
Whitney
Whitney McDonald
pronouns (she/hers)
City Manager
City Administration
990 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3934
E WMcDonal@slocity.org
2
T 805.781.7114
C 805.550.8349
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Monday, December 2, 2024 5:21 PM
To: Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org>
Cc: Cindy Vix < ; Marlin D. Vix <mvix@calpoly.edu>; Karen Adler < ; Steven
Walker < >; Jeff Eidelman < ; Darrell Voss <
Subject: St. Fratty's Day Committee
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Whitney and Erica,
Some residents who live and/or own property affected by St. Fratty's Day have formed a committee and would
like to schedule a meeting to discuss our insights, concerns, and ideas for addressing the upcoming event. We
realize that Cal Poly has a task force that includes SLOPD Chief Rick Scott, but we also understand that the
primary focus of that task force is on Cal Poly's campus. We feel it is critical that residents in the City,
particularly those directly affected, also have input. Please let us know when you are both available to meet.
We are happy to meet at the City's office if that is most convenient for you.
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
1
From:McDonald, Whitney
Sent:Tuesday, December 3, 2024 5:27 PM
To:kathie walker; Stewart, Erica A
Cc:Cindy Vix; Marlin D. Vix; Karen Adler; Steven Walker; Jeff Eidelman; Darrell Voss; Scott, Rick
Subject:RE: St. Fratty's Day Committee
Good evening, Kathie.
Thank you for reaching out. We certainly understand the concern of residents and property owners, and we are happy
to hear your insights and ideas to address the event. Chief Scott is planning to meet with RQN to discuss St. Fratty’s
Day later this month. In order to make sure that we are all hearing and discussing the same information, we would like
to suggest that the Mayor and I join that meeting as our next step with the hope that you all would be able to attend as
well, and then we can go from there.
Many thanks,
Whitney
Whitney McDonald
pronouns (she/hers)
City Manager
City Administration
990 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3934
E WMcDonal@slocity.org
T 805.781.7114
C 805.550.8349
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Monday, December 2, 2024 5:21 PM
To: Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org>
Cc: Cindy Vix < ; Marlin D. Vix <mvix@calpoly.edu>; Karen Adler < ; Steven
Walker < >; Jeff Eidelman < ; Darrell Voss <
Subject: St. Fratty's Day Committee
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Whitney and Erica,
Some residents who live and/or own property affected by St. Fratty's Day have formed a committee and would
like to schedule a meeting to discuss our insights, concerns, and ideas for addressing the upcoming event. We
realize that Cal Poly has a task force that includes SLOPD Chief Rick Scott, but we also understand that the
2
primary focus of that task force is on Cal Poly's campus. We feel it is critical that residents in the City,
particularly those directly affected, also have input. Please let us know when you are both available to meet.
We are happy to meet at the City's office if that is most convenient for you.
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
1
From:Stewart, Erica A
Sent:Thursday, December 5, 2024 8:02 AM
To:kathie walker; McDonald, Whitney
Cc:Cindy Vix; Marlin D. Vix; Karen Adler; Steven Walker; Jeff Eidelman; Darrell Voss; Scott, Rick;
Purrington, Teresa
Subject:Re: St. Fratty's Day Committee
Thank you all for the coordination. I look forward to working together.
Erica
Erica A. Stewart
pronouns she/her/hers
Mayor
To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.City of San Luis Obispo
Office of the City Council
990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3249
estewart@slocity.org
805.540.1154
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
The best way to report general issues within City limits or to request City services during this time is via Ask
SLO, www.slocity.org/Ask.
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Wednesday, December 4, 2024 9:36:34 AM
To: McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org>
Cc: Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; Cindy Vix < ; Marlin D. Vix <mvix@calpoly.edu>; Karen
Adler < ; Steven Walker < >; Jeff Eidelman < ; Darrell
Voss < ; Scott, Rick <rscott@slocity.org>; Purrington, Teresa <TPurring@slocity.org>
Subject: Re: St. Fratty's Day Committee
Sounds great, thanks for the update!
On Wed, Dec 4, 2024 at 9:35 AM McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org> wrote:
The Mayor is also available to attend the meeting on December 11 th at 2:00 pm, so we are all set on the City’s to
attend that RQN meeting to discuss St. Fratty’s Day.
Best,
2
Whitney
Whitney McDonald
pronouns (she/hers)
City Manager
City Administration
990 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3934
E WMcDonal@slocity.org
T 805.781.7114
C 805.550.8349
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
From: McDonald, Whitney
Sent: Tuesday, December 3, 2024 5:38 PM
To: kathie walker < >
Cc: Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; Cindy Vix < ; Marlin D. Vix <mvix@calpoly.edu>; Karen
Adler < ; Steven Walker < >; Jeff Eidelman < ; Darrell
Voss < ; Scott, Rick <rscott@slocity.org>; Purrington, Teresa <TPurring@slocity.org>
Subject: RE: St. Fratty's Day Committee
Thanks for getting back so quickly! Yes, I believe that is the same meeting. Chief Scott let me know that the 18 th
would likely need to be rescheduled but I wasn’t aware of the new date, so I’ll need to check on the Mayor’s
schedule. We will get back to you tomorrow with a confirmation.
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Tuesday, December 3, 2024 5:33 PM
To: McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org>
Cc: Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; Cindy Vix < ; Marlin D. Vix <mvix@calpoly.edu>; Karen
Adler < ; Steven Walker < >; Jeff Eidelman < ; Darrell
Voss < ; Scott, Rick <rscott@slocity.org>
Subject: Re: St. Fratty's Day Committee
Good evening, Whitney.
Thank you for your email.
3
Are you referring to the meeting on December 11 at 2 p.m. at the Church of the Nazarene? Fred Mickel reached
out today to move the originally scheduled meeting on December 18th to December 11th. I just want to make
sure we are talking about the same meeting and that you are available to attend at that date and time.
Thank you,
Kathie
On Tue, Dec 3, 2024 at 5:26 PM McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org> wrote:
Good evening, Kathie.
Thank you for reaching out. We certainly understand the concern of residents and property owners, and we are
happy to hear your insights and ideas to address the event. Chief Scott is planning to meet with RQN to discuss St.
Fratty’s Day later this month. In order to make sure that we are all hearing and discussing the same information, we
would like to suggest that the Mayor and I join that meeting as our next step with the hope that you all would be able
to attend as well, and then we can go from there.
Many thanks,
Whitney
Whitney McDonald
pronouns (she/hers)
City Manager
City Administration
990 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3934
E WMcDonal@slocity.org
T 805.781.7114
C 805.550.8349
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
4
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Monday, December 2, 2024 5:21 PM
To: Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org>
Cc: Cindy Vix < ; Marlin D. Vix <mvix@calpoly.edu>; Karen Adler < ; Steven
Walker < >; Jeff Eidelman < ; Darrell Voss <
Subject: St. Fratty's Day Committee
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Whitney and Erica,
Some residents who live and/or own property affected by St. Fratty's Day have formed a committee and would
like to schedule a meeting to discuss our insights, concerns, and ideas for addressing the upcoming event.
We realize that Cal Poly has a task force that includes SLOPD Chief Rick Scott, but we also understand that
the primary focus of that task force is on Cal Poly's campus. We feel it is critical that residents in the City,
particularly those directly affected, also have input. Please let us know when you are both available to meet.
We are happy to meet at the City's office if that is most convenient for you.
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
1
From:McDonald, Whitney
Sent:Tuesday, December 3, 2024 5:38 PM
To:kathie walker
Cc:Stewart, Erica A; Cindy Vix; Marlin D. Vix; Karen Adler; Steven Walker; Jeff Eidelman; Darrell Voss;
Scott, Rick; Purrington, Teresa
Subject:RE: St. Fratty's Day Committee
Thanks for getting back so quickly! Yes, I believe that is the same meeting. Chief Scott let me know that the 18 th would
likely need to be rescheduled but I wasn’t aware of the new date, so I’ll need to check on the Mayor’s schedule. We
will get back to you tomorrow with a confirmation.
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Tuesday, December 3, 2024 5:33 PM
To: McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org>
Cc: Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; Cindy Vix < ; Marlin D. Vix <mvix@calpoly.edu>; Karen
Adler < ; Steven Walker < >; Jeff Eidelman < ; Darrell
Voss < ; Scott, Rick <rscott@slocity.org>
Subject: Re: St. Fratty's Day Committee
Good evening, Whitney.
Thank you for your email.
Are you referring to the meeting on December 11 at 2 p.m. at the Church of the Nazarene? Fred Mickel reached
out today to move the originally scheduled meeting on December 18th to December 11th. I just want to make
sure we are talking about the same meeting and that you are available to attend at that date and time.
Thank you,
Kathie
On Tue, Dec 3, 2024 at 5:26 PM McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org> wrote:
Good evening, Kathie.
Thank you for reaching out. We certainly understand the concern of residents and property owners, and we are
happy to hear your insights and ideas to address the event. Chief Scott is planning to meet with RQN to discuss St.
Fratty’s Day later this month. In order to make sure that we are all hearing and discussing the same information, we
would like to suggest that the Mayor and I join that meeting as our next step with the hope that you all would be able
to attend as well, and then we can go from there.
Many thanks,
Whitney
2
Whitney McDonald
pronouns (she/hers)
City Manager
City Administration
990 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3934
E WMcDonal@slocity.org
T 805.781.7114
C 805.550.8349
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Monday, December 2, 2024 5:21 PM
To: Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org>
Cc: Cindy Vix < ; Marlin D. Vix <mvix@calpoly.edu>; Karen Adler < ; Steven
Walker < >; Jeff Eidelman < ; Darrell Voss <
Subject: St. Fratty's Day Committee
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Whitney and Erica,
Some residents who live and/or own property affected by St. Fratty's Day have formed a committee and would
like to schedule a meeting to discuss our insights, concerns, and ideas for addressing the upcoming event. We
realize that Cal Poly has a task force that includes SLOPD Chief Rick Scott, but we also understand that the
primary focus of that task force is on Cal Poly's campus. We feel it is critical that residents in the City,
particularly those directly affected, also have input. Please let us know when you are both available to meet.
We are happy to meet at the City's office if that is most convenient for you.
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Wednesday, December 4, 2024 9:37 AM
To:McDonald, Whitney
Cc:Stewart, Erica A; Cindy Vix; Marlin D. Vix; Karen Adler; Steven Walker; Jeff Eidelman; Darrell Voss;
Scott, Rick; Purrington, Teresa
Subject:Re: St. Fratty's Day Committee
Sounds great, thanks for the update!
On Wed, Dec 4, 2024 at 9:35 AM McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org> wrote:
The Mayor is also available to attend the meeting on December 11 th at 2:00 pm, so we are all set on the City’s to
attend that RQN meeting to discuss St. Fratty’s Day.
Best,
Whitney
Whitney McDonald
pronouns (she/hers)
City Manager
City Administration
990 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3934
E WMcDonal@slocity.org
T 805.781.7114
C 805.550.8349
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
From: McDonald, Whitney
Sent: Tuesday, December 3, 2024 5:38 PM
To: kathie walker < >
Cc: Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; Cindy Vix <cindyvixslo@gmail.com>; Marlin D. Vix < ; Karen
Adler < ; Steven Walker < >; Jeff Eidelman < ; Darrell
Voss < ; Scott, Rick <rscott@slocity.org>; Purrington, Teresa <TPurring@slocity.org>
Subject: RE: St. Fratty's Day Committee
2
Thanks for getting back so quickly! Yes, I believe that is the same meeting. Chief Scott let me know that the 18 th
would likely need to be rescheduled but I wasn’t aware of the new date, so I’ll need to check on the Mayor’s
schedule. We will get back to you tomorrow with a confirmation.
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Tuesday, December 3, 2024 5:33 PM
To: McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org>
Cc: Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; Cindy Vix < ; Marlin D. Vix <mvix@calpoly.edu>; Karen
Adler < ; Steven Walker < >; Jeff Eidelman < ; Darrell
Voss < ; Scott, Rick <rscott@slocity.org>
Subject: Re: St. Fratty's Day Committee
Good evening, Whitney.
Thank you for your email.
Are you referring to the meeting on December 11 at 2 p.m. at the Church of the Nazarene? Fred Mickel reached
out today to move the originally scheduled meeting on December 18th to December 11th. I just want to make
sure we are talking about the same meeting and that you are available to attend at that date and time.
Thank you,
Kathie
On Tue, Dec 3, 2024 at 5:26 PM McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org> wrote:
Good evening, Kathie.
Thank you for reaching out. We certainly understand the concern of residents and property owners, and we are
happy to hear your insights and ideas to address the event. Chief Scott is planning to meet with RQN to discuss St.
Fratty’s Day later this month. In order to make sure that we are all hearing and discussing the same information, we
would like to suggest that the Mayor and I join that meeting as our next step with the hope that you all would be able
to attend as well, and then we can go from there.
Many thanks,
3
Whitney
Whitney McDonald
pronouns (she/hers)
City Manager
City Administration
990 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3934
E WMcDonal@slocity.org
T 805.781.7114
C 805.550.8349
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Monday, December 2, 2024 5:21 PM
To: Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org>
Cc: Cindy Vix < ; Marlin D. Vix <mvix@calpoly.edu>; Karen Adler < ; Steven
Walker < >; Jeff Eidelman < ; Darrell Voss <
Subject: St. Fratty's Day Committee
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Whitney and Erica,
Some residents who live and/or own property affected by St. Fratty's Day have formed a committee and would
like to schedule a meeting to discuss our insights, concerns, and ideas for addressing the upcoming event.
We realize that Cal Poly has a task force that includes SLOPD Chief Rick Scott, but we also understand that
the primary focus of that task force is on Cal Poly's campus. We feel it is critical that residents in the City,
particularly those directly affected, also have input. Please let us know when you are both available to meet.
We are happy to meet at the City's office if that is most convenient for you.
4
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
1
From:McDonald, Whitney
Sent:Wednesday, December 4, 2024 9:36 AM
To:kathie walker
Cc:Stewart, Erica A; Cindy Vix; Marlin D. Vix; Karen Adler; Steven Walker; Jeff Eidelman; Darrell Voss;
Scott, Rick; Purrington, Teresa
Subject:RE: St. Fratty's Day Committee
The Mayor is also available to attend the meeting on December 11 th at 2:00 pm, so we are all set on the City’s to
attend that RQN meeting to discuss St. Fratty’s Day.
Best,
Whitney
Whitney McDonald
pronouns (she/hers)
City Manager
City Administration
990 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3934
E WMcDonal@slocity.org
T 805.781.7114
C 805.550.8349
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
From: McDonald, Whitney
Sent: Tuesday, December 3, 2024 5:38 PM
To: kathie walker < >
Cc: Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; Cindy Vix < ; Marlin D. Vix <mvix@calpoly.edu>; Karen
Adler < ; Steven Walker < >; Jeff Eidelman < ; Darrell
Voss < ; Scott, Rick <rscott@slocity.org>; Purrington, Teresa <TPurring@slocity.org>
Subject: RE: St. Fratty's Day Committee
Thanks for getting back so quickly! Yes, I believe that is the same meeting. Chief Scott let me know that the 18 th would
likely need to be rescheduled but I wasn’t aware of the new date, so I’ll need to check on the Mayor’s schedule. We
will get back to you tomorrow with a confirmation.
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Tuesday, December 3, 2024 5:33 PM
To: McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org>
Cc: Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; Cindy Vix < ; Marlin D. Vix <mvix@calpoly.edu>; Karen
Adler < ; Steven Walker < >; Jeff Eidelman < ; Darrell
Voss < ; Scott, Rick <rscott@slocity.org>
Subject: Re: St. Fratty's Day Committee
2
Good evening, Whitney.
Thank you for your email.
Are you referring to the meeting on December 11 at 2 p.m. at the Church of the Nazarene? Fred Mickel reached
out today to move the originally scheduled meeting on December 18th to December 11th. I just want to make
sure we are talking about the same meeting and that you are available to attend at that date and time.
Thank you,
Kathie
On Tue, Dec 3, 2024 at 5:26 PM McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org> wrote:
Good evening, Kathie.
Thank you for reaching out. We certainly understand the concern of residents and property owners, and we are
happy to hear your insights and ideas to address the event. Chief Scott is planning to meet with RQN to discuss St.
Fratty’s Day later this month. In order to make sure that we are all hearing and discussing the same information, we
would like to suggest that the Mayor and I join that meeting as our next step with the hope that you all would be able
to attend as well, and then we can go from there.
Many thanks,
Whitney
Whitney McDonald
pronouns (she/hers)
City Manager
City Administration
990 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3934
E WMcDonal@slocity.org
T 805.781.7114
C 805.550.8349
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
3
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Monday, December 2, 2024 5:21 PM
To: Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org>
Cc: Cindy Vix < ; Marlin D. Vix <mvix@calpoly.edu>; Karen Adler < ; Steven
Walker < >; Jeff Eidelman < ; Darrell Voss <
Subject: St. Fratty's Day Committee
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Whitney and Erica,
Some residents who live and/or own property affected by St. Fratty's Day have formed a committee and would
like to schedule a meeting to discuss our insights, concerns, and ideas for addressing the upcoming event. We
realize that Cal Poly has a task force that includes SLOPD Chief Rick Scott, but we also understand that the
primary focus of that task force is on Cal Poly's campus. We feel it is critical that residents in the City,
particularly those directly affected, also have input. Please let us know when you are both available to meet.
We are happy to meet at the City's office if that is most convenient for you.
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Wednesday, December 11, 2024 9:16 PM
To:Advisory Bodies
Subject:Planning Commissioners re: Goal Setting 12/11/2024
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear Planning Commissioners,
I thought I could be at tonight's meeting to provide public comment so didn't email you beforehand, but
unfortunately was not able to make it. However, I watched the meeting online. Thank you so much for
addressing the neighborhood issues, especially related to Cal Poly and illegal fraternities for the major city
goals. I am hopeful that we may be able to turn the tide and start to make progress!
Commissioner Houghton again brought up the idea of the summit to get different groups together to discuss
and solve this issue. I love the idea and hope that it is possible. I have been attending the Student Community
Liason Committee (SCLC) for over a year and unfortunately, Cal Poly has not been willing to address the issue,
so that does not seem to be the best forum. The City (code enforcement) continues to say they don't have
adequate staff. And the City Council says it's "working with Cal Poly" and wishes it would take more
responsibility for its fraternities. So the problem is not getting solved.
A reporter for the Tribune has been investigating the situation in depth and hopefully, the story will be published
in the next month or so. She has had difficulty getting information from Cal Poly because it claims that
fraternities are independent of the university. Perhaps the publicity, and your encouragement for the city to
encourage Cal Poly to help solve this problem, will finally cause some movement toward a solution.
I just wanted to express my sincere appreciation to each of you.
With Gratitude,
Kathie Walker
1
From:Colunga-Lopez, Andrea
Sent:Thursday, December 12, 2024 8:24 AM
To:kathie walker
Cc:CityClerk
Subject:RE: Planning Commissioners re: Goal Setting 12/11/2024
Hi Kathie,
Thank you for your input, it has been sent to the Commission members. It is placed in the Planning Commission public
archive for the December 11th meeting.
Best,
Andrea Colunga-Lopez
pronouns she/her/hers
Administrative Assistant II
City Administration
E AColunga@slocity.org
T 805.781.7105
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2024 9:16 PM
To: Advisory Bodies <advisorybodies@slocity.org>
Subject: Planning Commissioners re: Goal Setting 12/11/2024
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear Planning Commissioners,
I thought I could be at tonight's meeting to provide public comment so didn't email you beforehand, but
unfortunately was not able to make it. However, I watched the meeting online. Thank you so much for
addressing the neighborhood issues, especially related to Cal Poly and illegal fraternities for the major city
goals. I am hopeful that we may be able to turn the tide and start to make progress!
Commissioner Houghton again brought up the idea of the summit to get different groups together to discuss
and solve this issue. I love the idea and hope that it is possible. I have been attending the Student Community
Liason Committee (SCLC) for over a year and unfortunately, Cal Poly has not been willing to address the issue,
so that does not seem to be the best forum. The City (code enforcement) continues to say they don't have
adequate staff. And the City Council says it's "working with Cal Poly" and wishes it would take more
responsibility for its fraternities. So the problem is not getting solved.
2
A reporter for the Tribune has been investigating the situation in depth and hopefully, the story will be published
in the next month or so. She has had difficulty getting information from Cal Poly because it claims that
fraternities are independent of the university. Perhaps the publicity, and your encouragement for the city to
encourage Cal Poly to help solve this problem, will finally cause some movement toward a solution.
I just wanted to express my sincere appreciation to each of you.
With Gratitude,
Kathie Walker
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Wednesday, December 11, 2024 7:20 PM
To:McDonald, Whitney; Stewart, Erica A
Cc:Karen Adler; Cindy Vix; Jeff Eidelman; Darrell Voss; Steven Walker; Brett Cross
Subject:Thank you
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Whitney and Erica,
I appreciate you meeting with members of the neighborhood residents' task for St. Fratty's Day during RQN's
meeting today. Members are copied on this email. Each of us lives or owns property in the neighborhood
affected by St. Fratty's Day except for Brett, who is the RQN representative on our task force.
It was a bit hectic today, trying to combine RQN's meeting with our task force goals, but am grateful that you and
SLOPD leadership were able to hear from some of us. A few members were working and unable to attend but
they provided input that was incorporated into our plan, including a proposed curfew in the neighborhoods near
campus for St. Fratty's Day.
Our task force is excited about continuing the conversation and working together to prevent this dangerous,
unlawful assembly from wreaking havoc on our lives and property, and want to ensure that no one is seriously
hurt or killed.
Thank you, again, for your time and consideration. I will reach out after the new year.
Sincerely,
Kathie
1
From:McDonald, Whitney
Sent:Monday, December 16, 2024 12:39 PM
To:kathie walker; Stewart, Erica A
Cc:Karen Adler; Cindy Vix; Jeff Eidelman; Darrell Voss; Steven Walker; Brett Cross
Subject:RE: Thank you
Dear Kathie,
Thank you for following up and for the conversation last week. As we expressed, we are committed to ultimately
ending this event in a safe and thoughtful manner, prioritizing physical safety of all involved as we do so. We will look
forward to hearing from you in the new year and discussing further with your group.
Best regards,
Whitney
Whitney McDonald
pronouns (she/hers)
City Manager
City Administration
990 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3934
E WMcDonal@slocity.org
T 805.781.7114
C 805.550.8349
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2024 7:20 PM
To: McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org>; Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>
Cc: Karen Adler < ; Cindy Vix < ; Jeff Eidelman < ; Darrell
Voss < ; Steven Walker < >; Brett Cross <
Subject: Thank you
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Whitney and Erica,
I appreciate you meeting with members of the neighborhood residents' task for St. Fratty's Day during RQN's
meeting today. Members are copied on this email. Each of us lives or owns property in the neighborhood
affected by St. Fratty's Day except for Brett, who is the RQN representative on our task force.
2
It was a bit hectic today, trying to combine RQN's meeting with our task force goals, but am grateful that you and
SLOPD leadership were able to hear from some of us. A few members were working and unable to attend but
they provided input that was incorporated into our plan, including a proposed curfew in the neighborhoods near
campus for St. Fratty's Day.
Our task force is excited about continuing the conversation and working together to prevent this dangerous,
unlawful assembly from wreaking havoc on our lives and property, and want to ensure that no one is seriously
hurt or killed.
Thank you, again, for your time and consideration. I will reach out after the new year.
Sincerely,
Kathie
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Tuesday, December 17, 2024 11:05 AM
To:Colunga-Lopez, Andrea
Subject:Re: PRR24238 Dittenber link
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Thank you, Andrea!
Happy holidays. :)
On Tue, Dec 17, 2024 at 11:04 AM Colunga-Lopez, Andrea <AColunga@slocity.org> wrote:
Hi Kathie,
Thank you for reaching out – click here to access the public portal for PRR24328 Dittenber.
See the path underlined in red in the photo below and save the link included above for easier access to the
public portal.
The linked image cannot be displayed. The file may have been moved, renamed, or deleted. Verify that the link points to the correct file and location.
Best,
Andrea Colunga-Lopez
pronouns she/her/hers
Administrative Assistant II
2
The linked image cannot be displayed. The file may have been moved, renamed, or deleted. Verify that the link points to the correct file and location.
City Administration
E AColunga@slocity.org
T 805.781.7105
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
1
From:Colunga-Lopez, Andrea
Sent:Tuesday, December 17, 2024 11:41 AM
To:kathie walker
Subject:RE: PRR24238 Dittenber link
Happy holidays to you and your loved ones! 뇤눎눐눑눒눏
Best,
Andrea Colunga-Lopez
pronouns she/her/hers
Administrative Assistant II
City Administration
E AColunga@slocity.org
T 805.781.7105
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2024 11:05 AM
To: Colunga-Lopez, Andrea <AColunga@slocity.org>
Subject: Re: PRR24238 Dittenber link
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Thank you, Andrea!
Happy holidays. :)
On Tue, Dec 17, 2024 at 11:04 AM Colunga-Lopez, Andrea <AColunga@slocity.org> wrote:
Hi Kathie,
Thank you for reaching out – click here to access the public portal for PRR24328 Dittenber.
See the path underlined in red in the photo below and save the link included above for easier access to the
public portal.
2
Best,
Andrea Colunga-Lopez
pronouns she/her/hers
Administrative Assistant II
City Administration
E AColunga@slocity.org
T 805.781.7105
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
1
From:Colunga-Lopez, Andrea
Sent:Tuesday, December 17, 2024 11:04 AM
To:Kathie Walker
Cc:Armas, Sara
Subject:PRR24238 Dittenber link
Hi Kathie,
Thank you for reaching out – click here to access the public portal for PRR24328 Dittenber.
See the path underlined in red in the photo below and save the link included above for easier access to the public
portal.
Best,
Andrea Colunga-Lopez
pronouns she/her/hers
Administrative Assistant II
City Administration
E AColunga@slocity.org
T 805.781.7105
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
1
From:Shoresman, Michelle
Sent:Monday, January 6, 2025 8:52 PM
To:kathie walker
Cc:CityClerk
Subject:RE: Cal Poly Winter Fraternity Rush (in Our Neighborhood)
Hi Kathie,
Thank you for the detailed email as always. Your investigative skills continue to impress. I am copying to the city clerk
also, so they are aware of the email.
Thank you and hope you had a happy holiday season.
Michelle
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Monday, January 6, 2025 8:32 PM
To: McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org>; Tway, Timothea (Timmi) <TTway@slocity.org>; Mezzapesa, John
<JMezzape@slocity.org>; Mickel, Fred <fmickel@slocity.org>; Marx, Jan <jmarx@slocity.org>; Stewart, Erica A
<estewart@slocity.org>; Francis, Emily <EFrancis@slocity.org>; Shoresman, Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org>; Boswell, Mike
<MBoswell@slocity.org>
Cc: Wallace, Christine <cwallace@slocity.org>
Subject: Cal Poly Winter Fraternity Rush (in Our Neighborhood)
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear City Leadership,
Cal Poly's fraternity rush for the winter quarter will be on the weekends of January 17-19 and
January 24 - 26. Bid night, where the new pledges are officially recognized, is January 27.
(The big celebrations will start on subsequent weekends, as new pledg es are indoctrinated into
the fraternities, so there will be a lot of noisy parties.)
Cal Poly is using the same "secret" method they used in the fall which is a new procedure
since the city's code enforcement contacted Greek life administration and told them that
fraternity events are not legally allowed in R-1 and R-2 neighborhoods. This newly adopted
method keeps the addresses of events hidden from the public and the city.
In previous years, fraternities posted their rush schedules on Instagram weeks beforehand,
but since the code enforcement contacted Cal Poly last spring, most fraternities stopped doing
that. Now, the addresses, dates, and times for rush events held by the 18 Cal Poly fraternities
are handed out to PNMs on business cards at a BBQ held on Dexter Lawn on January 16. Here
is the schedule:
The potential new members (PNM) must register through the Interfraternity Council and
attend an informational session on Saturday, January 11.
2
The recruitment BBQ is on Dexter Lawn on January 16 and each fraternity will pass out
business cards with the addresses, dates, and times of their rush events to PNMs. Most of the
addresses on those cards are illegal fraternities operating in our neighborhood.
Open rush events are January 17 - 19, Invitee-only rush events are January 24-26, and Bid
night is January 27.
During the fall, recruitment events for Cal Poly's fraternities were held at the unpermitted
addresses listed at the bottom of this email. This is not a complete list but are the addresses
posted on Instagram days before the events. Many were reported by me to SLO code
enforcement via AskSLO but, unfortunately, were not responded to during the date and time
listed so were not found to be in violation. These fraternities continue to operate illegally and
host sororities at these locations.
Please flag these addresses, do not allow them to register parties, and do not send SNAP if a
complaint is made to SLOPD. Also, please take this matter seriously, cite the illegal
fraternities, and get them out of our neighborhood. Cal Poly is not going to solve this
problem! They made that clear in their statements to the Tribune reporter in yesterday's
article. The illegal fraternities are within the city limits, and the city needs to handle it. This
issue has gone on for too long and is unfair to those who want and/or need the peaceful
enjoyment of their property in a residential neighborhood.
3
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
Fraternity Recruitment/Rush Events during Fall 2024 included but were not limited to events at the following addresses:
Friday 10/4/2024:
1684-1688 Mill Street (Delta Sigma Phi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
281 Albert Drive (Delta Upsilon)
248-250 Grand Ave (Theta Chi)
281 Hathway Ave (Kappa Sigma) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
348-350 Hathway Ave (Phi Sigma Kappa) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1525 Slack St (Sigma Pi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
2090 Hays (Sigma Epsilon) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1218-1220 Bond St (Alpha Sigma Phi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1229 Fredericks (Phi Gamma Delta aka FIJI) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
654 & 658 Graves (Zeta Beta Tau) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
Saturday 10/5/2024:
654 & 658 Graves (Zeta Beta Tau) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
299 Albert (Alpha Sigma Phi)
12 Hathway (Lambda Chi Alpha)
1841 Slack St (Sigma Nu)
66 Rafael (Pi Kappa Phi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE IN THE CITY
1820 Hope (Theta Chi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
322 Hathway (Kappa Sigma)
1908 Loomis (Phi Sigma Kappa)
1276 Bond St (Phi Kappa Psi)
589 Cuesta Drive (Delta Sigma Phi)
Sunday 10/6/2024
237 Albert Dr (Phi Kappa Psi)
124 Stenner (Sigma Pi)
171 Orange (Lambda Chi Alpha)
1646 Fredericks St (Zeta Beta Tau)
1868 Loomis (Delta Upsilon)
260 Chaplin (Phi Delta Theta) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1632 Fredericks (Sigma Nu)
255 Chaplin (Alpha Sigma Phi)
1868 Loomis (Delta Upsilon)
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Monday, January 6, 2025 8:32 PM
To:McDonald, Whitney; Tway, Timothea (Timmi); Mezzapesa, John; Mickel, Fred; Marx, Jan; Stewart,
Erica A; Francis, Emily; Shoresman, Michelle; Boswell, Mike
Cc:Wallace, Christine
Subject:Cal Poly Winter Fraternity Rush (in Our Neighborhood)
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear City Leadership,
Cal Poly's fraternity rush for the winter quarter will be on the weekends of January 17-19 and
January 24 - 26. Bid night, where the new pledges are officially recognized, is January 27.
(The big celebrations will start on subsequent weekends, as new pledg es are indoctrinated into
the fraternities, so there will be a lot of noisy parties.)
Cal Poly is using the same "secret" method they used in the fall which is a new procedure
since the city's code enforcement contacted Greek life administration and told them that
fraternity events are not legally allowed in R-1 and R-2 neighborhoods. This newly adopted
method keeps the addresses of events hidden from the public and the city.
In previous years, fraternities posted their rush schedules on Instagram weeks beforehand,
but since the code enforcement contacted Cal Poly last spring, most fraternities stopped doing
that. Now, the addresses, dates, and times for rush events held by the 18 Cal Poly fraternities
are handed out to PNMs on business cards at a BBQ held on Dexter Lawn on January 16. Here
is the schedule:
The potential new members (PNM) must register through the Interfraternity Council and
attend an informational session on Saturday, January 11.
The recruitment BBQ is on Dexter Lawn on January 16 and each fraternity will pass out
business cards with the addresses, dates, and times of their rush events to PNMs. Most of the
addresses on those cards are illegal fraternities operating in our neighborhood.
Open rush events are January 17 - 19, Invitee-only rush events are January 24-26, and Bid
night is January 27.
2
During the fall, recruitment events for Cal Poly's fraternities were held at the unpermitted
addresses listed at the bottom of this email. This is not a complete list but are the addresses
posted on Instagram days before the events. Many were reported by me to SLO code
enforcement via AskSLO but, unfortunately, were not responded to during the date and time
listed so were not found to be in violation. These fraternities continue to operate illegally and
host sororities at these locations.
Please flag these addresses, do not allow them to register parties, and do not send SNAP if a
complaint is made to SLOPD. Also, please take this matter seriously, cite the illegal
fraternities, and get them out of our neighborhood. Cal Poly is not going to solve this
problem! They made that clear in their statements to the Tribune reporter in yesterday's
article. The illegal fraternities are within the city limits, and the city needs to handle it. This
issue has gone on for too long and is unfair to those who want and/or need the peaceful
enjoyment of their property in a residential neighborhood.
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
Fraternity Recruitment/Rush Events during Fall 2024 included but were not limited to events at the following addresses:
Friday 10/4/2024:
1684-1688 Mill Street (Delta Sigma Phi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
281 Albert Drive (Delta Upsilon)
3
248-250 Grand Ave (Theta Chi)
281 Hathway Ave (Kappa Sigma) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
348-350 Hathway Ave (Phi Sigma Kappa) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1525 Slack St (Sigma Pi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
2090 Hays (Sigma Epsilon) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1218-1220 Bond St (Alpha Sigma Phi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1229 Fredericks (Phi Gamma Delta aka FIJI) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
654 & 658 Graves (Zeta Beta Tau) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
Saturday 10/5/2024:
654 & 658 Graves (Zeta Beta Tau) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
299 Albert (Alpha Sigma Phi)
12 Hathway (Lambda Chi Alpha)
1841 Slack St (Sigma Nu)
66 Rafael (Pi Kappa Phi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE IN THE CITY
1820 Hope (Theta Chi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
322 Hathway (Kappa Sigma)
1908 Loomis (Phi Sigma Kappa)
1276 Bond St (Phi Kappa Psi)
589 Cuesta Drive (Delta Sigma Phi)
Sunday 10/6/2024
237 Albert Dr (Phi Kappa Psi)
124 Stenner (Sigma Pi)
171 Orange (Lambda Chi Alpha)
1646 Fredericks St (Zeta Beta Tau)
1868 Loomis (Delta Upsilon)
260 Chaplin (Phi Delta Theta) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1632 Fredericks (Sigma Nu)
255 Chaplin (Alpha Sigma Phi)
1868 Loomis (Delta Upsilon)
1
From:Marx, Jan
Sent:Wednesday, January 8, 2025 7:34 AM
To:kathie walker
Subject:Re: Cal Poly Winter Fraternity Rush (in Our Neighborhood)
Thank you for this information, Kathie.
Jan
Get Outlook for iOS
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Monday, January 6, 2025 8:32:02 PM
To: McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org>; Tway, Timothea (Timmi) <TTway@slocity.org>; Mezzapesa, John
<JMezzape@slocity.org>; Mickel, Fred <fmickel@slocity.org>; Marx, Jan <jmarx@slocity.org>; Stewart, Erica A
<estewart@slocity.org>; Francis, Emily <EFrancis@slocity.org>; Shoresman, Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org>; Boswell, Mike
<MBoswell@slocity.org>
Cc: Wallace, Christine <cwallace@slocity.org>
Subject: Cal Poly Winter Fraternity Rush (in Our Neighborhood)
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear City Leadership,
Cal Poly's fraternity rush for the winter quarter will be on the weekends of January 17-19 and
January 24 - 26. Bid night, where the new pledges are officially recognized, is January 27.
(The big celebrations will start on subsequent weekends, as new pledg es are indoctrinated into
the fraternities, so there will be a lot of noisy parties.)
Cal Poly is using the same "secret" method they used in the fall which is a new procedure
since the city's code enforcement contacted Greek life administration and told them that
fraternity events are not legally allowed in R-1 and R-2 neighborhoods. This newly adopted
method keeps the addresses of events hidden from the public and the city.
In previous years, fraternities posted their rush schedules on Instagram weeks beforehand,
but since the code enforcement contacted Cal Poly last spring, most fraternities stopped doing
that. Now, the addresses, dates, and times for rush events held by the 18 Cal Poly fraternities
are handed out to PNMs on business cards at a BBQ held on Dexter Lawn on January 16. Here
is the schedule:
The potential new members (PNM) must register through the Interfraternity Council and
attend an informational session on Saturday, January 11.
The recruitment BBQ is on Dexter Lawn on January 16 and each fraternity will pass out
business cards with the addresses, dates, and times of their rush events to PNMs. Most of the
addresses on those cards are illegal fraternities operating in our neighborhood.
2
Open rush events are January 17 - 19, Invitee-only rush events are January 24-26, and Bid
night is January 27.
During the fall, recruitment events for Cal Poly's fraternities were held at the unpermitted
addresses listed at the bottom of this email. This is not a complete list but are the addresses
posted on Instagram days before the events. Many were reported by me to SLO code
enforcement via AskSLO but, unfortunately, were not responded to during the date and time
listed so were not found to be in violation. These fraternities continue to operate illegally and
host sororities at these locations.
Please flag these addresses, do not allow them to register parties, and do not send SNAP if a
complaint is made to SLOPD. Also, please take this matter seriously, cite the illegal
fraternities, and get them out of our neighborhood. Cal Poly is not going to solve this
problem! They made that clear in their statements to the Tribune reporter in yesterday's
article. The illegal fraternities are within the city limits, and the city needs to handle it. This
issue has gone on for too long and is unfair to those who want and/or need the peaceful
enjoyment of their property in a residential neighborhood.
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
Fraternity Recruitment/Rush Events during Fall 2024 included but were not limited to events at the following addresses:
3
Friday 10/4/2024:
1684-1688 Mill Street (Delta Sigma Phi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
281 Albert Drive (Delta Upsilon)
248-250 Grand Ave (Theta Chi)
281 Hathway Ave (Kappa Sigma) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
348-350 Hathway Ave (Phi Sigma Kappa) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1525 Slack St (Sigma Pi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
2090 Hays (Sigma Epsilon) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1218-1220 Bond St (Alpha Sigma Phi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1229 Fredericks (Phi Gamma Delta aka FIJI) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
654 & 658 Graves (Zeta Beta Tau) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
Saturday 10/5/2024:
654 & 658 Graves (Zeta Beta Tau) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
299 Albert (Alpha Sigma Phi)
12 Hathway (Lambda Chi Alpha)
1841 Slack St (Sigma Nu)
66 Rafael (Pi Kappa Phi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE IN THE CITY
1820 Hope (Theta Chi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
322 Hathway (Kappa Sigma)
1908 Loomis (Phi Sigma Kappa)
1276 Bond St (Phi Kappa Psi)
589 Cuesta Drive (Delta Sigma Phi)
Sunday 10/6/2024
237 Albert Dr (Phi Kappa Psi)
124 Stenner (Sigma Pi)
171 Orange (Lambda Chi Alpha)
1646 Fredericks St (Zeta Beta Tau)
1868 Loomis (Delta Upsilon)
260 Chaplin (Phi Delta Theta) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1632 Fredericks (Sigma Nu)
255 Chaplin (Alpha Sigma Phi)
1868 Loomis (Delta Upsilon)
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Thursday, January 9, 2025 9:09 AM
To:Francis, Emily
Subject:Re: Cal Poly Winter Fraternity Rush (in Our Neighborhood)
Thank you, Emily.
I think the city has become numb to the situation. My husband made the analogy of the boiling frog syndrome on
his website HowToRuinANeighborhood.com.. Since The Tribune article was published, we have had news
organizations contact us from across the country about this story, which shows that the problem is extreme and
not normal. Also, a filmmaker who has won 3 Emmys for his documentaries reached out to the Tribune reporter
for our contact information and we are meeting with him next week.
While Cal Poly is part of the problem, the city also has an important role in solving the issue but they have
essentially ignored it, including code enforcement and SLOPD. It's complicated but it could have been handled
much differently and didn't need to get to this point.
Thank you for your advocacy.
-Kathie
On Thu, Jan 9, 2025 at 8:31 AM Francis, Emily <EFrancis@slocity.org> wrote:
Kathie,
Thank you for all your diligent work dealing with these issues.
I’m heartened to see your plea for the public to advocate for a focus on neighborhood wellness is gaining traction.
I was deeply troubled by Cal Poly’s response to the article. Frankly, there is much they can and should do to alleviate
impacts to the neighborhoods from their Greek organizations and I had hoped that our engagement with them over
the last year was moving us towards a more cooperative approach to the problem. I’m in the process of working with
staff to rethink how we handle these issues and the permitting of fraternities in general. With the understanding that I
am only one of the 5 councilmembers, I hope that we will reach some consensus on this issue during our goal setting
process and develop better policies to address what you’re experiencing.
Please stay in touch as we navigate these next steps.
Take care,
Emily
2
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Monday, January 6, 2025 8:32 PM
To: McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org>; Tway, Timothea (Timmi) <TTway@slocity.org>; Mezzapesa, John
<JMezzape@slocity.org>; Mickel, Fred <fmickel@slocity.org>; Marx, Jan <jmarx@slocity.org>; Stewart, Erica A
<estewart@slocity.org>; Francis, Emily <EFrancis@slocity.org>; Shoresman, Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org>; Boswell, Mike
<MBoswell@slocity.org>
Cc: Wallace, Christine <cwallace@slocity.org>
Subject: Cal Poly Winter Fraternity Rush (in Our Neighborhood)
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear City Leadership,
Cal Poly's fraternity rush for the winter quarter will be on the weekends of January 17-19 and
January 24 - 26. Bid night, where the new pledges are officially recognized, is January 27.
(The big celebrations will start on subsequent weekends, as new pledges are indoctrinated
into the fraternities, so there will be a lot of noisy parties.)
Cal Poly is using the same "secret" method they used in the fall which is a new procedure
since the city's code enforcement contacted Greek life administration and told them that
fraternity events are not legally allowed in R-1 and R-2 neighborhoods. This newly adopted
method keeps the addresses of events hidden from the public and the city.
In previous years, fraternities posted their rush schedules on Instagram weeks beforehand,
but since the code enforcement contacted Cal Poly last spring, most fraternities stopped doing
that. Now, the addresses, dates, and times for rush events held by the 18 Cal Poly fraternities
are handed out to PNMs on business cards at a BBQ held on Dexter Lawn on January 16. Here
is the schedule:
The potential new members (PNM) must register through the Interfraternity Council and
attend an informational session on Saturday, January 11.
The recruitment BBQ is on Dexter Lawn on January 16 and each fraternity will pass out
business cards with the addresses, dates, and times of their rush events to PNMs. Most of the
addresses on those cards are illegal fraternities operating in our neighborhood.
3
Open rush events are January 17 - 19, Invitee-only rush events are January 24-26, and Bid
night is January 27.
During the fall, recruitment events for Cal Poly's fraternities were held at the unpermitted
addresses listed at the bottom of this email. This is not a complete list but are the addresses
posted on Instagram days before the events. Many were reported by me to SLO code
enforcement via AskSLO but, unfortunately, were not responded to during the date and time
listed so were not found to be in violation. These fraternities continue to operate illegally and
host sororities at these locations.
Please flag these addresses, do not allow them to register parties, and do not send SNAP if a
complaint is made to SLOPD. Also, please take this matter seriously, cite the illegal
fraternities, and get them out of our neighborhood. Cal Poly is not going to solve this
problem! They made that clear in their statements to the Tribune reporter in yesterday's
article. The illegal fraternities are within the city limits, and the city needs to handle it. This
4
issue has gone on for too long and is unfair to those who want and/or need the peaceful
enjoyment of their property in a residential neighborhood.
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
Fraternity Recruitment/Rush Events during Fall 2024 included but were not limited to events at the following addresses:
Friday 10/4/2024:
1684-1688 Mill Street (Delta Sigma Phi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
281 Albert Drive (Delta Upsilon)
248-250 Grand Ave (Theta Chi)
281 Hathway Ave (Kappa Sigma) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
348-350 Hathway Ave (Phi Sigma Kappa) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1525 Slack St (Sigma Pi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
2090 Hays (Sigma Epsilon) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1218-1220 Bond St (Alpha Sigma Phi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1229 Fredericks (Phi Gamma Delta aka FIJI) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
654 & 658 Graves (Zeta Beta Tau) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
Saturday 10/5/2024:
654 & 658 Graves (Zeta Beta Tau) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
299 Albert (Alpha Sigma Phi)
12 Hathway (Lambda Chi Alpha)
1841 Slack St (Sigma Nu)
66 Rafael (Pi Kappa Phi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE IN THE CITY
1820 Hope (Theta Chi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
322 Hathway (Kappa Sigma)
1908 Loomis (Phi Sigma Kappa)
5
1276 Bond St (Phi Kappa Psi)
589 Cuesta Drive (Delta Sigma Phi)
Sunday 10/6/2024
237 Albert Dr (Phi Kappa Psi)
124 Stenner (Sigma Pi)
171 Orange (Lambda Chi Alpha)
1646 Fredericks St (Zeta Beta Tau)
1868 Loomis (Delta Upsilon)
260 Chaplin (Phi Delta Theta) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1632 Fredericks (Sigma Nu)
255 Chaplin (Alpha Sigma Phi)
1868 Loomis (Delta Upsilon)
1
From:Francis, Emily
Sent:Thursday, January 9, 2025 8:31 AM
To:kathie walker
Subject:RE: Cal Poly Winter Fraternity Rush (in Our Neighborhood)
Kathie,
Thank you for all your diligent work dealing with these issues.
I’m heartened to see your plea for the public to advocate for a focus on neighborhood wellness is gaining traction.
I was deeply troubled by Cal Poly’s response to the article. Frankly, there is much they can and should do to alleviate
impacts to the neighborhoods from their Greek organizations and I had hoped that our engagement with them over the
last year was moving us towards a more cooperative approach to the problem. I’m in the process of working with staff
to rethink how we handle these issues and the permitting of fraternities in general. With the understanding that I am
only one of the 5 councilmembers, I hope that we will reach some consensus on this issue during our goal setting
process and develop better policies to address what you’re experiencing.
Please stay in touch as we navigate these next steps.
Take care,
Emily
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Monday, January 6, 2025 8:32 PM
To: McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org>; Tway, Timothea (Timmi) <TTway@slocity.org>; Mezzapesa, John
<JMezzape@slocity.org>; Mickel, Fred <fmickel@slocity.org>; Marx, Jan <jmarx@slocity.org>; Stewart, Erica A
<estewart@slocity.org>; Francis, Emily <EFrancis@slocity.org>; Shoresman, Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org>; Boswell, Mike
<MBoswell@slocity.org>
Cc: Wallace, Christine <cwallace@slocity.org>
Subject: Cal Poly Winter Fraternity Rush (in Our Neighborhood)
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear City Leadership,
Cal Poly's fraternity rush for the winter quarter will be on the weekends of January 17-19 and
January 24 - 26. Bid night, where the new pledges are officially recognized, is January 27.
(The big celebrations will start on subsequent weekends, as new pledg es are indoctrinated into
the fraternities, so there will be a lot of noisy parties.)
Cal Poly is using the same "secret" method they used in the fall which is a new procedure
since the city's code enforcement contacted Greek life administration and told them that
fraternity events are not legally allowed in R-1 and R-2 neighborhoods. This newly adopted
method keeps the addresses of events hidden from the public and the city.
In previous years, fraternities posted their rush schedules on Instagram weeks beforehand,
but since the code enforcement contacted Cal Poly last spring, most fraternities stopped doing
that. Now, the addresses, dates, and times for rush events held by the 18 Cal Poly fraternities
are handed out to PNMs on business cards at a BBQ held on Dexter Lawn on January 16. Here
is the schedule:
2
The potential new members (PNM) must register through the Interfraternity Council and
attend an informational session on Saturday, January 11.
The recruitment BBQ is on Dexter Lawn on January 16 and each fraternity will pass out
business cards with the addresses, dates, and times of their rush events to PNMs. Most of the
addresses on those cards are illegal fraternities operating in our neighborhood.
Open rush events are January 17 - 19, Invitee-only rush events are January 24-26, and Bid
night is January 27.
During the fall, recruitment events for Cal Poly's fraternities were held at the unpermitted
addresses listed at the bottom of this email. This is not a complete list but are the addresses
posted on Instagram days before the events. Many were reported by me to SLO code
enforcement via AskSLO but, unfortunately, were not responded to during the date and time
listed so were not found to be in violation. These fraternities continue to operate illegally and
host sororities at these locations.
Please flag these addresses, do not allow them to register parties, and do not send SNAP if a
complaint is made to SLOPD. Also, please take this matter seriously, cite the illegal
fraternities, and get them out of our neighborhood. Cal Poly is not going to solve this
problem! They made that clear in their statements to the Tribune reporter in yesterday's
3
article. The illegal fraternities are within the city limits, and the city needs to handle it. This
issue has gone on for too long and is unfair to those who want and/or need the peaceful
enjoyment of their property in a residential neighborhood.
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
Fraternity Recruitment/Rush Events during Fall 2024 included but were not limited to events at the following addresses:
Friday 10/4/2024:
1684-1688 Mill Street (Delta Sigma Phi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
281 Albert Drive (Delta Upsilon)
248-250 Grand Ave (Theta Chi)
281 Hathway Ave (Kappa Sigma) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
348-350 Hathway Ave (Phi Sigma Kappa) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1525 Slack St (Sigma Pi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
2090 Hays (Sigma Epsilon) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1218-1220 Bond St (Alpha Sigma Phi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1229 Fredericks (Phi Gamma Delta aka FIJI) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
654 & 658 Graves (Zeta Beta Tau) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
Saturday 10/5/2024:
654 & 658 Graves (Zeta Beta Tau) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
299 Albert (Alpha Sigma Phi)
12 Hathway (Lambda Chi Alpha)
1841 Slack St (Sigma Nu)
66 Rafael (Pi Kappa Phi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE IN THE CITY
1820 Hope (Theta Chi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
322 Hathway (Kappa Sigma)
1908 Loomis (Phi Sigma Kappa)
1276 Bond St (Phi Kappa Psi)
589 Cuesta Drive (Delta Sigma Phi)
Sunday 10/6/2024
237 Albert Dr (Phi Kappa Psi)
124 Stenner (Sigma Pi)
171 Orange (Lambda Chi Alpha)
1646 Fredericks St (Zeta Beta Tau)
1868 Loomis (Delta Upsilon)
260 Chaplin (Phi Delta Theta) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1632 Fredericks (Sigma Nu)
255 Chaplin (Alpha Sigma Phi)
1868 Loomis (Delta Upsilon)
1
From:Tway, Timothea (Timmi)
Sent:Friday, January 10, 2025 9:13 AM
To:kathie walker
Cc:Wallace, Christine; McDonald, Whitney; Mezzapesa, John; Mickel, Fred; Collins, Scott; Mezzapesa,
John
Subject:RE: Cal Poly Winter Fraternity Rush (in Our Neighborhood)
BCC:CC
Hi Kathie,
Thank you for your email and for this information. I have passed this on to Code Enforcement and we will be adding
these notes to our system if it includes information that we do not already have. As always, we will follow up on any
complaints of code violations should we receive them. Code Enforcement staff is attending the Cal Poly informational
session for Greek life participants this weekend, where we will continue to share information about code compliance
and enforcement.
I hope you have a nice weekend,
Timmi
Timothea (Timmi) Tway
Director of Community Development
Community Development
919 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3249
E TTway@slocity.org
T 805.781.7187
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Monday, January 6, 2025 8:32 PM
To: McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org>; Tway, Timothea (Timmi) <TTway@slocity.org>; Mezzapesa, John
<JMezzape@slocity.org>; Mickel, Fred <fmickel@slocity.org>; Marx, Jan <jmarx@slocity.org>; Stewart, Erica A
<estewart@slocity.org>; Francis, Emily <EFrancis@slocity.org>; Shoresman, Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org>; Boswell, Mike
<MBoswell@slocity.org>
Cc: Wallace, Christine <cwallace@slocity.org>
Subject: Cal Poly Winter Fraternity Rush (in Our Neighborhood)
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear City Leadership,
2
Cal Poly's fraternity rush for the winter quarter will be on the weekends of January 17-19 and
January 24 - 26. Bid night, where the new pledges are officially recognized, is January 27.
(The big celebrations will start on subsequent weekends, as new pledg es are indoctrinated into
the fraternities, so there will be a lot of noisy parties.)
Cal Poly is using the same "secret" method they used in the fall which is a new procedure
since the city's code enforcement contacted Greek life administration and told them that
fraternity events are not legally allowed in R-1 and R-2 neighborhoods. This newly adopted
method keeps the addresses of events hidden from the public and the city.
In previous years, fraternities posted their rush schedules on Instagram weeks beforehand,
but since the code enforcement contacted Cal Poly last spring, most fraternities stopped doing
that. Now, the addresses, dates, and times for rush events held by the 18 Cal Poly fraternities
are handed out to PNMs on business cards at a BBQ held on Dexter Lawn on January 16. Here
is the schedule:
The potential new members (PNM) must register through the Interfraternity Council and
attend an informational session on Saturday, January 11.
The recruitment BBQ is on Dexter Lawn on January 16 and each fraternity will pass out
business cards with the addresses, dates, and times of their rush events to PNMs. Most of the
addresses on those cards are illegal fraternities operating in our neighborhood.
Open rush events are January 17 - 19, Invitee-only rush events are January 24-26, and Bid
night is January 27.
3
During the fall, recruitment events for Cal Poly's fraternities were held at the unpermitted
addresses listed at the bottom of this email. This is not a complete list but are the addresses
posted on Instagram days before the events. Many were reported by me to SLO code
enforcement via AskSLO but, unfortunately, were not responded to during the date and time
listed so were not found to be in violation. These fraternities continue to operate illegally and
host sororities at these locations.
Please flag these addresses, do not allow them to register parties, and do not send SNAP if a
complaint is made to SLOPD. Also, please take this matter seriously, cite the illegal
fraternities, and get them out of our neighborhood. Cal Poly is not going to solve this
problem! They made that clear in their statements to the Tribune reporter in yesterday's
article. The illegal fraternities are within the city limits, and the city needs to handle it. This
issue has gone on for too long and is unfair to those who want and/or need the peaceful
enjoyment of their property in a residential neighborhood.
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
Fraternity Recruitment/Rush Events during Fall 2024 included but were not limited to events at the following addresses:
Friday 10/4/2024:
1684-1688 Mill Street (Delta Sigma Phi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
281 Albert Drive (Delta Upsilon)
4
248-250 Grand Ave (Theta Chi)
281 Hathway Ave (Kappa Sigma) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
348-350 Hathway Ave (Phi Sigma Kappa) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1525 Slack St (Sigma Pi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
2090 Hays (Sigma Epsilon) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1218-1220 Bond St (Alpha Sigma Phi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1229 Fredericks (Phi Gamma Delta aka FIJI) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
654 & 658 Graves (Zeta Beta Tau) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
Saturday 10/5/2024:
654 & 658 Graves (Zeta Beta Tau) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
299 Albert (Alpha Sigma Phi)
12 Hathway (Lambda Chi Alpha)
1841 Slack St (Sigma Nu)
66 Rafael (Pi Kappa Phi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE IN THE CITY
1820 Hope (Theta Chi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
322 Hathway (Kappa Sigma)
1908 Loomis (Phi Sigma Kappa)
1276 Bond St (Phi Kappa Psi)
589 Cuesta Drive (Delta Sigma Phi)
Sunday 10/6/2024
237 Albert Dr (Phi Kappa Psi)
124 Stenner (Sigma Pi)
171 Orange (Lambda Chi Alpha)
1646 Fredericks St (Zeta Beta Tau)
1868 Loomis (Delta Upsilon)
260 Chaplin (Phi Delta Theta) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1632 Fredericks (Sigma Nu)
255 Chaplin (Alpha Sigma Phi)
1868 Loomis (Delta Upsilon)
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Friday, January 10, 2025 9:40 AM
To:Tway, Timothea (Timmi)
Cc:McDonald, Whitney; Mezzapesa, John; Mickel, Fred; Collins, Scott; Marx, Jan; Francis, Emily;
Stewart, Erica A; Shoresman, Michelle; Boswell, Mike
Subject:Re: Cal Poly Winter Fraternity Rush (in Our Neighborhood)
Hi Timmi,
Thank you for the email. Have you considered having someone attend the rush recruitment BBQ at Dexter Lawn
on 1/16 from 4 pm - 7 pm, and getting the business cards that each fraternity passes out that list the dates,
times, and addresses of the recruitment events during the first weekend of rush? Many of those addresses are
illegal fraternities in our neighborhood. They are printed on business cards at each of the fraternity's booths.
In the fall of 2024, I did all the legwork and provided you with the dates, times, and addresses of rush
recruitment events in our neighborhood. I submitted many of them to AskSLO ahead of time and subsequently
took photos to document every event listed in my previous email. Unfortunately, they were not followed up by
the city during the date and time listed on the rush cards. All of these houses continue to operate as fraternities,
hosting unruly events.
We have reached such a critical point that the city should be proactively seeking the addresses of the illegal
fraternities in the city's neighborhoods. It is obvious that Cal Poly does not care about the problem or our
neighborhood. They are not going to solve this problem for you. Collecting the rush cards from the fraternity
booths on Dexter Lawn on 1/16 is one easy way to get the addresses ahead of time and possibly circumvent the
problem. Or, at the very least, cite the illegal fraternity operations. I hope you will consider following through on
this.
Have a great weekend,
Kathie
On Fri, Jan 10, 2025 at 9:13 AM Tway, Timothea (Timmi) <TTway@slocity.org> wrote:
BCC:CC
Hi Kathie,
Thank you for your email and for this information. I have passed this on to Code Enforcement and we will be adding
these notes to our system if it includes information that we do not already have. As always, we will follow up on any
complaints of code violations should we receive them. Code Enforcement staff is attending the Cal Poly informational
session for Greek life participants this weekend, where we will continue to share information about code compliance
and enforcement.
I hope you have a nice weekend,
2
Timmi
Timothea (Timmi) Tway
Director of Community Development
Community Development
919 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3249
E TTway@slocity.org
T 805.781.7187
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Monday, January 6, 2025 8:32 PM
To: McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org>; Tway, Timothea (Timmi) <TTway@slocity.org>; Mezzapesa, John
<JMezzape@slocity.org>; Mickel, Fred <fmickel@slocity.org>; Marx, Jan <jmarx@slocity.org>; Stewart, Erica A
<estewart@slocity.org>; Francis, Emily <EFrancis@slocity.org>; Shoresman, Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org>; Boswell, Mike
<MBoswell@slocity.org>
Cc: Wallace, Christine <cwallace@slocity.org>
Subject: Cal Poly Winter Fraternity Rush (in Our Neighborhood)
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear City Leadership,
Cal Poly's fraternity rush for the winter quarter will be on the weekends of January 17-19 and
January 24 - 26. Bid night, where the new pledges are officially recognized, is January 27.
(The big celebrations will start on subsequent weekends, as new pledges are indoctrinated
into the fraternities, so there will be a lot of noisy parties.)
3
Cal Poly is using the same "secret" method they used in the fall which is a new procedure
since the city's code enforcement contacted Greek life administration and told them that
fraternity events are not legally allowed in R-1 and R-2 neighborhoods. This newly adopted
method keeps the addresses of events hidden from the public and the city.
In previous years, fraternities posted their rush schedules on Instagram weeks beforehand,
but since the code enforcement contacted Cal Poly last spring, most fraternities stopped doing
that. Now, the addresses, dates, and times for rush events held by the 18 Cal Poly fraternities
are handed out to PNMs on business cards at a BBQ held on Dexter Lawn on January 16. Here
is the schedule:
The potential new members (PNM) must register through the Interfraternity Council and
attend an informational session on Saturday, January 11.
The recruitment BBQ is on Dexter Lawn on January 16 and each fraternity will pass out
business cards with the addresses, dates, and times of their rush events to PNMs. Most of the
addresses on those cards are illegal fraternities operating in our neighborhood.
Open rush events are January 17 - 19, Invitee-only rush events are January 24-26, and Bid
night is January 27.
4
During the fall, recruitment events for Cal Poly's fraternities were held at the unpermitted
addresses listed at the bottom of this email. This is not a complete list but are the addresses
posted on Instagram days before the events. Many were reported by me to SLO code
enforcement via AskSLO but, unfortunately, were not responded to during the date and time
listed so were not found to be in violation. These fraternities continue to operate illegally and
host sororities at these locations.
Please flag these addresses, do not allow them to register parties, and do not send SNAP if a
complaint is made to SLOPD. Also, please take this matter seriously, cite the illegal
fraternities, and get them out of our neighborhood. Cal Poly is not going to solve this
problem! They made that clear in their statements to the Tribune reporter in yesterday's
article. The illegal fraternities are within the city limits, and the city needs to handle it. This
issue has gone on for too long and is unfair to those who want and/or need the peaceful
enjoyment of their property in a residential neighborhood.
5
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
Fraternity Recruitment/Rush Events during Fall 2024 included but were not limited to events at the following addresses:
Friday 10/4/2024:
1684-1688 Mill Street (Delta Sigma Phi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
281 Albert Drive (Delta Upsilon)
248-250 Grand Ave (Theta Chi)
281 Hathway Ave (Kappa Sigma) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
348-350 Hathway Ave (Phi Sigma Kappa) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1525 Slack St (Sigma Pi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
2090 Hays (Sigma Epsilon) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1218-1220 Bond St (Alpha Sigma Phi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1229 Fredericks (Phi Gamma Delta aka FIJI) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
654 & 658 Graves (Zeta Beta Tau) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
Saturday 10/5/2024:
654 & 658 Graves (Zeta Beta Tau) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
299 Albert (Alpha Sigma Phi)
12 Hathway (Lambda Chi Alpha)
1841 Slack St (Sigma Nu)
66 Rafael (Pi Kappa Phi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE IN THE CITY
1820 Hope (Theta Chi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
322 Hathway (Kappa Sigma)
1908 Loomis (Phi Sigma Kappa)
1276 Bond St (Phi Kappa Psi)
589 Cuesta Drive (Delta Sigma Phi)
Sunday 10/6/2024
6
237 Albert Dr (Phi Kappa Psi)
124 Stenner (Sigma Pi)
171 Orange (Lambda Chi Alpha)
1646 Fredericks St (Zeta Beta Tau)
1868 Loomis (Delta Upsilon)
260 Chaplin (Phi Delta Theta) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1632 Fredericks (Sigma Nu)
255 Chaplin (Alpha Sigma Phi)
1868 Loomis (Delta Upsilon)
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Friday, January 10, 2025 1:07 PM
To:Shoresman, Michelle
Subject:Re: Cal Poly Winter Fraternity Rush (in Our Neighborhood)
Hi Michelle,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Yes, I have considered that. Believe me, I am a problem-solver and have
analyzed this problem and potential solutions for at least two years. I've written down thoughts and charts and
analyzed the problem in every way possible. I am a certified paralegal and worked for an attorney in town (she's
now a judge) and I keep going back to my legal training to research and look for a logical solution, considering all
the facts.
If the city doesn't pursue the addresses, the outcome is that the fraternities will continue to operate with
impunity.
If the city does pursue the addresses, it holds the current houses accountable. Eventually, the house
should be shut down because the city is working toward that goal.
There will always be some means to communicate the addresses to new rush recruits, and Cal Poly knows
where those events are happening. The events have been registered and the business cards have been printed.
If they stop passing out business cards, they will still need to get the information to potential new members
somehow and when/if that happens, we can cross that bridge and find a way to access that information. But
let's concentrate on the here and now.
Many of these illegal fraternities have been operating for several years and their landlords know but allow it to
continue. If the city continued to cite them, eventually, the fraternities may put pressure on Cal Poly to provide
them housing e.g. build a Greek Row. That's not really something that the city should be worried about, and the
primary focus should be on educating property owners and getting the illegal fraternity operations out of the
residential neighborhoods.
The fraternities operating in R-3 and R-4 zones without permits should apply for CUPs so there are conditions for
their use.
During a planning commission meeting, the commissioners asked city staff if Code Enforcement was
communicating with SLOPD and vice versa. Staff told them that they were not, and the commissioners said that
needs to change ASAP! It's been months and nothing has changed. SLOPD knows where the houses are and I've
repeatedly provided code enforcement with documentation of their addresses and operation, including new
houses that have popped up in our neighborhood. Yet not a single one has been shut down.
What other solution do you suggest?
Cal Poly is not going to help the city fix this problem. They have made that abundantly clear to me for the past
two years. They have also made it clear through their actions with the city, in failing to cooperate or disclose the
addresses of its illegal fraternity houses.
Cal Poly has the records of those addresses and is sanctioning events in our neighborhood, including last night,
where there were "exchanges" with sororities, which is essentially a party at a fraternity house hosting a sorority
2
Cal Poly has the same attitude about St. Fratty's Day and is fortifying the campus but is not helping with the
neighborhood plan. That's a different subject but illustrates that Cal Poly's primary interest is Cal Poly - not the
neighborhood. It's the city's responsibility to take care of the neighborhood, and Cal Poly has outright said that
multiple times.
I have also sent public records requests to Cal Poly and they have erroneously denied them.
First, they said disclosure would violate privacy laws and I responded with a legal brief, citing their errors and
pointing out that disclosing the addresses does not violate any privacy laws because I was not seeking any
"personally identifiable information" specific to a particular student. That's the standard of FERPA, the federal
law that protects students' privacy.
In response, to my brief and second request, they claimed that fraternities are "independent organizations"
from Cal Poly, therefore are not subject to the Public Records Act. This is not true, of course. Greek Life has
employees paid for by tax dollars and is integrated into Cal Poly's system. I provided another brief, disputing
their claim with case law that shows Greek life is subject to the Public Records Act, and did not hear back. The
lack of response is a violation of law but Cal Poly does not seem to care.
I narrowed my third request and they responded that they would provide information but never did. I followed up
and did not hear back.
I believe the reporter for The Tribune is doing a follow-up article because there is a lot of information and she
was limited by words/space, but there is a lot more to this story, as you know.
The only way to solve this problem is for the city to pursue the illegal fraternity houses and their property
owners. The city should get the addresses by any means necessary. The city should request the records of the
addresses from Cal Poly, and if they deny the request, the city attorney should file a Writ of Mandate to compel
them to disclose the addresses. The judge would 100% side with the city. It may also compel Cal Poly to act on
this matter in a meaningful way. In previous years, the city attorney did prosecute illegal fraternities and the
results were swift. SLOPD, code enforcement, and the city attorney worked together. I'm not sure why the city
attorney has declined to do so with all the documentation that has been provided and also don't understand
why SLOPD and code enforcement have not shared information about known illegal fraternity houses.
Please let me know what solutions you have in mind. I would love to hear your thoughts.
Best Regards,
Kathie
On Fri, Jan 10, 2025 at 12:11 PM Shoresman, Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org> wrote:
Hi Kathie,
I so very much appreciate your diligence in always following up to give us all the information you have. I am not
speaking on behalf of everyone here, but just myself and some thoughts I have had about this when I say what I
am about to say, but…do you ever wonder if, the harder we try to get information about upcoming parties by
going to these events and gathering information (ie, picking up business cards, etc.) will further drive
communications underground and make the parties and activities harder to predict in advance? It seems to
me that this is at least partially why the student groups are not sharing info via social media now, and using this
business card tactic.
3
Just thinking out loud here. And I hope you know that I agree…we need Cal Poly’s help with this to be as
effective as possible.
Thanks again for your engagement.
Michelle
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Friday, January 10, 2025 9:39:30 AM
To: Tway, Timothea (Timmi) <TTway@slocity.org>
Cc: McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org>; Mezzapesa, John <JMezzape@slocity.org>; Mickel, Fred
<fmickel@slocity.org>; Collins, Scott <SCollins@slocity.org>; Marx, Jan <jmarx@slocity.org>; Francis, Emily
<EFrancis@slocity.org>; Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; Shoresman, Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org>; Boswell,
Mike <MBoswell@slocity.org>
Subject: Re: Cal Poly Winter Fraternity Rush (in Our Neighborhood)
Hi Timmi,
Thank you for the email. Have you considered having someone attend the rush recruitment BBQ at Dexter Lawn
on 1/16 from 4 pm - 7 pm, and getting the business cards that each fraternity passes out that list the dates,
times, and addresses of the recruitment events during the first weekend of rush? Many of those addresses are
illegal fraternities in our neighborhood. They are printed on business cards at each of the fraternity's booths.
In the fall of 2024, I did all the legwork and provided you with the dates, times, and addresses of rush
recruitment events in our neighborhood. I submitted many of them to AskSLO ahead of time and subsequently
took photos to document every event listed in my previous email. Unfortunately, they were not followed up by
the city during the date and time listed on the rush cards. All of these houses continue to operate as
fraternities, hosting unruly events.
We have reached such a critical point that the city should be proactively seeking the addresses of the illegal
fraternities in the city's neighborhoods. It is obvious that Cal Poly does not care about the problem or our
neighborhood. They are not going to solve this problem for you. Collecting the rush cards from the fraternity
booths on Dexter Lawn on 1/16 is one easy way to get the addresses ahead of time and possibly circumvent the
problem. Or, at the very least, cite the illegal fraternity operations. I hope you will consider following through on
this.
Have a great weekend,
Kathie
On Fri, Jan 10, 2025 at 9:13 AM Tway, Timothea (Timmi) <TTway@slocity.org> wrote:
BCC:CC
Hi Kathie,
Thank you for your email and for this information. I have passed this on to Code Enforcement and we will be adding
these notes to our system if it includes information that we do not already have. As always, we will follow up on any
complaints of code violations should we receive them. Code Enforcement staff is attending the Cal Poly
4
informational session for Greek life participants this weekend, where we will continue to share information about
code compliance and enforcement.
I hope you have a nice weekend,
Timmi
Timothea (Timmi) Tway
Director of Community Development
Community Development
919 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3249
E TTway@slocity.org
T 805.781.7187
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Monday, January 6, 2025 8:32 PM
To: McDonald, Whitney <WMcDonal@slocity.org>; Tway, Timothea (Timmi) <TTway@slocity.org>; Mezzapesa, John
<JMezzape@slocity.org>; Mickel, Fred <fmickel@slocity.org>; Marx, Jan <jmarx@slocity.org>; Stewart, Erica A
<estewart@slocity.org>; Francis, Emily <EFrancis@slocity.org>; Shoresman, Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org>; Boswell, Mike
<MBoswell@slocity.org>
Cc: Wallace, Christine <cwallace@slocity.org>
Subject: Cal Poly Winter Fraternity Rush (in Our Neighborhood)
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear City Leadership,
Cal Poly's fraternity rush for the winter quarter will be on the weekends of January 17-19
and January 24 - 26. Bid night, where the new pledges are officially recognized, is January
5
27. (The big celebrations will start on subsequent weekends, as new pledges are
indoctrinated into the fraternities, so there will be a lot of noisy parties.)
Cal Poly is using the same "secret" method they used in the fall which is a new procedure
since the city's code enforcement contacted Greek life administration and told them that
fraternity events are not legally allowed in R-1 and R-2 neighborhoods. This newly adopted
method keeps the addresses of events hidden from the public and the city.
In previous years, fraternities posted their rush schedules on Instagram weeks beforehand,
but since the code enforcement contacted Cal Poly last spring, most fraternities stopped
doing that. Now, the addresses, dates, and times for rush events held by the 18 Cal Poly
fraternities are handed out to PNMs on business cards at a BBQ held on Dexter Lawn on
January 16. Here is the schedule:
The potential new members (PNM) must register through the Interfraternity Council and
attend an informational session on Saturday, January 11.
The recruitment BBQ is on Dexter Lawn on January 16 and each fraternity will pass out
business cards with the addresses, dates, and times of their rush events to PNMs. Most of
the addresses on those cards are illegal fraternities operating in our neighborhood.
Open rush events are January 17 - 19, Invitee-only rush events are January 24-26, and Bid
night is January 27.
6
During the fall, recruitment events for Cal Poly's fraternities were held at the unpermitted
addresses listed at the bottom of this email. This is not a complete list but are the addresses
posted on Instagram days before the events. Many were reported by me to SLO code
enforcement via AskSLO but, unfortunately, were not responded to during the date and time
listed so were not found to be in violation. These fraternities continue to operate illegally and
host sororities at these locations.
Please flag these addresses, do not allow them to register parties, and do not send SNAP if a
complaint is made to SLOPD. Also, please take this matter seriously, cite the illegal
fraternities, and get them out of our neighborhood. Cal Poly is not going to solve this
problem! They made that clear in their statements to the Tribune reporter in yesterday's
article. The illegal fraternities are within the city limits, and the city needs to handle it. This
issue has gone on for too long and is unfair to those who want and/or need the peaceful
enjoyment of their property in a residential neighborhood.
7
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
Fraternity Recruitment/Rush Events during Fall 2024 included but were not limited to events at the following addresses:
Friday 10/4/2024:
1684-1688 Mill Street (Delta Sigma Phi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
281 Albert Drive (Delta Upsilon)
248-250 Grand Ave (Theta Chi)
281 Hathway Ave (Kappa Sigma) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
348-350 Hathway Ave (Phi Sigma Kappa) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1525 Slack St (Sigma Pi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
2090 Hays (Sigma Epsilon) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1218-1220 Bond St (Alpha Sigma Phi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1229 Fredericks (Phi Gamma Delta aka FIJI) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
654 & 658 Graves (Zeta Beta Tau) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
Saturday 10/5/2024:
654 & 658 Graves (Zeta Beta Tau) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
299 Albert (Alpha Sigma Phi)
12 Hathway (Lambda Chi Alpha)
1841 Slack St (Sigma Nu)
66 Rafael (Pi Kappa Phi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE IN THE CITY
1820 Hope (Theta Chi) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
322 Hathway (Kappa Sigma)
1908 Loomis (Phi Sigma Kappa)
1276 Bond St (Phi Kappa Psi)
589 Cuesta Drive (Delta Sigma Phi)
Sunday 10/6/2024
8
237 Albert Dr (Phi Kappa Psi)
124 Stenner (Sigma Pi)
171 Orange (Lambda Chi Alpha)
1646 Fredericks St (Zeta Beta Tau)
1868 Loomis (Delta Upsilon)
260 Chaplin (Phi Delta Theta) MAIN CHAPTER HOUSE
1632 Fredericks (Sigma Nu)
255 Chaplin (Alpha Sigma Phi)
1868 Loomis (Delta Upsilon)
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Sunday, January 12, 2025 10:41 PM
To:Stewart, Erica A; Marx, Jan; Francis, Emily; Shoresman, Michelle; Boswell, Mike
Subject:Article re: Illegal Fraternities, Etc. and News Publications
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Erica, Jan, Emily, Michelle, and Mike,
Since the article was published in The Tribune, several news organizations have contacted Steve by somehow
tracking down his cell phone number. A documentary filmmaker also contacted us through the Tribune reporter,
Sadie Dittenber, who investigated the situation for a few months and wrote the article. Also, some neighbors
were able to find Steve's number through software they use for their job, and have reached out to us because
they, too, are affected by what has happened in our neighborhood with the illegal fraternity houses. They have
been afraid to speak out, as many other neighbors, because they fear retaliation.
You may or may not know that there are some illegal fraternities on McCollum off of Albert, and, according to
the complained about the illegal fraternity, and
subsequently, their property was vandalized
These are some of the reasons that my neighbors - and there are
several - are afraid to speak out.
It is not comfortable for Steve and me to speak out either, but someone has to. I have been cyberstalked and the
police did not investigate, despite their claims to the Tribune that they did. I sent information to reporter, Ms.
Dittenber, showing that I continually asked for an investigation, over the course of a month, and my case was
never forwarded to a detective. I recently forwarded that email (sent to the reporter, Ms. Dittenber, with my
documentation) to SLOPD and now, two years later, SLOPD is adding a "supplemental report" to my original
complaint because it originally said my complaint was "for documentation only" and was never investigated,
despite my repeated pleas that it be investigated.
I've also been documenting noisy fraternity parties at illegal fraternity houses with video since the fall of 2021
when our neighborhood noticed a substantial increase in noise, and sending them to SLOPD and the city
council. Large noisy fraternity parties were cleared by SLOPD as "unable to locate" or "negative violation" so I
felt I needed to document the parties to prove they were actually happening, even though the SLOPD dispatch
log shows there was no violation of the noise ordinance. To be clear, the enforcement of noise in our
neighborhood, and others now that frats have spread to other neighborhoods, is abysmal and has not changed
since 2021. The police chief told me to stop taking video of the parties, and told me that I should have the police
come to my house to make sure I can actually hear the noise so that my calls to SLOPD "are equitable." I believe
I forwarded his email to you with those statements when it was sent to me.
We can hear booming bass from blocks away and are mostly affected by the hordes of screaming sorority girls
that pass by our house, going from an illegal fraternity house to an illegal fraternity house. We can also hear
parties at the many illegal fraternity houses that surround us. Additionally, I have had meetings with the city
since 2023 and provided documentation of each illegal fraternity house, but nothing has been done to shut
down a single one. We are beyond frustrated at the situation!!!
2
This is NOT NORMAL, which is the reason that media outlets and filmmakers have reached out to us!
I had a phone conversation with a British reporter from the Daily Mail and gave her a link to the website
HowToRuinANeighborhood.com and contact information for several people, including Jan Marx, SLOPD Chief
Rick Scott, and is also a member of a small resident
task force for St. Fratty's that has been formed to come up with ideas to present to the city and protect our
properties. Her tenants were terrorized during St. Fratty's Day 2024. After the last SCLC meeting, spoke
with Chief Scott, which I observed, and there was another witness to the conversation. He told her that it was
not the police's job to protect her property, and if something bad happened, she would bear the liability. He also
told her that St. Fratty's will not end until someone dies or there is extreme property damage.
called me after the meeting and I tried to console her and encouraged her that the city manager is going to
insist that St. Fratty's ends. Whitney McDonald said it was her number one goal at the first SCLC meeting of the
academic year. Ms. McDonald suggested that our St. Fratty's task force meet with RQN on 12/11/2024, when
SLOPD was presenting its plan for St. Fratty's this year, and held out hope that she would have some
reassurance during that meeting. Unfortunately, SLOPD's plans were not reassuring and began
interviewing Realtors and then put her house on the market a couple of weeks ago.
The reporter from the Daily Mail emailed me today and said that she hadn't had time to reach out to
but the story was published today, and she sent me a link. I was disappointed to see the story was
sensationalized and some of my statements were not accurate. The reporter must not have recorded the
conversation, as the Tribune reporter did. For example, she said "dayges" go on for four days straight, which is
not true. They are usually for several hours on Saturday or Sunday. However, I did say that parties start on
Thursday night and go through Sunday afternoon, which is close to four days straight. She said my husband was
in the Army at Sandhurst (Royal Military Academy) and Zimbabwe. He was not in the military in Zimbabwe and
fled the country with only a suitcase because it was unsafe as farms were being seized by the government. One
of his family members was murdered. He did go to the UK and attended Sandhurst. So some of the statements
are skewed. But the core of the problem surrounding the illegal frats and the retaliation since Sigma Pi received
a noise violation is true, and I feel that's what is important.
I will try to ensure that other State and National news stories accurately print my statements if we choose to
move forward with more publicity.
Hopefully, the city is committed to providing funding for combating this serious problem in the 2025 - 2027
budget cycle and this nightmare will end.
Thank you,
Kathie
1
From:CityClerk
Sent:Monday, January 13, 2025 12:56 PM
To:Kathie Walker
Cc:Scott, Rick; Tway, Timothea (Timmi); McDonald, Whitney
Subject:cc Walker - Article re: Illegal Fraternities, Etc. and News Publications
BCC: Council All
Kathie Walker,
Thank you for taking the time to contact the City Council on this issue. The City Council has received your concerns
and by copy on this email, it is also being shared with staff in the Community Development Department and Police
Department for their awareness.
City Clerk’s Office
City Administration
City Clerk's Office
990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3218
From: Shoresman, Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org>
Sent: Monday, January 13, 2025 6:39 AM
To: kathie walker < >; E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org>
Subject: Re: Article re: Illegal Fraternities, Etc. and News Publications
Hi Kathie,
By way of this email, I am copying the city clerk and key city staff through our usual “emailcouncil” email
address so that they can look into the information provided or respond as needed.
Michelle
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Sunday, January 12, 2025 10:41:18 PM
To: Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; Marx, Jan <jmarx@slocity.org>; Francis, Emily <EFrancis@slocity.org>; Shoresman,
Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org>; Boswell, Mike <MBoswell@slocity.org>
Subject: Article re: Illegal Fraternities, Etc. and News Publications
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Erica, Jan, Emily, Michelle, and Mike,
Since the article was published in The Tribune, several news organizations have contacted Steve by somehow
tracking down his cell phone number. A documentary filmmaker also contacted us through the Tribune reporter,
2
Sadie Dittenber, who investigated the situation for a few months and wrote the article. Also, some neighbors
were able to find Steve's number through software they use for their job, and have reached out to us because
they, too, are affected by what has happened in our neighborhood with the illegal fraternity houses. They have
been afraid to speak out, as many other neighbors, because they fear retaliation.
You may or may not know that there are some illegal fraternities on McCollum off of Albert, and, according to
the complained about the illegal fraternity, and
subsequently, their property was vandalized
These are some of the reasons that my neighbors - and there are
several - are afraid to speak out.
It is not comfortable for Steve and me to speak out either, but someone has to. I have been cyberstalked and the
police did not investigate, despite their claims to the Tribune that they did. I sent information to reporter, Ms.
Dittenber, showing that I continually asked for an investigation, over the course of a month, and my case was
never forwarded to a detective. I recently forwarded that email (sent to the reporter, Ms. Dittenber, with my
documentation) to SLOPD and now, two years later, SLOPD is adding a "supplemental report" to my original
complaint because it originally said my complaint was "for documentation only" and was never investigated,
despite my repeated pleas that it be investigated.
I've also been documenting noisy fraternity parties at illegal fraternity houses with video since the fall of 2021
when our neighborhood noticed a substantial increase in noise, and sending them to SLOPD and the city
council. Large noisy fraternity parties were cleared by SLOPD as "unable to locate" or "negative violation" so I
felt I needed to document the parties to prove they were actually happening, even though the SLOPD dispatch
log shows there was no violation of the noise ordinance. To be clear, the enforcement of noise in our
neighborhood, and others now that frats have spread to other neighborhoods, is abysmal and has not changed
since 2021. The police chief told me to stop taking video of the parties, and told me that I should have the police
come to my house to make sure I can actually hear the noise so that my calls to SLOPD "are equitable." I believe
I forwarded his email to you with those statements when it was sent to me.
We can hear booming bass from blocks away and are mostly affected by the hordes of screaming sorority girls
that pass by our house, going from an illegal fraternity house to an illegal fraternity house. We can also hear
parties at the many illegal fraternity houses that surround us. Additionally, I have had meetings with the city
since 2023 and provided documentation of each illegal fraternity house, but nothing has been done to shut
down a single one. We are beyond frustrated at the situation!!!
This is NOT NORMAL, which is the reason that media outlets and filmmakers have reached out to us!
I had a phone conversation with a British reporter from the Daily Mail and gave her a link to the website
HowToRuinANeighborhood.com and contact information for several people, including Jan Marx, SLOPD Chief
Rick Scott, and is also a member of a small resident
task force for St. Fratty's that has been formed to come up with ideas to present to the city and protect our
properties. Her tenants were terrorized during St. Fratty's Day 2024. After the last SCLC meeting, spoke
with Chief Scott, which I observed, and there was another witness to the conversation. He told her that it was
not the police's job to protect her property, and if something bad happened, she would bear the liability. He also
told her that St. Fratty's will not end until someone dies or there is extreme property damage.
called me after the meeting and I tried to console her and encouraged her that the city manager is going to
insist that St. Fratty's ends. Whitney McDonald said it was her number one goal at the first SCLC meeting of the
academic year. Ms. McDonald suggested that our St. Fratty's task force meet with RQN on 12/11/2024, when
SLOPD was presenting its plan for St. Fratty's this year, and held out hope that she would have some
3
reassurance during that meeting. Unfortunately, SLOPD's plans were not reassuring and began
interviewing Realtors and then put her house on the market a couple of weeks ago.
The reporter from the Daily Mail emailed me today and said that she hadn't had time to reach out to
but the story was published today, and she sent me a link. I was disappointed to see the story was
sensationalized and some of my statements were not accurate. The reporter must not have recorded the
conversation, as the Tribune reporter did. For example, she said "dayges" go on for four days straight, which is
not true. They are usually for several hours on Saturday or Sunday. However, I did say that parties start on
Thursday night and go through Sunday afternoon, which is close to four days straight. She said my husband was
in the Army at Sandhurst (Royal Military Academy) and Zimbabwe. He was not in the military in Zimbabwe and
fled the country with only a suitcase because it was unsafe as farms were being seized by the government. One
of his family members was murdered. He did go to the UK and attended Sandhurst. So some of the statements
are skewed. But the core of the problem surrounding the illegal frats and the retaliation since Sigma Pi received
a noise violation is true, and I feel that's what is important.
I will try to ensure that other State and National news stories accurately print my statements if we choose to
move forward with more publicity.
Hopefully, the city is committed to providing funding for combating this serious problem in the 2025 - 2027
budget cycle and this nightmare will end.
Thank you,
Kathie
1
From:Shoresman, Michelle
Sent:Monday, January 13, 2025 6:39 AM
To:kathie walker; E-mail Council Website
Subject:Re: Article re: Illegal Fraternities, Etc. and News Publications
Hi Kathie,
By way of this email, I am copying the city clerk and key city staff through our usual “emailcouncil” email
address so that they can look into the information provided or respond as needed.
Michelle
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Sunday, January 12, 2025 10:41:18 PM
To: Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; Marx, Jan <jmarx@slocity.org>; Francis, Emily <EFrancis@slocity.org>; Shoresman,
Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org>; Boswell, Mike <MBoswell@slocity.org>
Subject: Article re: Illegal Fraternities, Etc. and News Publications
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Erica, Jan, Emily, Michelle, and Mike,
Since the article was published in The Tribune, several news organizations have contacted Steve by somehow
tracking down his cell phone number. A documentary filmmaker also contacted us through the Tribune reporter,
Sadie Dittenber, who investigated the situation for a few months and wrote the article. Also, some neighbors
were able to find Steve's number through software they use for their job, and have reached out to us because
they, too, are affected by what has happened in our neighborhood with the illegal fraternity houses. They have
been afraid to speak out, as many other neighbors, because they fear retaliation.
You may or may not know that there are some illegal fraternities on McCollum off of Albert, and, according to
the complained about the illegal fraternity, and
subsequently,
These are some of the reasons that my neighbors - and there are
several - are afraid to speak out.
It is not comfortable for Steve and me to speak out either, but someone has to. I have been cyberstalked and the
police did not investigate, despite their claims to the Tribune that they did. I sent information to reporter, Ms.
Dittenber, showing that I continually asked for an investigation, over the course of a month, and my case was
never forwarded to a detective. I recently forwarded that email (sent to the reporter, Ms. Dittenber, with my
documentation) to SLOPD and now, two years later, SLOPD is adding a "supplemental report" to my original
complaint because it originally said my complaint was "for documentation only" and was never investigated,
despite my repeated pleas that it be investigated.
I've also been documenting noisy fraternity parties at illegal fraternity houses with video since the fall of 2021
when our neighborhood noticed a substantial increase in noise, and sending them to SLOPD and the city
council. Large noisy fraternity parties were cleared by SLOPD as "unable to locate" or "negative violation" so I
felt I needed to document the parties to prove they were actually happening, even though the SLOPD dispatch
2
log shows there was no violation of the noise ordinance. To be clear, the enforcement of noise in our
neighborhood, and others now that frats have spread to other neighborhoods, is abysmal and has not changed
since 2021. The police chief told me to stop taking video of the parties, and told me that I should have the police
come to my house to make sure I can actually hear the noise so that my calls to SLOPD "are equitable." I believe
I forwarded his email to you with those statements when it was sent to me.
We can hear booming bass from blocks away and are mostly affected by the hordes of screaming sorority girls
that pass by our house, going from an illegal fraternity house to an illegal fraternity house. We can also hear
parties at the many illegal fraternity houses that surround us. Additionally, I have had meetings with the city
since 2023 and provided documentation of each illegal fraternity house, but nothing has been done to shut
down a single one. We are beyond frustrated at the situation!!!
This is NOT NORMAL, which is the reason that media outlets and filmmakers have reached out to us!
I had a phone conversation with a British reporter from the Daily Mail and gave her a link to the website
HowToRuinANeighborhood.com and contact information for several people, including Jan Marx, SLOPD Chief
Rick Scott, and is also a member of a small resident
task force for St. Fratty's that has been formed to come up with ideas to present to the city and protect our
properties. Her tenants were terrorized during St. Fratty's Day 2024. After the last SCLC meeting, spoke
with Chief Scott, which I observed, and there was another witness to the conversation. He told her that it was
not the police's job to protect her property, and if something bad happened, she would bear the liability. He also
told her that St. Fratty's will not end until someone dies or there is extreme property damage.
called me after the meeting and I tried to console her and encouraged her that the city manager is going to
insist that St. Fratty's ends. Whitney McDonald said it was her number one goal at the first SCLC meeting of the
academic year. Ms. McDonald suggested that our St. Fratty's task force meet with RQN on 12/11/2024, when
SLOPD was presenting its plan for St. Fratty's this year, and held out hope that she would have some
reassurance during that meeting. Unfortunately, SLOPD's plans were not reassuring and began
interviewing Realtors and then put her house on the market a couple of weeks ago.
The reporter from the Daily Mail emailed me today and said that she hadn't had time to reach out to
but the story was published today, and she sent me a link. I was disappointed to see the story was
sensationalized and some of my statements were not accurate. The reporter must not have recorded the
conversation, as the Tribune reporter did. For example, she said "dayges" go on for four days straight, which is
not true. They are usually for several hours on Saturday or Sunday. However, I did say that parties start on
Thursday night and go through Sunday afternoon, which is close to four days straight. She said my husband was
in the Army at Sandhurst (Royal Military Academy) and Zimbabwe. He was not in the military in Zimbabwe and
fled the country with only a suitcase because it was unsafe as farms were being seized by the government. One
of his family members was murdered. He did go to the UK and attended Sandhurst. So some of the statements
are skewed. But the core of the problem surrounding the illegal frats and the retaliation since Sigma Pi received
a noise violation is true, and I feel that's what is important.
I will try to ensure that other State and National news stories accurately print my statements if we choose to
move forward with more publicity.
Hopefully, the city is committed to providing funding for combating this serious problem in the 2025 - 2027
budget cycle and this nightmare will end.
Thank you,
Kathie
3
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Monday, January 13, 2025 10:16 PM
To:Stewart, Erica A
Subject:Re: Article re: Illegal Fraternities, Etc. and News Publications
Thank you, Erica. It's been scary to speak out but there was a point - where nothing seemed to be happening for
about two years - that I felt I had to step forward.
I posted the Tribune article on NextDoor and asked residents concerned about neighborhood wellness to write
to the council to support the goal in the upcoming 2025 - 2027 goal-setting process. Emily also told me there
were many emails written. Where are those emails? I don't see them in the Agenda correspondence. Can you
follow up with the Clerk to make sure they're included?
Sincerely,
Kathie
On Mon, Jan 13, 2025 at 7:26 AM Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org> wrote:
Dear Kathie,
I am sorry that your life has been so negatively affected by loud parties, disgusting behavior as people travel
between parties, and disturbing actions directed toward you and your family. I do hope that the SLO
community comes out in great numbers at the community meetings on 1/23 & 2/8. The Tribune article sparked
many an email from community members who are concerned about the partying behavior and want to help
neighbors enjoy their home.
I hope you can find some peace and joy for you and your family.
Best wishes,
Erica
Erica A. Stewart
pronouns she/her/hers
Mayor
To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.City of San Luis Obispo
Office of the City Council
990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3249
estewart@slocity.org
805.540.1154
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
The best way to report general issues within City limits or to request City services during this time is via Ask
SLO, www.slocity.org/Ask.
2
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Sunday, January 12, 2025 10:41:18 PM
To: Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; Marx, Jan <jmarx@slocity.org>; Francis, Emily <EFrancis@slocity.org>; Shoresman,
Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org>; Boswell, Mike <MBoswell@slocity.org>
Subject: Article re: Illegal Fraternities, Etc. and News Publications
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Erica, Jan, Emily, Michelle, and Mike,
Since the article was published in The Tribune, several news organizations have contacted Steve by somehow
tracking down his cell phone number. A documentary filmmaker also contacted us through the Tribune
reporter, Sadie Dittenber, who investigated the situation for a few months and wrote the article. Also, some
neighbors were able to find Steve's number through software they use for their job, and have reached out to us
because they, too, are affected by what has happened in our neighborhood with the illegal fraternity houses.
They have been afraid to speak out, as many other neighbors, because they fear retaliation.
You may or may not know that there are some illegal fraternities on McCollum off of Albert, and, according to
the complained about the illegal fraternity, and
subsequently, their property was vandalized
These are some of the reasons that my neighbors - and there are
several - are afraid to speak out.
It is not comfortable for Steve and me to speak out either, but someone has to. I have been cyberstalked and
the police did not investigate, despite their claims to the Tribune that they did. I sent information to reporter,
Ms. Dittenber, showing that I continually asked for an investigation, over the course of a month, and my
case was never forwarded to a detective. I recently forwarded that email (sent to the reporter, Ms. Dittenber,
with my documentation) to SLOPD and now, two years later, SLOPD is adding a "supplemental report" to my
original complaint because it originally said my complaint was "for documentation only" and was never
investigated, despite my repeated pleas that it be investigated.
I've also been documenting noisy fraternity parties at illegal fraternity houses with video since the fall of 2021
when our neighborhood noticed a substantial increase in noise, and sending them to SLOPD and the city
council. Large noisy fraternity parties were cleared by SLOPD as "unable to locate" or "negative violation" so I
felt I needed to document the parties to prove they were actually happening, even though the SLOPD dispatch
log shows there was no violation of the noise ordinance. To be clear, the enforcement of noise in our
neighborhood, and others now that frats have spread to other neighborhoods, is abysmal and has not changed
since 2021. The police chief told me to stop taking video of the parties, and told me that I should have the
police come to my house to make sure I can actually hear the noise so that my calls to SLOPD "are equitable." I
believe I forwarded his email to you with those statements when it was sent to me.
We can hear booming bass from blocks away and are mostly affected by the hordes of screaming sorority girls
that pass by our house, going from an illegal fraternity house to an illegal fraternity house. We can also hear
parties at the many illegal fraternity houses that surround us. Additionally, I have had meetings with the city
since 2023 and provided documentation of each illegal fraternity house, but nothing has been done to shut
down a single one. We are beyond frustrated at the situation!!!
This is NOT NORMAL, which is the reason that media outlets and filmmakers have reached out to us!
3
I had a phone conversation with a British reporter from the Daily Mail and gave her a link to the website
HowToRuinANeighborhood.com and contact information for several people, including Jan Marx, SLOPD Chief
Rick Scott, and is also a member of a small resident
task force for St. Fratty's that has been formed to come up with ideas to present to the city and protect our
properties. Her tenants were terrorized during St. Fratty's Day 2024. After the last SCLC meeting, spoke
with Chief Scott, which I observed, and there was another witness to the conversation. He told her that it was
not the police's job to protect her property, and if something bad happened, she would bear the liability. He
also told her that St. Fratty's will not end until someone dies or there is extreme property damage.
called me after the meeting and I tried to console her and encouraged her that the city manager is going
to insist that St. Fratty's ends. Whitney McDonald said it was her number one goal at the first SCLC meeting of
the academic year. Ms. McDonald suggested that our St. Fratty's task force meet with RQN on 12/11/2024,
when SLOPD was presenting its plan for St. Fratty's this year, and held out hope that she would have
some reassurance during that meeting. Unfortunately, SLOPD's plans were not reassuring and began
interviewing Realtors and then put her house on the market a couple of weeks ago.
The reporter from the Daily Mail emailed me today and said that she hadn't had time to reach out to
but the story was published today, and she sent me a link. I was disappointed to see the story was
sensationalized and some of my statements were not accurate. The reporter must not have recorded the
conversation, as the Tribune reporter did. For example, she said "dayges" go on for four days straight, which is
not true. They are usually for several hours on Saturday or Sunday. However, I did say that parties start on
Thursday night and go through Sunday afternoon, which is close to four days straight. She said my husband
was in the Army at Sandhurst (Royal Military Academy) and Zimbabwe. He was not in the military in Zimbabwe
and fled the country with only a suitcase because it was unsafe as farms were being seized by the government.
One of his family members was murdered. He did go to the UK and attended Sandhurst. So some of the
statements are skewed. But the core of the problem surrounding the illegal frats and the retaliation since
Sigma Pi received a noise violation is true, and I feel that's what is important.
I will try to ensure that other State and National news stories accurately print my statements if we choose to
move forward with more publicity.
Hopefully, the city is committed to providing funding for combating this serious problem in the 2025 - 2027
budget cycle and this nightmare will end.
Thank you,
Kathie
1
From:Stewart, Erica A
Sent:Monday, January 13, 2025 7:26 AM
To:kathie walker
Subject:Re: Article re: Illegal Fraternities, Etc. and News Publications
Dear Kathie,
I am sorry that your life has been so negatively affected by loud parties, disgusting behavior as people travel
between parties, and disturbing actions directed toward you and your family. I do hope that the SLO community
comes out in great numbers at the community meetings on 1/23 & 2/8. The Tribune article sparked many an
email from community members who are concerned about the partying behavior and want to help neighbors
enjoy their home.
I hope you can find some peace and joy for you and your family.
Best wishes,
Erica
Erica A. Stewart
pronouns she/her/hers
Mayor
To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.City of San Luis Obispo
Office of the City Council
990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3249
estewart@slocity.org
805.540.1154
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
The best way to report general issues within City limits or to request City services during this time is via Ask
SLO, www.slocity.org/Ask.
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Sunday, January 12, 2025 10:41:18 PM
To: Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; Marx, Jan <jmarx@slocity.org>; Francis, Emily <EFrancis@slocity.org>; Shoresman,
Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org>; Boswell, Mike <MBoswell@slocity.org>
Subject: Article re: Illegal Fraternities, Etc. and News Publications
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Erica, Jan, Emily, Michelle, and Mike,
Since the article was published in The Tribune, several news organizations have contacted Steve by somehow
tracking down his cell phone number. A documentary filmmaker also contacted us through the Tribune reporter,
Sadie Dittenber, who investigated the situation for a few months and wrote the article. Also, some neighbors
2
were able to find Steve's number through software they use for their job, and have reached out to us because
they, too, are affected by what has happened in our neighborhood with the illegal fraternity houses. They have
been afraid to speak out, as many other neighbors, because they fear retaliation.
You may or may not know that there are some illegal fraternities on McCollum off of Albert, and, according to
the complained about the illegal fraternity, and
subsequently, their property was vandalized
These are some of the reasons that my neighbors - and there are
several - are afraid to speak out.
It is not comfortable for Steve and me to speak out either, but someone has to. I have been cyberstalked and the
police did not investigate, despite their claims to the Tribune that they did. I sent information to reporter, Ms.
Dittenber, showing that I continually asked for an investigation, over the course of a month, and my case was
never forwarded to a detective. I recently forwarded that email (sent to the reporter, Ms. Dittenber, with my
documentation) to SLOPD and now, two years later, SLOPD is adding a "supplemental report" to my original
complaint because it originally said my complaint was "for documentation only" and was never investigated,
despite my repeated pleas that it be investigated.
I've also been documenting noisy fraternity parties at illegal fraternity houses with video since the fall of 2021
when our neighborhood noticed a substantial increase in noise, and sending them to SLOPD and the city
council. Large noisy fraternity parties were cleared by SLOPD as "unable to locate" or "negative violation" so I
felt I needed to document the parties to prove they were actually happening, even though the SLOPD dispatch
log shows there was no violation of the noise ordinance. To be clear, the enforcement of noise in our
neighborhood, and others now that frats have spread to other neighborhoods, is abysmal and has not changed
since 2021. The police chief told me to stop taking video of the parties, and told me that I should have the police
come to my house to make sure I can actually hear the noise so that my calls to SLOPD "are equitable." I believe
I forwarded his email to you with those statements when it was sent to me.
We can hear booming bass from blocks away and are mostly affected by the hordes of screaming sorority girls
that pass by our house, going from an illegal fraternity house to an illegal fraternity house. We can also hear
parties at the many illegal fraternity houses that surround us. Additionally, I have had meetings with the city
since 2023 and provided documentation of each illegal fraternity house, but nothing has been done to shut
down a single one. We are beyond frustrated at the situation!!!
This is NOT NORMAL, which is the reason that media outlets and filmmakers have reached out to us!
I had a phone conversation with a British reporter from the Daily Mail and gave her a link to the website
HowToRuinANeighborhood.com and contact information for several people, including Jan Marx, SLOPD Chief
Rick Scott, and is also a member of a small resident
task force for St. Fratty's that has been formed to come up with ideas to present to the city and protect our
properties. Her tenants were terrorized during St. Fratty's Day 2024. After the last SCLC meeting, spoke
with Chief Scott, which I observed, and there was another witness to the conversation. He told her that it was
not the police's job to protect her property, and if something bad happened, she would bear the liability. He also
told her that St. Fratty's will not end until someone dies or there is extreme property damage.
called me after the meeting and I tried to console her and encouraged her that the city manager is going to
insist that St. Fratty's ends. Whitney McDonald said it was her number one goal at the first SCLC meeting of the
academic year. Ms. McDonald suggested that our St. Fratty's task force meet with RQN on 12/11/2024, when
SLOPD was presenting its plan for St. Fratty's this year, and held out hope that she would have some
3
reassurance during that meeting. Unfortunately, SLOPD's plans were not reassuring and began
interviewing Realtors and then put her house on the market a couple of weeks ago.
The reporter from the Daily Mail emailed me today and said that she hadn't had time to reach out to
but the story was published today, and she sent me a link. I was disappointed to see the story was
sensationalized and some of my statements were not accurate. The reporter must not have recorded the
conversation, as the Tribune reporter did. For example, she said "dayges" go on for four days straight, which is
not true. They are usually for several hours on Saturday or Sunday. However, I did say that parties start on
Thursday night and go through Sunday afternoon, which is close to four days straight. She said my husband was
in the Army at Sandhurst (Royal Military Academy) and Zimbabwe. He was not in the military in Zimbabwe and
fled the country with only a suitcase because it was unsafe as farms were being seized by the government. One
of his family members was murdered. He did go to the UK and attended Sandhurst. So some of the statements
are skewed. But the core of the problem surrounding the illegal frats and the retaliation since Sigma Pi received
a noise violation is true, and I feel that's what is important.
I will try to ensure that other State and National news stories accurately print my statements if we choose to
move forward with more publicity.
Hopefully, the city is committed to providing funding for combating this serious problem in the 2025 - 2027
budget cycle and this nightmare will end.
Thank you,
Kathie
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Wednesday, January 22, 2025 1:24 PM
To:Mezzapesa, John
Subject:Administrative Hearing Judge
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Thank you for checking in yesterday. I appreciate any effort toward identifying and citing the illegal fraternity
houses so they no longer operate in our neighborhoods.
You mentioned an Administrative Hearing Officer has dismissed citations citing some illegal fraternity
operations. Is that the same person who hears appeals for noise violations? What is their name and how long
have they been a hearing officer? I cannot find any information online but this should be public information.
Thank you,
Kathie
1
From:Colunga-Lopez, Andrea
Sent:Wednesday, January 22, 2025 3:58 PM
To:kathie walker
Cc:CityClerk
Subject:RE: Clarification on previous email - PC 4.a.
Hi Kathie,
Thank you for your additional input, it has been sent to the committee members. It is now placed in the Planning
Commission public archive for tonight’s meeting.
Best,
Andrea Colunga-Lopez
pronouns she/her/hers
Administrative Assistant II
City Administration
E AColunga@slocity.org
T 805.781.7105
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Wednesday, January 22, 2025 3:36 PM
To: Advisory Bodies <advisorybodies@slocity.org>
Subject: Clarification on previous email - PC 4.a.
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear Planning Commissioners,
To clarify my previous correspondence, several comments were made on a Next Door thread related to the
Rotating Safe Parking Program that is before you tonight. Several people said disparaging things about the
potential participants, which is the reason I used the word 'criminals'.
2
I'm sure many people don't feel homeless people living in their cars will be involved in criminal activity. The
main point of my email was to convey that different demographics have no choice but to sleep in their cars,
including college students, and the proposed program should be given a chance because it can make a
difference for them to be able to study, go to their jobs, or other gainful activity during the day if they can be safe
while sleeping in their cars.
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Wednesday, January 22, 2025 3:36 PM
To:Advisory Bodies
Subject:Clarification on previous email - PC 4.a.
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear Planning Commissioners,
To clarify my previous correspondence, several comments were made on a Next Door thread related to the
Rotating Safe Parking Program that is before you tonight. Several people said disparaging things about the
potential participants, which is the reason I used the word 'criminals'.
I'm sure many people don't feel homeless people living in their cars will be involved in criminal activity. The main
point of my email was to convey that different demographics have no choice but to sleep in their cars, including
college students, and the proposed program should be given a chance because it can make a difference for
them to be able to study, go to their jobs, or other gainful activity during the day if they can be safe while
sleeping in their cars.
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
1
From:Colunga-Lopez, Andrea
Sent:Wednesday, January 22, 2025 11:46 AM
To:kathie walker
Cc:CityClerk
Subject:RE: Planning Commission: Rotating Parking Program Item 4.a.
Hi Kathie,
Thank you for your input, it has been sent to the committee members. It is now placed in the Planning Commission
public archive for tonight’s meeting.
Best,
Andrea Colunga-Lopez
pronouns she/her/hers
Administrative Assistant II
City Administration
E AColunga@slocity.org
T 805.781.7105
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Wednesday, January 22, 2025 11:35 AM
To: Advisory Bodies <advisorybodies@slocity.org>
Subject: Planning Commission: Rotating Parking Program Item 4.a.
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear Planning Commissioners,
Please support the rotating safe parking program for those living in their cars.
People make judgments about the "type" of persons living in their cars, with sweeping generalizations that they
are criminals. Within San Luis Obispo, there are homeless college students, single mothers, and other people
who function during the day without a stable place to sleep at night. My husband and I got to know a college
student who lost their rental and was unable to afford rent, so had no choice but to live in their van. Neither
Cuesta College nor Cal Poly allow their homeless students to park on campus overnight. We allowed
the homeless student to park on our property for 1 1/2 years until they were able to finish college and move
away for a job. They are successful today! There are several other college students currently in the same
situation who would benefit from this program.
2
It is against the law in San Luis Obispo to sleep in your car on a public road, and the safe parking program will
allow people to better their lives in the long run by having a place to sleep.
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Wednesday, January 22, 2025 11:35 AM
To:Advisory Bodies
Subject:Planning Commission: Rotating Parking Program Item 4.a.
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear Planning Commissioners,
Please support the rotating safe parking program for those living in their cars.
People make judgments about the "type" of persons living in their cars, with sweeping generalizations that they
are criminals. Within San Luis Obispo, there are homeless college students, single mothers, and other people
who function during the day without a stable place to sleep at night. My husband and I got to know a college
student who lost their rental and was unable to afford rent, so had no choice but to live in their van. Neither
Cuesta College nor Cal Poly allow their homeless students to park on campus overnight. We allowed the
homeless student to park on our property for 1 1/2 years until they were able to finish college and move away for
a job. They are successful today! There are several other college students currently in the same situation who
would benefit from this program.
It is against the law in San Luis Obispo to sleep in your car on a public road, and the safe parking program will
allow people to better their lives in the long run by having a place to sleep.
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Wednesday, January 22, 2025 8:27 AM
To:Dietrick, Christine
Cc:Tway, Timothea (Timmi); Mezzapesa, John; Sandra Rowley; Carolyn Smith; Brett Cross;
Stewjenkins Info; Paul Allen; Karen Adler
Subject:Prosecution of Illegal Fraternity Operations with SLOMC 17.22.010 and 17.02.030
Attachments:09_19_1989, 3 - U1449B_ APPEAL OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION'S ACTION DENYING A USE
PERMIT TO ALLOW A FRATERNITY HOUSE (4).pdf
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Hi Christine,
In 1989, the city attorney brought a case against an unpermitted fraternity house on
Foothill. Community Development, SLOPD, and the city attorney worked together and the
matter was resolved swiftly. In that case, the fraternity was operating in an R4 zone but did
not have a conditional use permit. A SLOPD officer submitted a sworn declaration and the case
was prosecuted for violation of SLOMC 17.22.010 and 17.02.030.
Can the same municipal code violation be used again, wherein a resident files a complaint with
SLOPD against a fraternity operating illegally in R1 and R2 residential zones? These illegal
fraternity operations have caused ongoing extreme disruptions to the neighbors for several
years. There is no way for the fraternities to get a conditional use permit because they are not
allowed to operate in R1 and R2 zones, but their operations in these neighborhoods is what is
so egregious and make it impossible to have the quiet enjoyment of our property.
I have attached the previous case. Please let me know how the residents living in Alta Vista
and Monterey Heights can use this process to hold illegal fraternity operations responsible, and
hopefully get some semblance of peace back in our lives.
This is a timeline of what happened back then. I've attached the Agenda from 1989 for your
reference.
This approach could be used in conjunction with obtaining the addresses of fraternity events
registered with Greek Life from Cal Poly. I submitted multiple records requests and was told
the information would not be disclosed for privacy reasons, which does not apply to this case
because the addresses do not give any personally identifiable information specific to a
2
particular student (FERPA). I prepared a response using case law to show that FERPA does not
apply to the addresses and Cal Poly responded that fraternities are "independent
organizations" not affiliated with the university, therefore the information will not be disclosed.
Cal Poly used the "catch-all" exemption without any reference to why it applies, despite the
requirement to do so as that exemption is narrowly construed.
The only way that Cal Poly will disclose the addresses is by filing a Writ of Mandate. I
researched this issue at the law library and prepared a Writ, though it's probably not great
because I'm not a lawyer, there is a lot of case law that supports the position that Cal Poly
must disclose those records. The fees and costs for filing a Writ when an agency wrongfully
withholds records are recoverable so Cal Poly would also have the financial burden of any fees
and costs expended. I'm not sure how that works with a public agency but that's how it works
for private individuals or the press.
Please let me know if the residents can move forward with complaints through SLOPD for
some of the more egregious fraternity operations, using the same method used in 1989.
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
Timeline:
July 1988: Alpha Upsilon Alumni Corporation purchased the property located at 720 and 726
Foothill Boulevard. It is two units: a one bedroom and a three bedroom. It is zoned R-4 which allows a
fraternity, but they did not apply for a conditional use permit.
August 1988: The City receives a complaint that it may be operating as a fraternity.
August 22, 1988: Judith Lautner, Associate Planner for the City, wrote to the fraternity: “A Planning
Commission use permit must be approved to allow a Fraternity at this address. If you intend
to establish such a use, you or a local representative must apply for this use permit immediately. I
have enclosed materials for such an application.”
September - October, 1988: Fall Rush week activities were announced for week of October 6- 12,
1988. All activities are to take place on the premises.
October 1, 1988: Owners of adjacent apartments complain to the Community Development
Department re: failure of the Fraternity to have proper use permit.
October 4, 1988: Letter to City from fraternity which cites recent purchase of property (4 months). “It
has been our full intention from start to obtain a use permit to function at this property. " Mentions
"working towards a use permit application.” Regarding the issue of Rush week events: “This problem
has been corrected and we fully intend to hold no functions at this address.”
October 6 –12, 1988: The fraternity continued to advertise and hold functions, in contradiction to their
written advisement to the City.
In the spring of 1989, still without a use permit, the fraternity held more functions at this address.
On March 1, 1989, SLOPD officer Ian Parkinson was dispatched to the fraternity location by the
adjacent property owners and manager. According to the police report, “All 3 subjects stated this is an
ongoing problem and the fraternity has found a way to circumvent the City's use permits and is still
having their fraternity rushes and parties at the residence. They requested that a report
be written, and they strongly requested a complaint against the fraternity.”
The Police Report was forwarded to the city attorney for a complaint to be brought against the
fraternity.
On March 27, 2989, Ian Parkinson provided a declaration in support of a criminal complaint against
Alpha Upsilon for violations of the SLOMC sections 17.02.030 and 17.22.010.
On March 28, 1989, a letter was sent to the fraternity by the City Attorney Vicki Finucane that said:
“Gentlemen: This is to advise you that a complaint has been filed against the Alpha Upsilon Fraternity
in the San Luis Obispo Municipal Court, Criminal Division, for violation of the above-referenced code
3
sections. Your arraignment has been scheduled for Wednesday, April 26. 1989, at 9: 00 a.m. in the
Municipal Court. Division A. at 1050 Monterey Street. San Luis Obispo. Please plan to have a
representative of Alpha Upsilon present at that time.”
The fraternity was ordered by the Municipal Court of San Luis Obispo County to pay a fine, comply
with the terms and conditions of probation, and apply for a use permit within 30 days.
The fraternity did not comply with the court’s order to apply for the use permit within 30 days but
applied for a use permit six weeks later, on June 6, 1989.
August 9, 1989: Planning Commission held a hearing for a use permit. The Planning Commission heard
testimony from several neighbors and owners of adjacent property. Much of the testimony related
specific problems, caused by the fraternity members, with parking, noise, and disruptive behavior. The
neighbors also offered evidence that the house has been operated as a fraternity house for
approximately one year. Testimony was also given by citizens, who do not live or own property near
the site, about the history of this particular fraternity. The fraternity previously had a use permit for a
house on Palm Street. After several complaints and review hearings, the Planning Commission revoked
that use permit. On appeal, the council took no action on that use permit because the fraternity was
moving out.
Based on public testimony, the Planning Commission found the use incompatible with the neighborhood
and a threat to the health, safety, and general welfare of persons living or working nearby and denied
the use permit.
The fraternity appealed to the Planning Commission’s denial of their use permit.
September 19, 1989: The City Council overturned the Planning Commission’s denial and granted a use
permit with strict conditions.
r MEETING DATE:
City Of San LUIS OBISPO i 9-19-89
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
ITEM NUMBER:
FROM: Randy Rossi, Interim Community Development Director By: Judith Lautner,k
SUBJECT:
U1449B: Appeal of the Planning Commission's action denying a use permit to allow a
fraternity house near the northeasterly corner of Foothill Blvd. and Ferrini Road.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt a resolution upholding the Planning Commission's action and denying the appeal.
BACKGROUND
Discussion
The applicants have been living at the site for more than a year, and for most of that
time operating as a fraternity without a use permit. The city received complaints about
the use in August 1988 and requested the fraternity to make an application. The
fraternity responded in a letter (attached) that they were preparing an application.
After several months passed and no application was received, and after receiving
additional complaints that the apartments at the site were continuing to be-used as a
fraternity and that the behavior of the residents was objectionable to the neighbors, the
City Attorney cited the residents for a zoning violation. The court heard the case in
April 26, 1989, and fined the members for operating as a fraternity without a use permit
and placed it on probation for one year. One requirement of that probation was that the
fraternity apply for a use permit within 30 days of the April date. The applicants
applied on June 6, 1989, about six weeks after the judge's action. The Planning
Commission held a public hearing on the use permit on August 9, 1989.
The site contains two apartments separated by a garage. The use permit application
includes plans to remodel and add to the apartments, and to construct a parking lot at
the rear. The site and remodelling plans, along with the applicants' proposal to house
twelve occupants at the site, meet the city's zoning regulations for parking and
occupancy.
The Planning Commission heard testimony from several neighbors and owners of adjacent
property. Much of the testimony related specific problems, caused by the fraternity
members, with parking, noise, and disruptive behavior. The neighbors also offered
evidence that the house has been operated as a fraternity house for approximately one
year.
Testimony was also given by citizens, who do not live or own property near the site,
about the history of this particular fraternity. The fraternity previously had a use
permit for a house on Palm Street. After several complaints and review hearings, the
Planning Commission revoked that use permit. On appeal, the council took no action on
that use permit because the fraternity was moving out.
Based on public testimony, the Planning Commission found the use incompatible with the
neighborhood and a threat to the health, safety, and general welfare of persons living or
working nearby, and denied the use permit. Staff is recommending that the council uphold
the commission's action by denying the appeal.
111111111 ll1 I "J (
MEETING DATE:
Nia;
pa l c o san'iuis oBispo
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
nEM NUMBER:
Page 2
SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS
The proposed use is categorically exempt from CEQA (Class 1, section 15301): The project
includes an addition to existing structures of not more than 50% of the existing floor
area, or more than 2500 square feet.
CONSEQUENCES OF NOT TAKING THE RECOMMENDED ACTION
If the council upholds the appeal, the fraternity use permit will be granted, with or
without conditions limiting the use.
Data summary
Address: 720 and 726 Foothill Blvd.
Applicant: Alpha Upsilon Fraternity, Inc.
Representative: Scott C. Moran; Appellant: Jens Wessel, President, Alpha Upsilon
Property owner: Alpha Upsilon Alumni Corporation
Zoning: R-4
General plan: High-density residential
Environmental status:Categorically exempt - Class 1, section 15301: project includes
an addition to existing structures of not more than 50% of the
existing floor area, or more than 2500 square feet.
Project action deadline: January 28, 1990
Site description
The site is a large (11,375 square feet) L-shaped lot containing two one-story apartment
buildings, connected by a garage. The buildings are set back about 17' from the front
property line. Most of the front yard is taken up by asphalt, used for parking. The
rear yard is fenced, and contains a small concrete pad and grasses. The site is
essentially surrounded by apartments on three sides, and is across the street from a
shopping center.
Proiect description
The project is to be done in two phases: In phase one, the garage would be removed, a
parking lot for twelve cars would be constructed behind the apartments, and the
apartments would be remodelled to provide six bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and
kitchen. In phase two, the buildings would be remodelled again, and an upper floor
added. The end result would be a building with six bedrooms, five bathrooms, two
kitchens, a "chapter room" and living room.
PREVIOUS REVIEW
The Planning Commission reviewed this request on August 9, 1989, and denied it, based on
the following findings:
1. The proposed use will adversely affect the health, safety, or welfare of persons
living or working on the site or in the vicinity.
MEETING DATE:
city of San tuts OBispo ITEM NUMBER:
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORTU1449b
Page 3
2. The use is not appropriate at the proposed location and will not be compatible with
surrounding development.
Staff's recommendation to the Planning Commission was to approve the use for residential
use and small meetings only, given that the site could meet ordinance requirements. At
the commission's hearing, however, public testimony as to recent fraternity actions,
including rush activities, noise, disruptive behavior, unauthorized use of private
parking.spaces, and continuing lack of maintenance of the property, convinced staff that
the fraternity use is not compatible with the neighborhood. Anticipating heightened
fraternity use if this permit is approved, staff, therefore, concurs with the Planning
Commission's action.
EVALUATION
Staff suggests the council consider-
1.onsider1. Occuoancv requirements. The zoning regulations set limits on the number of persons
that may live in group housing. The maximum number allowed in the R-4 zone is 55
persons per acre. The maximum allowed on this site, then, is
11,375 square feet/43,560 SF per acre = 0.26 acre
0.26 acre X 55 = 14
The applicants want to have twelve residents. The occupancy limit is therefore not
exceeded.
2. Parking requirements. The zoning regulations require one space per 1.5 residents, or
1.5 spaces per bedroom, whichever is greater, for this use. The requirement,
therefore, is
1.5X6 = 9 or 12/1.5 = 8
Therefore, the parking requirement is 9 spaces.
The applicants propose to construct 12 spaces on the lot. Therefore, the requirement
is met, and would be met with the maximum occupancy of 14, also. Parking for large
gatherings is not available, however. This topic is discussed further below, under
meetings".
3. Meetings, The applicants want to use the house for general membership meetings and
special events. Staff is concerned with this part of the request for two reasons:
Noise and objectionable behavior. Any large gatherings are likely to cause
noise problems for the neighbors (and already have). Parties where alcohol is
served often result in situations that cannot be controlled by the fraternity
leaders, and are disturbing to the neighborhood.
Parking. On-site parking will be provided for the residents. Three
additional spaces will be available as well. However, there is not adequate
parking either on-site or nearby for large gatherings.
111 I1111I111 I f
MEE nNG DATE:
Mi;
I I ICl O San lUl S OBISPO
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
Imo"NUMBER:
Page 4
At the Planning commission hearing, the fraternity representative said that the
parking lot across the street (Foothill Plaza) has been used for parking for large
gatherings. No permission from the shopping center's owner; nor any city approvals,
have been requested or granted for this use. Neighbors of the site expressed
concerns with the safety of visitors crossing Foothill Boulevard, even if such an
arrangement were approved. Some of the neighbors noted that their parking lots have
been used for fraternity members and guests without their permission.
For these reasons, staff cannot support using the house for general membership
meetings or large parties.
4. Neighborhood nrosram. The Planning Commission, in its approval of three sororities
in the recent past, and of one fraternity, has required "neighbor relations plans".
These plans include a requirement to distribute telephone numbers of responsible
persons to all neighbors surrounding the house, and for announcements to these
neighbors of all special and regular events. Staff recommends that if the council
approves the use permit, such a plan be required in this case, as the site is
surrounded by high-density development. A copy of such a plan, approved for a
sorority, is attached.
5. Existing buildings. At present, the site contains two apartments, separated by a
garage adequate for one car. The residents park their cars on the paved front yard.
Including the garage and the concrete area in front, there may be space available at
present for two legal parking spaces, in tandem. The paved area is not approved for
parking. Staff has been unable to determine when the paving was installed, but notes
that parking in the streetyard is not allowed. The present condition therefore does
not meet the parking requirement for a fraternity.
If the use permit is approved, staff recommends a condition be attached that the use
permit will not be effective until phase one of the project is complete. Until that
time, the buildings may be used as residences only.
ALTERNATIVES
1. The council may deny the request, as recommended by staff and the Planning
Commission, if it makes findings to support a denial.
2. The council may approve the use, subject to conditions suggested by staff or with
modifications to those conditions. Staff suggests that if the council prefers to
approve the use with regular chapter meetings at the house, the council should add
the following:
Conditions:
a. The applicant shall submit a parking management plan to address parking for
large gatherings, to the approval of the Community Development Department
staff. Failure of members of the fraternity and invited guests to adhere to the
approved plan may be grounds for revocation of this use permit. All group
gatherings involving more than 16 persons shall be held offsite until the
parking management plan is submitted to and approved by the Community
Development Director, and is in effect.
MEETING GATE:
111111111111110111 city Of San tins OBISPO
MEM
N"ACOUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
NU` `
U 1449B
Page 5
b. A maximum of 70 persons, or a lower number if so determined by the Fire Marshal,
may occupy the site at any one time. This occupancy limit shall be posted in
the building at a location satisfactory to the Fire Department.
C. This use permit shall be reviewed in one year. At that time, conditions may be
added or modified, or the use permit may be revoked.
3. The council may continue the request, if additional information is needed. Direction
should be given to staff and the applicants.
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a resolution upholding the Planning Commission's action denying the use permit, and
denying the appeal.
If the council chooses to approve the use permit, staff has attached a resolution with
suggested findings and conditions.
i'
Attached: Vicinity map
Draft resolutions
Applicant's statement
Letter from fraternity noting intent to file use permit application
Planning Commisssion minutes - August 9, 1989
Appeal
Sample neighbor relations plan
JL7:u 1449cc
1
i
RESOLUTION NO. 1989 Series)
A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO
DENYING AN APPEAL AND UPHOLDING THE PLANNING COMMISSION'S ACTION
DENYING A USE PERMIT FOR A FRATERNITY AT 720 - 726 FOOTHILL BOULEVARD
BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of San Luis Obispo as follows:
SECTION 1. Findings That this council, after consideration of the use permit
request U 1449B, and the Planning Commission's action denying that use permit, staff
recommendations and reports thereon, makes the following findings:
1. The proposed use will adversely affect the health, safety, or welfare of persons
living or working on the site or in the vicinity.
2. The use is not appropriate at the proposed location and will not be compatible with
surrounding development.
SECTION 2. The request for approval of the appeal and use permit "request U 1449B is
hereby denied.
On motion of seconded by
and on the following roll call vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
the foregoing resolution was passed and adopted this day of
1989.
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk
Resolution No. 1989 Series)
U 1449B
Page 2
APPROVED:
City dministrative Officer
City Attorne
Community Development Director
JL7:res l 449
RESOLUTION NO. 1989 SERIES)
RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS
OBISPO APPROVING AN APPEAL OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION'S
ACTION DENYING A USE PERMIT TO ALLOW A FRATERNITY
AT 720 AND 726 FOOTHILL BOULEVARD (U1449B)
BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of San Luis Obispo as follows:
SECTION 1. Findings. That this council, after consideration of Public Testimony,
the use permit request• U 1449B, and the Planning Commission's action denying that use
permit, staff recommendations and reports thereon, makes the following findings:
1. The proposed use will not adversely affect the health, safety, or welfare of persons
living or working on the site or in the vicinity.
2. The use is appropriate at the proposed,location and will be compatible with
surrounding development.
3. The proposal conforms to the general plan and meets zooning ordinance requirements.
4. The proposed use is exempt from environmental review.
SECTION 2. The appeal is granted and use permit request U 1449B is hereby approved.
SECTION 3. That approval of the use permit shall be subject to the following
conditions:
Conditions:
1. This use permit shall not take effect until "phase one" improvements have been
completed and accepted by the city.
2. Occupancy shall be limited to the Alpha Upsilon fraternity unless approved by the
Planning Commission.
3. No more than twelve people shall live at the house at any time.
4. The applicant shall allow the city to verify occupancy of the house by allowing an
inspection of the records or by a visual inspection of the premises. Any inspection
shall be at a reasonable time and shall be preceded by a one-hour notice to the
residents.
5. The site shall be.maintained in a neat and orderly manner, to the satisfaction of the
Community Development Department. All plant materials shall be maintained and
replaced as needed.
6. If a reasonable complaint, as determined by the Community Development Director, is
received in writing by the Community Development Department, the complaint shall be
referred to the Planning Commission for consideration at the commission's next
available meeting.
r i
Resolution No. 1989 Series)
U1449B
Page 2
7. The Chief Building Official and the Fire.Marshal shall inspect the structure for code
compliance.
8. Events, including meetings, parties, or any other gathering of more than 20 persons
on site, are prohibited. No events involving persons other than residents living on
this site are allowed between the hours of 10 p.m. and 9 a.m.
9. The applicant.shall institute and maintain a neighborhood relations program similar
to the attached Exhibit A. This plan shall include at least the following elements:
Annual training of all members in community relations.
A program to .inform neighbors of upcoming meetings at the fraternity house.
Submission of names and telephone numbers of responsible persons to the
Community Development Department and to the neighbors within two blocks of the
house. Responsible persons shall be available during all events and at
reasonable hours otherwise, to receive and handle complaints.
10. Events, including meetings, parties, or any other official fraternity function, shall
be listed on a meeting and activities schedule, submitted to and approved by the
Community Development Director in. the fall of each year. Exceptions to this schedule
must be approved by the Community Development Director. If the Director determines
the change is significant and may have an adverse impact on the neighborhood, then it
will be referred to the Planning Commission for consideration.
Evidence of implementation of said plan shall be submitted to the director for review
each year. Failure to implement said plan may be grounds for revocation of this
permit.
11. Failure to comply with any of the above conditions or code requirements, or the
conduct of the use so as to constitute a public nuisance or so as to cause adverse
impacts on the health, safety, or welfare of persons in the vicinity of this use is
prohibited and may, constitute grounds for revocation of this permit.
CODE REQUIREMENT
1. Greek letters shall be allowed on the building or fence in accordance with. the Sign
Regulations.
3- 9
Resolution No. 1989 Series)
U 1449B
Page 3
On motion of seconded by
and on the following roll call vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
the foregoing resolution was passed and adopted this day of
1989.
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk
APPROVED:
ity A nistrative Officer
V
City Attorne
Community Development Director
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Date: June 6, 1989
To:San Luis Obispo Department of Community Development
From: Scott C. Moran, Alpha Upsilon Fraternity
Subject: Use Permit application for Alpha Upsilon Fraternity to operate at
720 & 726 Foothill Boulevard.
Alpha Upsilon Alumni Corporation purchased the property located at 720 and 726
Foothill Boulevard in July of 1988 as a potential site for the fraternity to operate. Alpha
Upsilon Fraternity has thirty members and hopes to provide housing for 12 members on
the site. It is intended that the site serve as alocation for weekly General Meetings,
lasting approximately one hour on Sundays from 6:00 p.m. It is also intended that the
site will serve as a location for social events, approximately three to four times per
academic quarter. These social events would consist of In-House Members and invited
guests only and would not consist of"Open Parties".
The site is presently zoned R-4 and has neighboring lots consisting of medium to high
density housing and commercial properties. In order to facilitate the Use Permit process,
Alpha Upsilon Alumni Corporation has plans to demolish a portion of one building (a
garage) in order to gain access to the backyard for parking. There are also plans to
rennovate the interiors of the existing buildings. The parking lot and the rennovations are
the first part of a two phase plan. The second phase would add a second story and further
rennovate the buildings to thier completed form. Attached are the preliminary drawings
of each phase.. The working drawings are being done by a local architect, named Robert
Richmond.
We are eager to obtain a Use Permit and will do all we can to contribute to making the
process as smooth as possible.
Thank You,
t
Scott C. Moran
Housing Task Force Chairman
Alpha Upsilon Fraternity
The following is a list of the people representing Alpha Upsilon Fraternity in the
application process:
Scott Moran Alpha Upsilon Housing Task Force Chairman
Jens Wessel Alpha Upsilon President
Donald Kahn Alpha Upsilon Alumni Corp. Board of Directors
Robert Richmond Architect
Alpha Upsilon Fraternity Use Permit Application
f
The following is a list of neighboring lots of 720 & 726 Foothill Boulevard:
East
730 Foothill Blvd.
Single Family Residence (Rental-Students)
West
710 Foothill Blvd.
8-Unit Apartment Complex
North
140 Ferrini St.
22-Unit Apartment Complex
772 Foothill Blvd.
8-Unit Apartment Complex
South (Across Street - Foothill Blvd.)
Luckyfrhrifty Shopping Center
X3-/3
o
To RLY RC ZUer
ejcr Al2MPejJI1,A (aA2Dt
October 3, 1988
City of San Luis Obispo RECCENED
Planning Department
990 Palm St. OCT Z
San Luis Obispo,Ca 93401 C.ty cf Se Ly}UMaOo
Cor..'vr:-.y Cevetocrnem
Dear Planning Staff,
This letter is concerning Alpha Upsilon Fraternity's recent purchase of the property
located at 720 and 726 Foothill Boulevard. It has been our full intention from the start to
obtain a use permit to function at this property. This was also was a major factor in our
decision to purchase the property. We feel this location is ideal for a fraternity use due to its
zoning(R-4),proximity to Cal-Poly, and its relationship to surrounding properties. .
We have been actively working towards submitting a use permit application and
recently met with City Planning Director,Mike MultarL to discuss our possible options: Our
housing committee is currently consulting with architects on the development plans for this
parcel. In this process we hope to mitigate neighborhood concerns such as noise and parking.
There recently has been a great deal of concern over publications announcing rush
functions at this address. These flyers were printed before we realised all the problems with
holding fraternity functions at this location. This problem has been corrected,and we fully
intend to hold no functions at this address,
We are confident that we can work with the neighborhood and the city to mach a
positive solution for a fraternity use of the property. We will inform you of the progress on
our application, and we encourage you to call us with any concerns you may have.
Sincerely,
G'
Scott Moran
Vice-President
Alph Upsilon Fraternity
James Hendrickson
Housing Chairman
Alpha Upsilon Fraternity
J
DRAFT Planning Commission Minutes
August 9, 1989
3. Public Hearing: Use Permit U1449. Request to allow a fraternity house; 720 foothill
Boulevard; R-4 zone; Alpha Upsilon Fraternity, applicant.
Judith Lautner, Associate Planner, presented the staff report recommending approving of
the use permit with conditions limiting the use to residential with small meetings.
Vice-Chairman Crotser opened the hearing.
Scott Moran, 720 Foothill, applicant's representative, discussed the fraternity's
history, request, and the search for an appropriate site. He discussed the
Intrafraternity Council's procedures to handle complaints and regulate fraternal activity
and conduct. He discussed the specific.site plans.
Phillip Simon, 1510 Higuera, attorney representing Al and Elinor Bonin, discussed
neighborhood concerns about this group's behavior to date and the activities on site. He
distributed a petition of opposition, which cited concerns about increased parking needs,
activities, and gatherings, and traffic problems.
Al Bonin, 272 Del Mar Ct., discussed an increase in the amount of police calls to the
site and asked that the permit be denied. He noted that there are 10.2 apartments within
300 feet of the site and 41 more nearby.
Dennis Adams, 2020 Hope Street, was concerned about traffic, parking, and disruptive
behavior in the area.
Mary Gobel, 2766 Flora, was concerned about parking and noise problems, and the use of
loud, profane, language.
Vil Gillespie, Box 3, Rte. 298, San Luis Obispo, was concerned about increased traffic,
parking, and the incompatible use within the neighborhood. He said fraternity members
use his parking lot at 772 Foothill.
Kathryn Reed, 250 Ferrini, was concerned with traffic, parking, and loud. parties. She
felt the fraternity is too close to an existing sorority in the neighborhood.
Patrick Gerety, 793 Buchon, discussed the history of abusive behavior displayed by this
group and felt they have forfeited their right to operate in this city. He requested
denial of the permit and suggested referring the fraternity to the National Fraternity
Council or the Cal Poly Dean of Students for disciplinary action.
Terry Drinkard, 140 Ferrini #15, was opposed to the fraternity location and i.;,e use
permit request.
Kathryn Dinkard, 140 Ferrini #15, agreed that the request should be denied.
Elinor Bonin, 272 Del Mar Ct., discussed problems and complaints at her 140 Foothill
apartment complex.
DRAFT Planning Commission Minutes
August 9, 1989
Page 2
Sandy Gillespie, Box 3, Rte. 298, San Luis Obispo, felt the request should be denied
because the fraternity had operated without permits, had delayed the permit application
process, and felt the fraternity was setting an unfair precedent. She was concerned
about the non-cooperative attitude of the group.
Roy Hanff, 569 Lawrence, felt there had been several complaints about this fraternity
that had never been processed. He suggested a perf.o'rmance bonding process to protect
taxpayers and the community. .
Mr. Morin, in response to public comments, stated he felt it was unfair to judge the
present fraternity group on the past behavior of former members.
Vice-Chairman Crotser closed the public hearing.
Commr. Roalman. felt this use would affect the health, safety, and welfare of the
neighbors and supported a denial of the. permit.
Commr. Karleskint supported denial of the permit due to the impacted area and the
inappropriateness of the site, as well as the documented abusive behavior of this group
at this site in the recent past, and their apparent uncooperative attitude to date.
r
Commr. Kourakis was against the permit due to the incompatibility with the neighborhood
and the fraternity's disregard for the community rights.
Commr. Hoffman agreed with Commr. Karleskint.
Vice-Chairperson Crotser felt the land use of R-4 was appropriate and the the conditions
were reasonable. He allowed that it was a new membership filing the request but was
concerned about traffic, safety, and welfare, and neighborhood compatibility..
Commr. Karleskint moved to deny the use permit due to adverse health, safety, and welfare
concerns and neighborhood incompatibility.
Commr. Roalman seconded the. motion, Resolution No. 4092-89.
VOTING: AYES: Commrs. Karleskint,.Roalman, Hoffman, Kourakis, Crotser
NOES: None
ABSENT: Commrs. Schmidt, Duerk
The motion passes.
il ill ll ll I INN1 city of san luis OBISPO
990 Palm Street/Post Office Box 8100 • San Luis Obispo, CA 93403.8100
APPEAL TO CITY COUNCIL
In accordance with the appeals procedure as authorized by Title I . Chapter
1 .20 of the San Luis Obispo Municipal Code, the undersigned hereby appeals
from the decision of Tt UiLj Pu.1i 1 1C CU.IM15<'jQJ rendered
on A116UST C1 , 19:'`1.which decision consisted of the following (i.e.
set forth factual situation and the grounds for submitting this appeal.
Use additional sheets as needed) :
C
1n1 cvr.1 ixs u c.dr.>,s>,,,,y.Q) TL r
A410 vyFPuQu.i R C
The undersigned discussed the decision being appealed from with:
on
Appellant:
RlPHFE UASI1s-4.1
Name/Title
ry JQis P2EvEoRepresentative
AUG 1 £S
Address
I:ITi r!EF.F;
Lu:S CL15PO. CA
Phone
Original for City Clerk
Copy to City Attorney
2redr: Copy to City Administrative Officer
Co rtment(s) : 1
City Clerk T
i
TO: Judy Lautner DATE: October 7. 1986
FROM: Community Relations Committee,
Alpha Omicron Pi
SUBJECT: Community Relations Office and Committee. Community Relations Plan,
Meeting Information
I. Committee Relations Office and Committee - Neighborhood Plan
A. Co-chairs of Community Relations committee were appointed
September 29, 1986.
B. A Community Relations Committee of 7 members was formed. The
committee has established the following Community Relations Plan. . .
1 . Chapter Workshops
a. Community Relations Co-chairs will lead the annual work-
shops in the training of chapter members regarding community
relations.
1 . Meeting the neighbors.
2. Explanation of house rules and regulations. (eg. quiet
hours-, no alcohol , etc..)
3. Solicit recommendations for community projects and
workdays. (eg. window washing, ear washing, gardening)
4. Immediate contact available to neighbors regarding any
questions and concerns.
5. Immediate personal follovrup'in response to questions and
concerns. (eg. member of the chapter is dispatched from
the house to see neighbors in person.
6. Answer suggested questions and common concerns.
7. Neighborhood distribution of important information.
a.. Neighbors will be provided with phone numbers
of the House Manager, Chapter President, and
Chapter Advisor to answer to any concerns or
questions that may arise.
b. Neighbors will be provided a calendar of chapter
events each quarter. (eg. rush dates, presents,
special events)
c. Neighbors will r1ecd6ve follow-up notices one week
prior to each event.
8. A list of chapter members and their car license 9' s
will be made_ and kept at the house for any necessary
use.
EXHIBIT_ .
2
2. House Manager
a. One of the residents will be appointed House Manager.
She will have a variety of duties relating to the operation
and up-keep of the house.
b. House Manager will be an active member of the Community
Relations Committee and attend all meetings, which will
be held quarterly.
3. Community Service
a. Pledge Project
1 . During the fall quarter pledge period, pledges will be
expected to participate in a community project. (eg.
collection of newspapers/tin cans for recycling, neigh-
borhood car washing, weeding etc. )
2. Pledges will also participate in Workdays the first Sunday
of each month.
b. Good Neighbor Day
1 . All active members will participate in a Good Neighbor _
Day, which will be held in the spring quarter.
a. Services will include gardening., window washing and
other needed services.
b. Neighbors will be informed of community service days .
in advance to give them the opportunity to make
service requests.
4. Open House
a. Each fall quarter the chapter will host an open House
inviting the neighbors to become aquainted with the members
of Alpha Omicron Pi and express any 7uncerns that they may
have.
1 . House tour
2. Calendar events
3. Question/Answer session
4. Positive reinforcement and remedies to concerns.
5. Non-Compliance
a. Should a member be in violation of the agreed upon house
rules and regulations, there are penalty fines established
in the chapter's bylaws.
b. Alpha Omicron Pi bylaws provide for probation of a collegi1
member for failure to comply designated policies. Serious _
violation penalities include probation and suspension from
fraternal activities. bfT D
r
3
II. Meeting Information
A. Chapter Meetings-
1. Monday evenings between 6p.m. and 10p.m. Maximum number: 80
currently 50)
2. Nine to ten chapter meetings per quarter; no meetings during summer
or school academic holidays such as Christmas to New Years.
B. Leaders Council- Sundays preceeding Chapter Meetings between 4:30 and
6p.m. Maximum number: 10
C. Special Events:
1. Rush Practice: Maximum number:_ 50
M-F 9712, 2-5 1st week
r//
MJtl 9-12, 2-5 2nd week
M
2. Rush- end of WOW week
A
F 11:30 am-6 pm
S 11:30am-6 pm
000 r
S 12:00am-6:30 pm
M 7:00 pm-10:00 pm)
More formal events
T. 7:30 Dm-10:00 pm
i Maximum numbers: 50 members; 30-45 rushees per set. Members will
arrive a little earlier for .set-ups. Transportation is provided
for rushees by Panhellenic. They are brought and picked up by bus.
3: Open House for pledges and parents a Saturday in October, 1- 5 pm.
Maximum: 30-35
4. Overnight Retreat- Fall quarter- pledges only. Maximum: 30-35
5. Work Days: One Saturday per month approximently 10 am to 12 pm-
coordinated with community relations projects. Number of people
dependent on chores to be done.
Estimate: 30-40.
6. Other: Open Nouse for neighbors each quarter; open house for
visiting parents-Poly Royal. Neighbors to be provided with dates
and times of events quarterly.
CJ
7H7B1T D
0 Wn AGENDA
DATE ITEM #
To : San Luis Obispo City Council Date: Sept. 18, 1989
From : Alpha Upsilon Fraternity, Inc.
Jens F. Wessel, President
Re Request for contivance of our appeal of the City Planning Commission denial of
use permit application.
We respectfully request a continuance for our appeal hearing with the City Council.
Alpha Upsilon's legal council Mike Owens has an urgent matter to attend to and
therefore we cannot be properly represented. Thank you for your consideration.
Re7FWesselj
y Submitted By:
G OOOCOi 20 6343 09-19-89 i0
Je Pr&SC- 1 40.00
99999999999901
20 CASH ? TOTAL 1 40. 00
RECEIVE ®
SEP 1 8 146,,
C' CITY CLERK
SAN LUIS'OBISPO,CA
r
Denotes acbm by Lead Person
IdRespond
by:
I
CAO
e0ty Atty.
O'Clerk-orig.
OR. 7'fd.35f
n
CITY CLERK
lel WA
9EETING AGENDA
ITEM # -DATE
CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS REGARDIMC- 720-726 FOOTHILL EOULEUAP.D
July , .1968 Fraternity purchases property
located at 720- 726 Foothill Blvd .
2 units: 1-1 bdrm; 1-3 bdrm
No application for use permit .
August, 1SEB City receives complaint that the
premises may house fraternity .
August 22, 1989 Letter to Fraternity .from City:
A Planning Commission use permit
must be appro,:ed to allow a Fraternity
at this address . If you intend to
establish such a use, you or a local
representative must apply For this
use permit immediately . I have enclosed
materials for such an application . "
September-
October, lose Fall Push week activities including
house warming party , BBQ with live music,
jamboree, smoker, etc . announced
for week of October 6-12., 1SBB .
All activities on premises with
jamboree sole invite only event .
Announcements displayed all over Cal Pcly
campus with colorful posters
October 1 , 1988 Owners of adjacent apartments complain
to Community De-'elopment Department re:
failure of Fraternity to have proper use
permit .
October 'f, 1966 Letter to City From Fraternity . Mentions
recent" purchase of property (4 months) .
It has been our full intention From start
to obtain a use permit to function at this
property . " Mentions "working towards a use
0errotesaGionbyLeadPorson
permit application. "
ZRepond by:
ncil Addresses issue of Push week activities:
CAO
C ityAtty This problem has been corrected, and we
Orcl fully intend to hold no functions at th '
address. "
F.REC.EIY.
SEP 189 '/0p•1ti
Page three
AREAS OF CONCERN
Use permit should be denied, as the Following areas of
concern have not been properly addressed:
1 . INCREASED PARKING NEEDS: Although the Fraternity 's
proposed plan calls For the construction of additional on-site
parking, such parking would not be adequate for any gathering or
meeting involving persons other- than the residents of the
premises . Clearly, the neighboring on-street. parking will be
compromised by the increased demand caused by any such gatherings
or meetings . Although the Fraternity has agreed to limit its
social Functions on premises , the track, record of the Fraternity
to date, as delineated above, speaks For itself regarding the
fraternity 's ability to restrict its activities as promised . It
has even been . reported that some Fraternity residents and/or
guests have been utilizing the offastreet parking From the
adjacent apartment buildings presently to solve their current
lack, of sufficient on-site parking spaces. Curbside in Front of
premises is designated as red nc-parking zone.
2 . INCREASED TRAFFIC CONGESTION: This is an area of
high density residential housing, with three apartment complexes
adjacent to the fraternity premises . The conversion of two
residential units, to wit: 1-1 bedroom unit and 1-3 bedroom unit,
into a 12 person household, will surely increase the traffic Flow
in such high density area, even assuming the occupants do not
entertain others, which invariably will occur . Ferrini Street
has now been opened through to Highland Drive, creating a
shortcut to the Cal Poly campus . The increase in occupants, all
attending Cal Poly, will increase the traffic flow on Ferrini.
towards and back From Cal Poly, creating a thoroughFare out of a
small residential street.
3 . INCREASED NOISE: As can be seen From the events
which have taken. place to date, the Fraternity 's use of the
premises has increased the noise levels late at night and has
caused concern among neighboring residents.
Page four
f.LOITERING., ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION IN PUBLIC AND
INCREASED LIITER: The fraternity 's plans call for no
restrictions on loitering or alcohol consumption, or clean-up of
area after fraternity events . These are concerns of the
neighboring residents as it has been reported that certain
Fraternity residents and/or guests have been seen loitering about
the premises and neighborhood, drinking alcohol in public. view,
making lewd comments to persons visiting residents of the
neighboring apartments and leaving their garbage thrown• about.
The premises are in close proximity to a liquor stare, a bar and
a market where alcohol is sold.
S . UNDERAGE DRINKING: The fraternity 's plans call Por-
no supervision of activities to insure that alcohol consumption
is limited to persons over the age of 21 .
6 . USE NOT IPJ CONFORMITY WITH NEIGHBOP.HODD: This is a
residential neighborhood, with businesses to the east and a
shopping center. to the south across the street. Although- there
is a sorority on the next block, the alcohol use and noisy. party
atmosphere of a fraternity does not appear to exist there ..
There exists in close proximity to the premises in question over
100 apartment units, mostly family oriented, with elementary
school on next block. The party atmosphere of the fraternity, as
can be deduced from the events so far scheduled: by the -
Fraternity , does not coincide with the family oriented mature of,
the balance of the neighborhood.
7.THE FRATERNITY 'S APPEAL: The fraternity; through-
its president now complains that the decision of the planning--
commission
lanning_
commission was unfair and based on misleading inEormation whichn
condemned and unfairly represented them . It does appear- that thea
Fraternity and its officers have forgotten the fads.
Page five
On August 22, 1988, Judy Lautner, an associate planner
with the City , wrote the fraternity regarding the neighbors '
concerns about the fraternity functioning at the address without
a use permit . The fraternity responded on October 4, 1988
through its vice president, Scott Moran, who indicated, "there
recently has been a great deal of concern over publications
announcing rush functions at this address. These flyers were
printed well before we realized all the problems with holding
fraternity functions at this location. This problem has been
corrected, and we .fully intend to hold no functions at this
address" . Less than 3 days later, beginning October 6th and
continuing on October 9th, 9th, 11th, and 12th, functions were
held at this address. Still without a permit, the Fraternity
continued to advertise and actually held these functions, in
total contradiction to their written advisement to the City .
Certainly , these facts are not misrepresented .
Again in the spring, 1999, still without a use permit,
the fraternity held more functions &at this address . Still
without a permit, the fraternity advertised these functions.
This is not a misrepresentation, this is a set of facts.
As a result of these facts, the fraternity was cited
For a violation . The City Filed a complaint against the
Fraternity to force them to either cease and desist from holding
Fraternity functions at the address or obtain a use permit . The
fraternity was ordered by the Municipal Court of San Luis Obispo
County to comply with a term and condition of probation to apply
for a use permit within 30 days. The fraternity did not comply
with the court orders . This is not a misrepresentation, it is a
Fact . The fraternity filed for its permit later than as ordered
by the court. This is a fact, it is not a misrepresentation.
The use requested by the fraternity increases an already
impacted" neighborhood . This is not a misrepresentation, this
is a fact .
The only misleading information or information that has
been unfairly presented, appears to come from the fraternity and
its members.
C
Page Six
CONCLUSION
It is difficult to understand how the City Council can
approve a use permit for the fraternity which use permit does not
touch upon the issues presented herein, in light of the concerns
as expressed herein . It is requested that such use permit be
denied. It is also extremely difficult to understand how the
City Council would be willing to accept the Fraternity at its
word, in light of the failure of the fraternity to comply with
the City 's initial request For a use permit application, and in
light of the Fraternity 's Failure to comply with its own self
imposed restrictions after being notified of its violation of the
zoning ordinance and in light of the Fact that the Fraternity
Failed to comply with the court imposed probation condition .
In the event that the City Council would be inclined to grant
the use permit to the Fraternity , such action would be tantamount
to looking the other way regarding the Fraternity 's Full year of
occupancy without the proper use permit, in spite of the Fact
that the current application was filed only after the Fraternity
was ordered to do so as a condition of probation, after
successful prosecution of the zoning violation initiated by the.
City after receiving complaints From neighboring residents
regarding the Fraternity 's activities.
j,ll ly.+.`,s511!,H.,ai I li•,III'
Ih city of sAn luis OBISPO
990 Palm Street/Post Office Box 8100 • San Luis Obispo. CA 93403.8100
22 August 1988
Alpha Upsilon Alumni Corporation
96 W. Campbell
Campbell, CA 95008
SUBJECT: Use of property at 720 and 726 Foothill Blvd.
Dear AU Alumni representative:
Our records indicate that you own property at 720 and 726 Foothill Blvd. I visited the
property today, after receiving a complaint that a fraternity may be located there.
Nobody was home, but I noted fraternity-related equipment in the yard and in an open
storage room.
A Planning Commission use permit must be approved to allow a fraternity at this address.
If you intend to establish such a use, you or a local representative must apply for this
Jl
use permit immediately. I have enclosed materials for such an application. If the
property is not intended as a fraternity house, please let me know.
If you have questions about this, call me at (805) 549-7166.
Sincerely,
a I it,(-il/u
Judith Lautner
Associate Planner
enclosures
cc: Steve Schneider
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October 1. 1988
Community Development Dept.--Planning Division
990 Palm Street
San Luis Obispo, Ca. 93401
To Whom It May Concerns
r
As property owners adjacent to the recent ..purchase
of one parcel located at 720-726 Foothill Blvd, San Luis
Obispo by Alpha Upsilon Fraternity, we are concerned about
the activities which will inevitably be very disturbing
to our tenants. Particularly so will be the activities
that, according to their posters circulated on the Cal Poly
campus, will be extremely disruptive toward-the tranquility
of the neighborhood..
The planned activities as posted by the fraternity
will includes
1. Thursday, October 6. 8. 00 P.M. House Warming Party
2. Saturday, October 89 12.00 to 4.00 P.M. BBQ With Live Music
3. Saturday, October 89 8.00 P.M. Caribbean Calypso( exehange wi,
4. Sunday, October 99 AY Jamboree AX11Sororit;
5. Tuesday. October 119 8.00 P.M. Smoker
6. Wednesday October 129 8.00 P.M. Interviews
These fraternity .a_.etivities as currently planned with
undoubtedly more to follow in the future in an area that is
not in conformity With city codes and land use permits are
of grave concern to us.
The continued investigation by the City Community
Development Department into this situation is appreciated.
The Lanai Apar ants. 1Fe int SLO
Owners C'__xL 1#
lei de. J V Bonin
L 44- apld
inor K. Bonin
710 Foothill Apartments, SLO
Owners
Dennis A... Adams
772 Foothill A t n , LO
Owners'
Val Gij iespf a p.
Sandra Gillespie
C:
Sl i H LAUTNER
ate Planner To c,^,`LjrPlanningDivision
b'sl} I+c Cwt.
AaMOE.ILlli" !i V O t"A ClN2 1J
san tuts OBISPO Aa-wz Came
Community Deveio m neDartment•(805) 549-7166
990 Palm St.•P.O.Hox 8100•San Luis Obm=.CA 93403.8100
City of San Luis Obispo RECEIVED
Planning Department
990 Palm St. OCT ,8' 1988
San Luis Obispo, Ca 93401
X l'J•:U7YfG0
Dear Planning Staff.
This letter is concerning Alpha Upsilon Fraternity's recent purchase of the property
located at 720 and 726 Foothill Boulevard. It has been our full intention from the start to
obtain a use permit to function at this property. This was also was a major factor in our
decision to purchase the property. We feel this location is ideal for a fraternity use due to its
zoning(R-4),proximiry to Cal-Poly, and its relationship to surrounding properties.
We have been actively working towards submitting a use permit application and
recently met with City Planning Director,Mike Multari,to discuss our possible options. Our
housing committee is currently consulting with architects on the development plans for this
parcel. In this process we hope to mitigate neighborhood concerns such as noise and parldng.
There recently has been a great deal of concern over publications announcing rash
functions at this address. These flyers were printed before we realised all the problems with
holding fraternity functions at this location. This problem has been corrected,and we fully
intend to hold no ftmctions at this address.
We are confident that we can work with the neighborhood and the city to reach a
positive solution for a fraternity use of the property. We will inform you of the progress on
our application,and we encourage you to call us with any concerns you may have.
Sincerely.
G
Scott Moran
Vice-Presideat
Alph Upsilon Fraternity
James Hendrickson
Housing Chairman
Alpha Upsilon Fraternity
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SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY MUNICIPAL COURT
ENTRY OF GUILTY/NO CONTEST PLEA - CASE NUMBER: M0001?8250
VS 7 COURT:
ALPHA, UPSILON / 001 DATE: TIME:
BE OF GOODOB Y ALL LAWS: CITY, COUNTY, STATE AND FEDERAL.
OBEY ALL LIKE VIOLATIONS.
NOT DRIVE UNLESS P'ROP'ERLY LICENSED TO DO SO / AND INSURED.
NOT DRIVE W/B.A. OVER .00%.
SUBMIT TO CHEMICAL TESTING UPON DEMAND OF ANY PEACE OFFICER OR
PROBATION OFFICER.
PAY FINE IN AMOUNT AND MANNER INDICATED ABOVE.
SERVE DAYS IN COUNTY JAIL INDICATED ABOVE.
ATTEND TRAFFIC SCHOOL DWI (FIRST OFFENDER) PROGRAM
S.. 7 ECOND OFFENDER) i T—ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS.
THEFT OFFENDER PROGRAM ASSAUETTVE-BEHAVIOR PROGRAM
SUB= PROOF OF ENROLLMENT WITFfIN— DAYS.
SUBMIT PROOF OF COMPLETION WITHIN DAYS/MONTHS.
MAKE RESTITUTION THROUGH PROBATION DEPARTMENT AS DIRECTED FLUS 10%
COLLECTION FEE.
DRIVING PRIVILEGE SUSPENDED MONTHS/YEARS.
DRIVER'S LICENSE RESTRICTED DAYS/YEARS TO DRIVING ONLY
TO AND FROM WORK IN CUUR=OF EMPLOYMENT
TO AND FROM TREATMENT PROGRAM
NOT DRIVE IN VIOLATION OF LICENSE RESTRICTION.
PERFORM HOURS OF VOLUNTEER COMMUNITY SERVICE, PROOF OF
COMPLETIMT-QZTgnT- DAYS.
REPORT TO PROBATION OFFICER AS DIRECTED.
NOT CHANGE EMPLOYMENT RESIDENCE OR LEAVE COUNTY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO
OR STATE OF CALIFORNIA WITHOUT FIRST OBTAINING PERMISSION OF THE
PROBATION OFFICER.
SEEK AND MAINTAIN EMPLOYMENT, OR ENROLLMENT IN SCHOOL.
COOPERATE WITH THE PROBATION OFFICER IN FLAN FOR TREATMENT.
NOT USE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES OR FREQUENT PLACE WHERE SALE OF SAME IS
PRINCIPAL BUSINESS.
NOT USE OR POSSESS ANY CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES.
SUBMIT UPON DEMAND OF ANY PEACE OFFICER OR PROBATION OFFICER TO SEARCH
OF PERSON PERSONAL PROPERTY RESIDENCE AND/OR VEHICLE OWNED OR BEINGOPERATEDAYDEFENDANTWITHOUTWARRANTANDWITHOUTNOTICETOLOOK
FOR
pALL TERMS AND CONDIT ON$ TO MAI IN FULL FORCE AND EFFECT.
OTHER L
ULt
ABIDE BY SA E.
DEFENDANT Z ATTORNEY
LSL150-RO
END OF EPORT
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY MUNICIPAL COURT
ENTRY OF GUILTY/NO CONTEST PLEA - CASE NUMBER: M0001882510
THE PEUPLF_ OF THE STA ENT
VS COURT:
ALPHA, UPSILON / 001 DATE: , / TIME:
001 sl=mbtllret. l
JUDGE: J CLERK: _
PROSECUTOR Gum• llactkz 1§1DEFENDANT PRESENT
DEFENSE COUNSEL: %iC/'l97 L0 7/ 1. DEFENDANT NOT PRESENT
COURT REPORTER: INT TYPE: NAME:
REV=SLCR CASE-$ 0020LILI-ENLIANI IN
ON
MO ES AN CO T ORDERS COMP INT MENDED LkoEFENDANTMOVESTOWITyXiRAWPREVIOUSF A AND/OR PLEADSfOCONTESTT0: o?o?,//p a/C 7 /Ivy ,?-tZ0 yiL%
COURT DISMISSESUOURT Tl`UN Ul- IrA/UUUKI-OA
GROUNDS OF
PRIOR ALLEGED i D STRICKEN ON GROUNDS
DEFENDANT ADMITS VIOLATrW OF PROBATrON AND WAIVES HEARING—,—
STIPULATES
EARIN ,
STIPULATES TO PROBABLE CAUSE.
DEFENDANT 'ADVISED RE VC SECT. 2310 :.5 CONSEQUENCES. COURT FINDS VC2310c:
ALCOHOL RELATED. DISTRICT ATTORNEY FILES FORM TO SUBSTITUTE CHARGES.
FINDINGS AND PROBATION REFERRAL
PLEA OF GUILTY AND WAIVER OF RIGHTS AND ORDERS" FORM FILED.
DEFENDANT ADVISED OF AND WAIVES RIGHT TO JURY TRIALCONFRONTATION
AND SELF INCRIMINATION AS MORE FULLY SET FORTH ON FACE-SENTENCE VOI'k
DIRE AND FINDINGS ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE.
DEFENDANT DOES NOT WANT COUNSEL. AFTER INQUIRY COURT FINDS DEFENDANT
KNOWINGLY AND VOLUNTARILY WAIVES RIGHT TO COUNSL HAVING BEEN ADVISED
OF DANGERS PITFALLS AND DISADVANTAGES OF SELF REPRESENTATION, AND
RIGHT TO APPOINTED HUNSEL IF INDIGENT.
DURT FINDS FACTUAL BASIS FOR PLEA(SUILTY ON PLEA OF NO CONTEST.
COURT FINDS DEFENDANT IN VIOLATION 0 ATION.
MATTER REFERRED TO PROBATION DEPARTME T OR PRE-SENTENCE REPORT.
PRE-SENTENCE INVESTIGATION REPORT DETERMINATION OF RESTITUTION.
COURT FINDS DEFENDANT ABLE TO PAY COSTS—ITF APPOINTED COUNSEL IN THE
AMOUNT OF $
COURT FINDS TO PAY JAIL FEES OF $ PER DAY.
DEFENDANT/COUNSEL WAIVES STATUTORY TIME FOR PRONUUMLLMLNI tyr JUDGMENT.
COURT READ AND CONSIDERED THE PROBATION REPORT. DEFENDANT STATES
HE/SHE HAS READ REPORT.
EFENDANT/COUNSEL STATES THERE IS NO LEGAL CAUSE WHY JUDGMENT SHOULD
v NOT NOW BE PRONOUNCED.
FINE
FINE (C/T S DAYS @ $30/DAY) SUSPENDED.
DUE BY IF ACCOUNTING FEE %T57T30
I S OF $ PER MONTH
BEGINNING UNTIL PAIIfTA-FU=.
FORTHWITH ONE DAY FOR EACH $30.
OF FIRE-SUSPENDED FOR EACH HOUR OF COMMUNITY SERVICE SHOWN.
DEFERDANT TO SERVE TIME IN LIEU OF FINE.
PROBATION GRANT / COMMITMENT
PROBATION REVOKED REINSTATED MODIFIED TERMINATED
EXTENDED=
IMPOSITION= SENTENCE SUS
i1--5QF
YEARS/M814fomc.
CONDITIONAL SENTENCE FOR ISED PROBATION.
DAYS IN CUSTODY SUSPENDED.
DAYS IN CUSTODY (C/T/S DAYS) FORTHWITH
SERVE CONSECU DAYS IR=STODY.
STAY OF LALLUTIUN UNTIL AT M.
NEXT EVENT: COURT. ATE' TIME:
DEFENDANT IN CUSTODY, BAIL SET AT $RELEASED OR/BAIL
m.. 4 -nL
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY MUNICIPAL COURT
MISDEMEANOR ARRAIGNMENT MINUTE ORDER - CASE NUMBER: M000138250
VS COURT: SLD BRANCH - DIV. A
ALPHA, UPSILON / 001 DATE: 04/26/89 TIME: 0900
Vol 777 2zz, L
JUDGE: CLERK:
PROSECUTOR:
y,
L `IiEFENDANT PRESENT
DEFENSE COUNSEL: //l,// e 1'
pp /.>
Zd
w! %
DEFENDANT NOT PRESENT
COURT REPORTER: c J INT TYPE: NAME:
6/
DEFENDANTL'UST .
DEFENDANT FAILED TO APPEAR COURT ORDERS THE DEFENDANT'S
OWN RECOGNIZANCE RELEASE REVOKED PROBATION REVOKED
BAIL FORFEITED NO FURTHER PROCEEDINGS.
CD RT ORDERS BENCH/ARREST WARRANT ISSUED—FOR DEFENDANT'S ARREST.
BAIL SET AT $POST & FORFEIT / MANDATORY APPEARANCE NO O.R.
WARRANT ORDERErl- ALLED//SET ASIDE.
BA L1#RDERED R T.
iD/
E ETED WIT TS F $
D FE A T IS INFO ED IN OPEN COURT OF THE RIGHTS SFO N
CASE NO. ARN 001/ADMONITION OF RIGHTS ON FILE AND INCORPORA ED
HEREIN BY REFERENCE.
DEFENDANT STATES HE/SHE UNDERSTOOD.
DEFENDANT ADVISED OF RIGHT TO PROBATION HEARING - PC1203.2(B) .
INDIVIDUAL ARRAIGNMENT
DEFENDANT APPEARING IN PROPRIA PERSONA GIVEN COPY OF COMPLAINT,
STATES TRUE NAME COMPLAINT AMENDED ACCORDINGLY.
DEFENDANT ADVISED OF THE CHARUES AND CONSEQUENCES, HAVING WAIVED
READING OF COMPLAINT.
PUBLIC DEFENDER APPOINTED DENIED BECAUSE DEFENDANT
HAS SUFFICIENT MORET-13R PROPERTY M-RETAIN COUNSEL.
IT APPEARING THERE IS A CONFLICT, ATTORNEY IS APPOINTED.
DEFENDANT DOES NOT WANT TO BE REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL. AFTER
INQUIRY THE COURT FINDS DEFENDANT KNOWINGLY AND VOLUNTARILY
ANDVESDISADVANTAGESHT
TO OOFSSELF-REPRESENTATION,
SED
ANDORIGHTGTOSAPPOINTEDS'
COUNSEL IF INDIGENT.
DEFENDANT INDICATESCD1CT L WILL BE OBTAINED. (
DEFENDANT APPEARING ITH Y COUNSEL WAIVES REA
COMPLAINT AND FURTH ORMATION OFA CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY
RIGHTS, AND ACKNOWLEDGES RECEIPT OF COPIES OF COMPLAINT AND DISCOVERY.
EFENDANT/ATTORNEY ENTERS PLEA OF:
GUILTY NO CONTEST
DENIES. PRIORS 19 DENIES ENHANCEMENT ALLEGATIONS
ATIWITTED VIOLATION OF PROBATION DENIES VIOLATION OF PROBATION
DEFENDANT WAIVES STATUTORY TIME FOR SENTENCING.
JURY TRIAL WAIVED BY:
DEFENDANT PERSONALLY DEFENSE ATTORNEY DISTRICT ATTORNEY.
COUNTS DISMISSED ON MOTION OF
DISTRICT AITURNEY/CUURT ON GROUNDS
DEFENDANT STIPULATES TO PROBABLE CAUSE VUH AKMt5l .
DEFENDANT MOVES TO BE RELEASED ON O.R. : GRANTED/DENIED.
MATTER REFERRED TO PROBATION DEPARTMENT (PC 1000/1000.6/ O.R. /
REPORT/PAIL REDUCTION/PRE-SENTENCE REPORT. )
DEFENDANT ORDERED TO BE BOOKED AND RELEASED WITHIN 7 DAYS.
DISCOVERY ORDER SIGNED AND FILED.
DEFENDANT REMANDED TO CUSTODY, BAIL SET AT $
RELEASED ON OWN RECOGNIZANCE / BAIL. (REV=S UW7. A3'E=890600^c0 )
NEXT EVENT: DATE: TIME: COURT:
LSL151-RO46 635
END OF REPORT
1 OS/81/89 SAN LUIS OBISPO MUNICIPAL COURT LSL094-8012 '
REPEATER SHEET
DEFENDANT CASE # FILING COURT PROBATION CHARGE PLEA/
DATE BEGIN/END DISP
ALPHA, UPSILON DOB= S= R= H=W=H=E=
M000138250 03/28/89 M1 SLMC17.02.030
x ac POSITIVE MATCHES
POSSIBLE MATCHES x x
635
1
JUDGE:
Please sign if O.K.
Please advise.
A ,t - 1-n,.. L _ _ _D (. d-01 cx.,d 1 '7.e)-?- . 030
7. Z o3 0A o,41w--
Ile
Thank You: Date-g' d
I
I
I
1
Office of the City At.t.orno\,
2 CI"rY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO
Vicki J . Finucane ( 107.9791
3 990 Palm Street
P.O. Box 8100
4 San Luis Obispo. CA 93403-8100
Telephone: (805) 549-7140
5
7
8 IN THE MUNICIPAL COURT OF THE: STATE OF CAL IFORttl'AL
9 COUNTY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO
10 SAN LUIS OBISPO 'RANCH
11
rr
12 THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.NO.
13 vs. 1 COMPLAINT-CRIMINAL
J1
1
14 ALPHA UPSILON. I Count 1
15 Defendant(s) .
16
17 VICKI J. FINUCANE. ACTING CITY ATTORNEY, of the San Luis Obispo City
18 Attorney's Office. complains and accuses defendant. ALPHA UPSILON. on
19 information and belief. of the crime described as follows:
20 Count 1 : On or about the 26th day of February. 1989. at and in the
21 City of San Luis Obispo. County of San Luis Obispo. State of California,
22 defendant did commit a misdemeanor, a violation of San Luis Obispo Municipal
23 Code §17.02.030 and §17.02.010. i .e. , did wilfully use or cause or permit to
24 be used a structure in the City of San Luis Obispo in violation of zoning
25 regulations, to-wit: use of 720 and 72G Foothill as a fraternity without
26 appropriate use permit. all of which is contrary to the statute in such cases
27 made and provided. and against the peace and dignity` of the People of the
28
C1 State of California. /
2 On this 1 /-riay of Murch. 1989. in the City ut' San Luis Obispo.
3 California. certify under penalty of perjury that r.he foregoing is true and
4 correct .
5
6
Vicki .1. Fin' ane
7 F.O. Box 8100
San Luis Obispo. CA 93403-8100
8
9
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1\
1
Office of the City Attorne%
2 (:ITY OF SAN LITS OBISPO
Vicki J. Finucane ( 1079791
3 990 Palm Street
P. 0. Box 8100
4 San Luis Obispo, CA 93403-81n0
Telephone: (805) 549-71,40
5
6
7
8 MUNICIPAL COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
9 COUNTY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO
10 SAN LUIS OBISPO BRANCH
11
12 THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE. OF CALIFORNIA. 0.
13 vs. DECLARATION IN SUPPORT
14 ALPHA UPSILON.
OF CRIMINAL COMPLAINT
15 Defendant(s) .
16
17 THE UNDERSIGNED hereby declares:
18 THAT I am now employed as a Police Officer for the CITY OF SAN LUIS
19 OBISPO, in the Courity of San Luis Obispo, State of California.
20 THAT an investigation has been conducted to determine if defendant.
21 ALPHA UPSILON, did commit the crime of MISDEMEANOR: violation of §17.02.030
22 and-.§ 17.449.010 of the San Luis Obispo Municipal Code (use of structure in
23 violation of zoning regulations) .
24 YOUR DECLARANT has reviewed the report of this investigation and
25 declares upon information and belief that the facts herein show probable
26 cause that the aforementioned fraternity did commit the hereinbefore stated
27 crime.
28
THE AVESTIGATION REPORT is WW"hed hereLo in Support or this
deciaratiun and is incorporatev by reference herein . your deciarant Lherefore
3 Mqumsts rhe issuance of a warrant or arrest, if der"nHant duns not appear
4 voluntarily in response to appearancQ letter .
5 1 declare under penalty "f p"rjury that An foregoing is true and
6 correct .
7 DATED: J. 2 7 1989 . San Luis Obispo. CQUornia.
8
9
DecFarant 1 . S . Parkinson
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2
San Luis Obispo PoliceTDepartment
DR 89060020
Report Date: 03-08-89 Report ID# 68654.A67867 IN 68654
Date. Time
SECTION OFFENSE DESCRIPTION OCC.ON: 02-26-89 12: 00
CO MISC CITY ORDINANCES or BTWN:
17.02.030 MC REPORTED: 03-01-89 14 :.29
FELONY ( ) MISDEMEANOR (X) TYPE OF REPORT OFFICE
CONNECTING REPORTS:
FIELD ( ) INF ( ) PHONE X3
DETAILS OF CRIME
MO: NIGHT TIME, LOUD NOISE
Motive: CREATE DISTURB, PARTY
Location: 720 FOOTHILL
Type Premises: SINGLE RES
Type Property:
Veh used by S/:
ADDITIONAL PEOPLE INVOLVED
CODE: V=Vict, W=Wit, C=Comp, P=Parent, G=Guardian, S -Subj , S=Susp
Code: RP Name: DOB-
1dr: CSZ SIA CAL-'
Age: Sex: Race: HP: ( ) WP:
Eyes: Hair: Wt: Ht: el /
Emp: OWNER APT COMPLEX A
g: 6ZB:cCode: W1 Name•
Addr: CSZ• SLO, CA
Age: 23 Sex: Race: HP: ( ) WP:
Eyes: Hair: Wt: Ht:
Veh; u -
Emp: APT MGR AW
Code: W2 Name
ry ----------
DOB:
Addr: CSZ: SLO, CA' i.P
Age: 21 Sex: Race: HP: ( ) WP: ,
Eyes: Hair: Wt: Ht:
Emp: APT MGR AKA:
The Details can be found on a Continuation Sheet attached to this report.
sor ID#RepoVting Officer(s) ID Assmt. Rep. O f. Signature
Parkinson,I. S. 6767 P
Assigned to: ID# Assmt. Date/Time Processed by D Clk
her action Yes No
spies to: DOJect3Ve _ Patrolle A$C Other SO/PD
Case Disp. Except _arrest Unfounded Active
SA JIS OBISPO DISTRICT ATTOI
PROMIS WITNESS LIST
SAN LUIS OBISPO POLICE DEPARTMENT CASE # : 89060020 D.A. #
LAW ENFORCEMENT WITNESSES
NAME: Parkinson, I. S.SLOPD 67867
OTHER WITNESSES
1 Name: DOB: Addr:
Sex: Race: HP: WP: CSZ : SLO, CA
WT RTS INT Y N SUBPOENA INSTR. R B 1 2 3 4 $
2 Name: DOB: Addr:
Sex: Race: HP: WP: CSZ SIA CA
T
WT RTS INT Y N SUBPOENA INSTR. R B 1 2 3 4 5
3 Name: DOB: Addr:
Sex: Race: HP: WP: CSZ SLO, CA
WT RTS INT Y N SUBPOENA INSTR. R B 1 2 3 4 5
OSAN LUIS OBISPO POLICE DEPARTMENT
CA0400600
CRIME REPORT
89060020
SOURCE:
On 3/1/89 at approx 1429 hrs, I was dispatched to 140 Ferrini #9,
regarding SUB/s at that location desiring to file a complaint
against nearby fraternity.
PROBABLE CAUSE STATEMENT.:
Upon arrival, I contacted the RP/ W/ and
W/ who is the property owner, and Vicky
and who are the property mgrs, stated they have
been having a problem with the fraternity Alpha Upsilon, located
at 720 Foothill. They stated they've had continuous noise
problems, party problems, and they are continually disturbing the
occupants of their apts. They stated they have talked with
numerous people regarding this problem which included talking to
the attorney, PD, Planning Dept, and City Council members. They
stated last time the fraternity had a rush week, they held all
their rush parties at their location, 720 Foothill. They stated
they talked about this with the City and the City stated they
would no longer be holding their parties there w/o a use permit.
stated last time they announced on their flyer that the
parties would be held at that location and subsequent to that
they complained to the City about it.
They said this time they got ahold of one of the rush bulletins
and it stated that the locations of the last 4 events would be to
be announced. He stated the first event that was marked to be
announced was Sunday, 26th, and that was held at the fraternity,
720 Foothill. They took several photos of that incident, and in
the photos showed rush signs on the lawn and beer signs
throughout the yard. He stated they were extremely loud,
partying and drinking throughout the night and later on the
evening took 2 kegs of beer and climbed over through their
property, leaving.
He stated that last night, Tuesday, 2/28, the event was noted to
be to be announced, was also held at the residence.
All 3 SUB/s stated this is an on-going problem and the fraternity
has found a way to circumvent the City's use permits and is still
having their fraternity rushes and parties at the residence. They
requested that a rpt be written and they strongly request a
Ocomplaint against the fraternity.
1
1
CSAN LUIS OBISPO POLICE DEPARTMENT
CA0400600
CRIME REPORT
89060020
I requested that Of. HUBBARD on night watch attempt to photograph.
any possible rush parties that evening. The reason for this was
they indicated on their flyer that they were intending to have
another one that evening. The following day I talked with Of.
HUBBARD who advised that there was a function happening at the
residence. He advised he observed SUB/s inside the residence and
2 SUB/s standing out front near the front door. He stated the
SUB/s out front were dressed in coat and tie and had some
clipboard and appeared to be checking off names as people
arrived. He stated there was no noise violation; however, he did
take several photographs from me of the event. The film was
retained by myself and submitted to Tech KLASEY for developing.
DISPOSITION•
Active. Submit to .City Attorney for complaint.
PARKINSON, 67867, AF, 3/8/891 1030 hrs
i
2
JUDITH LAUTNER
0.s ate Planner Planning Division Tp Fl /1r er
AV
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1Gfthi'
alii city of 62n,,
san Luis oBispo ffiucz CAIeF
Community Oevelopment Departm m•(805)549-7166
990 Palm St.•P.O.Box 8100•San Luis Obispo,CA 9340.9.8100
City of San Luis Obispo RcCEIVct7
Planning Department
990 Palm St. OCT a 1988
San Luis Obispo.Ca 93401
u.1twWc
Co^'ortr
Dear Planning Staff.
This lener is concerning Alpha Upsilon Fraternity's recent purchase of the property
located at 720 and 726 Foothill Boulevard. It has been our full intention from the start to
obtain muse permit to function at this property. This was also was a major factor in our
decision to purchase the properly. We feel this location is ideal for a fraternity use due to its
zoning(R-4),proximity to Cal-Poly,and its relationship to surrounding properties.
We have bees actively working towards submitting a use permit application and
recently met with City Planning Director.Mike Multari.to discuss our possible options. Our
housing committee is currently consulting with architects on the development plans for this
parcel. In this process we hope to mitigate neighborhood concerns such as noise and parking.
There recently has been a great deal of concern over publications announcing rush
functions at this address. These flyers were printed before we realised all the problems with
holding fraternity functions at this location. This problem.has been corrected.and we fully
intend to hold no functions at this address.
We are confident that we can work with the neighborhood and the city to reach a
positive solution fora fraternity use of the property. We will inform you of the progress on
our application.and weencourage you to call us with any concerti you may have.
Sincerely.
G
Scott Moran
Vice-President
Alph Upsilon Fraternity
r
James Hendrickson
Housing Chairman
Alpha Upsilon Fraternity
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UpGrS n.:'e=tIC a t i r cl the nr-j sE 1 i ound two me.r.,
process of. fwDvinj 5eE-r k ea over the apartment
fence. I aSl:led `171efll whtaL the wered.--.i-ng and they -aj d that
they wers '-Ip!-la pi and h-ad to take the ker's.
one PrCdLt:-G-d hi S P. e:lcjg,c: 1 z-xplained to therr, tt-.at
they Uiej.r terl-.1ty pralli.-:s on OLl.r pro,pert.,, ,
h a t i ,4 1 tenant=:nd that 'hev werea
r e s p a s=-I n C; T er: Asked tlhu.-m to re move the kegs From our
r cipert•,.-. r-p , Led could not: thev were
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and
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arried the kegs across
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17.02.010-17.02.050
Division I. Zoning Code B. Zone District Boundaries.
1. Boundaries between zoning districts gen-
erally follow lot lines or their extensions, phys-
Chapter 17.02 ical features, or contour lines, as noted on the
official zoning map. Boundaries adjoining
GENERAL PROVISIONS streets shall be assumed to follow the centerlines
of streets if such location becomes an issue in the
Sections: use of private property,as when a street is aban-
17.02.010 Title. doned. Zones which meet a street centerline
17.02.020 Purpose. shall not be considered "adjacent."
17.02.030 General requirement. 2. The location of boundaries which are not
17.02.040 Interpretation. readily determined by inspection of the official
17.02.050 General plan consistency—zone map shall be determined by the director.
Regulations interpretation and C. Conflict with Public Provisions. These
application. regulations are not intended to interfere with or
annul any other law or regulation. Where these
17.02.010 Title. regulations impose a restriction different from
This division shall be known and cited as the any other law or regulation,the more restrictive
zoning regulations of the city." (Ord. 941 § I shall apply.
part), 1982: prior code § 9201.1) D. Conflict with Private Provisions. These
regulations are not intended to interfere with or
17.02.020 Purpose. annul any easement, covenant, or other agree-
These regulations are intended to guide the ment between private parties. Where these reg-
development of the city in an orderly manner, ulations impose a restriction different from a
based on the adopted general plan, to protect private agreement, the provisions which are
and enhance the quality of the natural and built more restrictive or which impose higher stand-
environment,and to promote the public health, rds shall control.(Ord.941§ I(part), 1982:prior
safety and general welfare by regulating the use code§ 9204.5)
of land and buildings and the location and basic
form of structures. (Ord. 941 § 1 (part), 1982: 17.02.050 General plan consistency—
prior code§ 9201.2) Regulations interpretation and
application.
17.02.030 General requirement. The regulations codified in this title shall be
Land or buildings may be used and structures i nterpreted and applied in a.manner consistent
may be erected or altered only in accordance with the general plan.(Ord.941 § I (part), 1982:
with these regulations.(Ord.941§ I (part), 1982: prior code § 9204.1)
prior code§ 9201.5)
17.02.040 Interpretation.
A. Ambiguity. The director shall interpret
these regulations, subject to the appeal pro-
cedures of Chapter 17.66. Written requests for
interpretation shall be responded to in writing
within ten days and shall become part of the
permanent files of the community development
Jdepartment.
425 s Luis Obispo 7.94)
iu 4 I!Iiil lll hllul'li!!I 'I Cit sAn Luis oBispoy
6
990 Palm Street/Post Office Box 8100 • San Luis Obispo, CA 93403.8100
805) 549-7140
March 28, 1989
Scott Morar,
Vice President
Alpha upsilon Fraternity
720 Foothill Blvd.
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Re: Violation of Municipal Code §§. 17.02.030 and 17.02.010
Gentlemen:
This is to advise you that a compinint has been filed against the
Alpha upsilon Fraternity in the San Luis Obispo Municipal Court, Criminal
Division, for violation of the above-.referenced code sections. Your
arraignment has been scheduled for Wednesday, April 26. 1989, at 9:00 a.m.
in the Municipal Court. Division A. at 1050 Monterey Street. San Luis
Obispo. Please plan to have a representitive of Alpha Upsilon present at
that time.
Please cal1 if you have any. questions .
Very truly yours .
Vicki J. rucane
Acting City Attorney
VJF:sw
Enclosure.
cc: Municipal Court-Criminal Division
F-1 :arraign]
IIE, THE UNDERSIGNED REQUEST THAT - THE USE PER24IT FOR THEOALPHAUPSILONFRATERNITYBEDENIEDAT720 & 726 FOOTHILL BLVD.
AS RESIDENTS IN THE IMMEDIATELY AFFECTED AREA, idE ARE CONCERNED
THAT THE COMMISSION WILL GRANT THE USE PERI4IT WITHOUT FULL
CONSIDERATION AND AWARENESS OF THE POTENTIAL PROBLEMS OF
LOCATING THIS FRATERNITY IN AN ALREADY ESTABLISHED NEIGHBORHOOD.
WE ARE REQUESTING THE CITY TO CONTACT US INDIVIDUALLY OR WIT
A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE FRATERNITY PRESENT TO DISCUSS OUR CONCERN;
ALSO, 1,1E NEIGHBORS WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE FRATERNITY' S NEIGHBOR .
PLAN OR POLICY BEFORE THE USE IS GRANTED IF THE CITY COUNCIL AND THI
PLANNING COMMISSION GO AHEAD' WITH THE GRANTING. OF THE USE PERMIT.
WE ARE REQUESTING THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE PLANNING COMMISSIi
TO REQUIRE SOUND PROOFING OR SOME SORT OF SOUND BARRIERS ALONG THE
ADJACENT PROPERTY LINES TO KEEP THE NOISE FROM BOUNCING OFF THE
STUCCO WALLS- OF THE SURROUNDING APARTMENT HOUSES.
WE ARE REQUESTING THE PLANNING COMMISSION CONDUCT A STUDY OF
TRAFFIC FLOW SINCE CURRENTLY THE STREET AREA IN FRONT OF THIS SITEISAREDZONE.
C WE ARE REQUESTING THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE PLANNING COMMISSIC
LIMIT THE NUMBER OF INVITED GUESTS; LIMIT THE HOURS OF SOCIAL
FUNCTIONS SO AS TO NOT GO PAST 8P.M. ; RESTRICT THE SITE TO ONE SOCIAEVENTPERMONTH; REQUEST THE FRATERNITY TO PROVIDE THE CITY COUNCIL
AND THE PLANNING COMMISSION WITH ITS DETAILED POLICY OF HOW IT
INTENDS TO RESOLVE CONFLICTS WITH THE NEIGHBORS, HOW IT WILL
POLICE ITS SOCIAL EVENTS SO ONLY INVITED GUEST ATTEND; HOW IT
INTENDS TO KEEP THE NEIGHBORHOOD FREE OF LITTER AFTER THE PARTIES;
AND HOW IT INTENDS TO KEEP UNDERAGE PERSONS FROM OBTAINING LIQUOR
OR ALCOHOL AT ITS SOCIAL EVENTS.
WE BELItVE THESE ISSUES REMAIN AND HAVE NOT BEEN FULLY
ADDRESS BY THE APPLICANT OR ITS REPRESENTATIVES. AS SUCH ldE REQUEST_THE PERMIT BE DENIED.
NAME ADDRESS DATE
777
s-
OlLI-E PR p
140 Fai7-h 1 7
T e,,cl/ll f' 104', 1
NAME ADDRESS
C
DATE
G Sw-..(_ Yu i.c..t...t >" +f#'lZ SC . C-•- O —J d'-
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Cj, . lEc I I
WE, THE UNDERSIGNED REQUEST THAT 'THE USE PERMIT FOR THE
C' ALPHA UPSILON FRATERNITY BE DENIED AT 720 & 726 FOOTHILL BLVD.
AS RESIDENTS IN THE IMMEDIATELY AFFECTED AREA, IvT ARE CONCERNED
THAT THE COMMISSION WILL GRANT THE USE PERMIT WITHOUT FULL
CONSIDERATION AND AWARENESS OF THE POTENTIAL PROBLEMS OF
LOCATING THIS FRATERNITY IN AN ALREADY ESTABLISHED NEIGHBORHOOD..
WE ARE REQUESTING THE CITY TO CONTACT US INDIVIDUALLY OR WIT'
A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE FRATERNITY PRESENT TO DISCUSS OUR CONCERN!
ALSO, WE NEIGHBORS WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE FRATERNITY' S NEIGHBOR
PLAN OR POLICY BEFORE THE USE IS GRANTED IF THE CITY COUNCIL AND THI
PLANNING COMMISSION GO AHEAD' WITH THE GRANTING OF THE USE PERMIT.
WE ARE REQUESTING THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE PLANNING .COMMISSI(
TO REQUIRE SOUND PROOFING OR SOME SORT OF SOUND BARRIERS ALONG THE
ADJACENT PROPERTY LINES TO KEEP THE NOISE FROM BOUNCING OFF THE
STUCCO WALLS OF THE SURROUNDING APARTMENT HOUSES.
WE ARE REQUESTING THE PLANNING COMMISSION CONDUCT A STUDY OF
TRAFFIC FLOW SINCE CURRENTLY THE STREET AREA IN FRONT OF THIS SITE
IS A RED ZONE.
WE ARE REQUESTING THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE PLAN14ING COMMISSIC
LIMIT THE NUMBER OF INVITED GUESTS ; LIMIT THE HOURS OF SOCIAL
FUNCTIONS SO AS TO NOT GO PAST 8P ,M. ; RESTRICT THE SITE TO ONE SOCIA
EVENT PER MONTH; REQUEST THE FRATERNITY TO PROVIDE THE CITY COUNCIL
AND THE PLANNING COMMISSION WITH ITS DETAILED POLICY OF HOW IT
INTENDS TO RESOLVE CONFLICTS WITH THE NEIGHBORS, HOW IT WILL
POLICE ITS SOCIAL EVENTS SO ONLY INVITED GUEST ATTEND ; HOW IT
INTENDS TO KEEP THE NEIGHBORHOOD FREE OF LITTER AFTER THE PARTIES;
AND HOW IT INTENDS TO KEEP UNDERAGE PERSONS FROM OBTAINING LIQUOR
OR ALCOHOL AT ITS SOCIAL EVENTS.
WE BELItVE THESE ISSUES REMAIN AND HAVE NOT BEEN FULLY
ADDRESS BY THE APPLICANT OR ITS REPRESENTATIVES. AS SUCH WE REQUEST
THE PERMIT BE DENIED.
NAP4E ADDRESS DATE
eic
j'
Ir
S i
r
moi----
NAME ADDRESS DATE
G
C
OWE, THE UNDERSIGNED REQUEST THAT -THE USE PERMIT FOR THE
ALPHA UPSILON 'FRATERNITY BE DENIED AT 720 & 726 FOOTHILL BLVD.
AS RESIDENTS IN THE IMMEDIATELY AFFECTED AREA, 11E ARE CONCERNED
THAT THE COMMISSION WILL GRAIJT THE USE PER24IT WITHOUT FULL
CONSIDERATION AND AWARENESS OF THE POTENTIAL PROBLEMS OF
LOCATING THIS FRATERNITY IN AN ALREADY ESTABLISHED NEIGHBORHOOD.
WE ARE REQUESTING THE CITY TO CONTACT US INDIVIDUALLY OR WI]
A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE FRATERNITY PRESENT TO DISCUSS OUR CONCERN
ALSO, WE NEIGHBORS WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE FRATERNITY ' S NEIGHBOR .
PLAN OR POLICY BEFORE THE USE IS GRANTED IF THE CITY COUIICIL AND TE
PLANNING COMMISSION GO AHEAD' WITH THE GRANTING OF THE USE PL•RMIT.
WE ARE REQUESTING THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE PLANNING .COMMISS]
TO REQUIRE SOUND PROOFING OR SOME SORT OF SOUND BARRIERS ALONG THE
ADJACENT PROPERTY LINES TO KEEP THE NOISE FROM BOUNCING OFF THE
STUCCO WALLS- OF THE SURROUNDING APARTMENT HOUSES.
WE ARE REQUESTING THE PLANNING COMMISSION CONDUCT A STUDY OF
TRAFFIC FLOW SINCE CURRENTLY THE STREET AREA IN FRONT OF THIS SITE
IS A RED ZONE.
WE ARE REQUESTING THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE PLANNING COMMISSI
LIMIT THE NUMBER OF INVITED GUESTS ; LIMIT THE HOURS OF SOCIAL
FUNCTIONS SO AS TO NOT GO PAST 8P .M. ; RESTRICT THE SITE TO ONE SOCI:
EVENT PER MONTH; REQUEST THE FRATERNITY TO PROVIDE THE CITY COUNCII
AND THE PLANNING COMMISSION WITH ITS DETAILED POLICY OF HOW IT
INTENDS TO RESOLVE CONFLICTS WITH THE NEIGHBORS, HOW IT WILL
POLICE ITS SOCIAL EVENTS SO ONLY INVITED GUEST ATTEND; HOW IT'
INTENDS TO KEEP THE NEIGHBORHOOD FREE OF LITTER AFTER THE PARTIES;
AND HOW IT INTENDS TO KEEP UNDERAGE PERSONS FROM OBTAINING LIQUOR
OR ALCOHOL AT ITS SOCIAL EVENTS.
WE BELIEVE THESE ISSUES REMAIN AND HAVE NOT BEEN FULLY
ADDRESS BY THE APPLICANT OR ITS REPRESENTATIVES. AS SUCH WE REQUEST
THE PERMIT BE DENIED.
NAME ADDRESS DATE
7-8
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990 Palm Street/Post Office Box 8100 • San Luis Obispo,CA 93403.8100
APPEAL TO CITY COUNCIL
In accordance with the appeals procedure as authorized by Title I. Chapter
1.20 of the San Luis Obispo Municipal Code, the undersigned hereby appeals
from the decision of TWa uC 4 PL4+1-aj rendered
on AkkbUST cly.tgb9 which decision consisted of the following (i.e.
set forth factual situation and the grounds for submitting this appeal.
Use additional sheets as needed) :
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UAMIL
The undersigned discussed the decision being appealed from with:
on
Appellant:
Name/Title
RECEIVED Representative
AUG 1 8 19814 rte F' TF4 U_ awo
Address
CITY CLERK
5W4 _ 9?67-SAN LUIS 081SP0,CA
Phone
Original for City Clerk
Copy to City Attorney
lend red r: Copy to City Administrative Officer
CopyLto he foil Qwlndepartment(s)
City Clerk
1
From:Dietrick, Christine
Sent:Thursday, January 23, 2025 11:08 AM
To:kathie walker
Cc:Tway, Timothea (Timmi); Mezzapesa, John; Sandra Rowley; Carolyn Smith; Brett Cross;
Stewjenkins Info; Paul Allen; Karen Adler; Scott, Rick
Subject:RE: Prosecution of Illegal Fraternity Operations with SLOMC 17.22.010 and 17.02.030
Kathie, my office, along with other involved departments are exploring multiple enhanced enforcement options that I
believe may be more comprehensively effective than a “one off” misdemeanor prosecution approach, although that
certainly remains an available tool that is very much on the table. We are simultaneously seeking to obtain all
information regarding documented fraternity activities in our community that we believe are legally required to be
provided by Cal Poly.
I am not in a position to share the details of our strategic analysis or specific details of the next steps in our
enforcement plans at this stage, but please know we share your frustration with those organizations, landlords and
residents whose activities are adversely impacting our community and the peace and quiet enjoyment of their
neighbors. We will continue to enforce using available tools and resources to the greatest extent possible, while
continuing to explore more effective and comprehensive ways to bring conduct in the neighborhoods into compliance
with City codes and community civility expectations and in a manner that most efficiently and effectively deploys
limited resources.
In the meantime, it is helpful for you and others to continue sharing any information and documentation of conduct you
or other residents may be observing to support the case that certain homes in R-1 and R-2 areas are operating as
illegal fraternities. We appreciate the information you have provided to date, as well as your patience as we work
within existing resources to develop and implement the most effective available enforcement tools.
One thing I would like to explore is a centralized repository into which relevant information can be deposited to avoid
fragmented communication and inefficiencies related to multiple people receiving piecemeal communications,
information and documentation. Timmi, other involved Departments and staff and I can discuss that in greater detail
and circle back to you with ideas that may serve us all better. To that end, I have included Chief Scott on this
distribution.
Best,
Christine
Christine Dietrick
pronouns she/her/hers
City Attorney
City Attorney's Office
990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3249
E cdietrick@slocity.org
T 805.781.7140
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
The information contained in this e-mail message is intended only for the CONFIDENTIAL use of the
2
designated addressee named above. The information transmitted is subject to the attorney-client privilege
and/or represents confidential attorney work product. Recipients should not file copies of this email with
publicly accessible records. If you are not the designated addressee named above or the authorized agent
responsible for delivering it to the designated addressee, you received this document through inadvertent
error and any further review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication by you or anyone
else is strictly prohibited. IF YOU RECEIVED THIS COMMUNICATION IN ERROR, PLEASE NOTIFY US
IMMEDIATELY BY TELEPHONING THE SENDER NAMED ABOVE AT (805) 781-7140. Thank you.
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Wednesday, January 22, 2025 8:27 AM
To: Dietrick, Christine <cdietric@slocity.org>
Cc: Tway, Timothea (Timmi) <TTway@slocity.org>; Mezzapesa, John <JMezzape@slocity.org>; Sandra Rowley
< ; Carolyn Smith < ; Brett Cross < ; Stewjenkins Info
< ; Paul Allen < ; Karen Adler <
Subject: Prosecution of Illegal Fraternity Operations with SLOMC 17.22.010 and 17.02.030
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Hi Christine,
In 1989, the city attorney brought a case against an unpermitted fraternity house on
Foothill. Community Development, SLOPD, and the city attorney worked together and the
matter was resolved swiftly. In that case, the fraternity was operating in an R4 zone but did
not have a conditional use permit. A SLOPD officer submitted a sworn declaration and the case
was prosecuted for violation of SLOMC 17.22.010 and 17.02.030.
Can the same municipal code violation be used again, wherein a resident files a complaint with
SLOPD against a fraternity operating illegally in R1 and R2 residential zones? These illegal
fraternity operations have caused ongoing extreme disruptions to the neighbors for several
years. There is no way for the fraternities to get a conditional use permit because they are not
allowed to operate in R1 and R2 zones, but their operations in these neighborhoods is what is
so egregious and make it impossible to have the quiet enjoyment of our property.
I have attached the previous case. Please let me know how the residents living in Alta Vista
and Monterey Heights can use this process to hold illegal fraternity operations responsible, and
hopefully get some semblance of peace back in our lives.
This is a timeline of what happened back then. I've attached the Agenda from 1989 for your
reference.
3
This approach could be used in conjunction with obtaining the addresses of fraternity events
registered with Greek Life from Cal Poly. I submitted multiple records requests and was told
the information would not be disclosed for privacy reasons, which does not apply to this case
because the addresses do not give any personally identifiable information specific to a
particular student (FERPA). I prepared a response using case law to show that FERPA does not
apply to the addresses and Cal Poly responded that fraternities are "independent
organizations" not affiliated with the university, therefore the information will not be disclosed.
Cal Poly used the "catch-all" exemption without any reference to why it applies, despite the
requirement to do so as that exemption is narrowly construed.
The only way that Cal Poly will disclose the addresses is by filing a Writ of Mandate. I
researched this issue at the law library and prepared a Writ, though it's probably not great
because I'm not a lawyer, there is a lot of case law that supports the position that Cal Poly
must disclose those records. The fees and costs for filing a Writ when an agency wrongfully
withholds records are recoverable so Cal Poly would also have the financial burden of any fees
and costs expended. I'm not sure how that works with a public agency but that's how it works
for private individuals or the press.
Please let me know if the residents can move forward with complaints through SLOPD for
some of the more egregious fraternity operations, using the same method used in 1989.
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
Timeline:
July 1988: Alpha Upsilon Alumni Corporation purchased the property located at 720 and 726
Foothill Boulevard. It is two units: a one bedroom and a three bedroom. It is zoned R-4 which allows a
fraternity, but they did not apply for a conditional use permit.
August 1988: The City receives a complaint that it may be operating as a fraternity.
August 22, 1988: Judith Lautner, Associate Planner for the City, wrote to the fraternity: “A Planning
Commission use permit must be approved to allow a Fraternity at this address. If you intend
to establish such a use, you or a local representative must apply for this use permit immediately. I
have enclosed materials for such an application.”
September - October, 1988: Fall Rush week activities were announced for week of October 6- 12,
1988. All activities are to take place on the premises.
October 1, 1988: Owners of adjacent apartments complain to the Community Development
Department re: failure of the Fraternity to have proper use permit.
October 4, 1988: Letter to City from fraternity which cites recent purchase of property (4 months). “It
has been our full intention from start to obtain a use permit to function at this property. " Mentions
"working towards a use permit application.” Regarding the issue of Rush week events: “This problem
has been corrected and we fully intend to hold no functions at this address.”
October 6 –12, 1988: The fraternity continued to advertise and hold functions, in contradiction to their
written advisement to the City.
In the spring of 1989, still without a use permit, the fraternity held more functions at this address.
On March 1, 1989, SLOPD officer Ian Parkinson was dispatched to the fraternity location by the
adjacent property owners and manager. According to the police report, “All 3 subjects stated this is an
ongoing problem and the fraternity has found a way to circumvent the City's use permits and is still
having their fraternity rushes and parties at the residence. They requested that a report
be written, and they strongly requested a complaint against the fraternity.”
The Police Report was forwarded to the city attorney for a complaint to be brought against the
fraternity.
4
On March 27, 2989, Ian Parkinson provided a declaration in support of a criminal complaint against
Alpha Upsilon for violations of the SLOMC sections 17.02.030 and 17.22.010.
On March 28, 1989, a letter was sent to the fraternity by the City Attorney Vicki Finucane that said:
“Gentlemen: This is to advise you that a complaint has been filed against the Alpha Upsilon Fraternity
in the San Luis Obispo Municipal Court, Criminal Division, for violation of the above-referenced code
sections. Your arraignment has been scheduled for Wednesday, April 26. 1989, at 9: 00 a.m. in the
Municipal Court. Division A. at 1050 Monterey Street. San Luis Obispo. Please plan to have a
representative of Alpha Upsilon present at that time.”
The fraternity was ordered by the Municipal Court of San Luis Obispo County to pay a fine, comply
with the terms and conditions of probation, and apply for a use permit within 30 days.
The fraternity did not comply with the court’s order to apply for the use permit within 30 days but
applied for a use permit six weeks later, on June 6, 1989.
August 9, 1989: Planning Commission held a hearing for a use permit. The Planning Commission heard
testimony from several neighbors and owners of adjacent property. Much of the testimony related
specific problems, caused by the fraternity members, with parking, noise, and disruptive behavior. The
neighbors also offered evidence that the house has been operated as a fraternity house for
approximately one year. Testimony was also given by citizens, who do not live or own property near
the site, about the history of this particular fraternity. The fraternity previously had a use permit for a
house on Palm Street. After several complaints and review hearings, the Planning Commission revoked
that use permit. On appeal, the council took no action on that use permit because the fraternity was
moving out.
Based on public testimony, the Planning Commission found the use incompatible with the neighborhood
and a threat to the health, safety, and general welfare of persons living or working nearby and denied
the use permit.
The fraternity appealed to the Planning Commission’s denial of their use permit.
September 19, 1989: The City Council overturned the Planning Commission’s denial and granted a use
permit with strict conditions.
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Friday, January 31, 2025 3:00 PM
To:E-mail Council Website; Marx, Jan; Francis, Emily; Stewart, Erica A; Boswell, Mike
Cc:Sandra Rowley; Carolyn Smith; Brett Cross; Stewjenkins Info
Subject:SLO City Council Meeting 2/4/2025, Agenda Item 3.b.
Attachments:Fwd_ St. Fratty's Day - Student Account.pdf
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear Elected Representatives,
The City Council Agenda for 2/4/2025 lists an item called "March Safety Enhancement Zone Response
Plan Presentation" and does not specifically mention St. Fratty's Day or St. Patrick's Day, which is
confusing. Most non-college-student community members probably don't understand what a safety
enhancement zone means, however, they do know what St. Fratty's Day or St. Patrick's Day in SLO
means. Many community members will read the Agenda and not understand that the "Response Plan
Presentation" has anything to do with plans for St. Fratty's Day on Saturday, March 15th, or St.
Patrick's Day on Monday, March 17th.
A presentation by Cal Poly to address St. Fratty’s Day was discussed during the City Council meeting
on November 19, 2024, with the directive that Cal Poly present its plans to the City Council and the
community in early 2025.
The Agenda Item about the ‘safety enhancement zone’ is actually that presentation, referenced during
the City Council meeting on 11/19/2024, specifically related to Cal Poly’s preparations for St. Fratty’s
Day, a.k.a. the neighborhood street party on the Saturday before winter finals when college students
set their alarms for 3:17 a.m., quickly consume high amounts of alcohol, and converge into our
neighborhood, creating a dangerous unlawful assembly with thousands of people. It is a stand-alone
event and is separate from St. Patrick's Day, which is always on March 17th and is mostly celebrated
by people over 21 years old at downtown bars.
It appears the Council’s directive has morphed a bit, and the City has joined forces with Cal Poly for
the presentation to be given on 2/4/2025. But still, the core of the issue is related to the Saturday St.
Fratty’s Day event and its disruption to our ne ighborhoods. I hope that won't be minimized or confused
with St. Patrick's Day on Monday, March 17.
During the November 19th meeting, City Council discussed concerns about Cal Poly’s role in St. Fratty’s
Day, and that the event “needs to end.” Councilmember Marx noted that some Cal Poly students were
trapped in their homes during the morning of St. Fratty’s Day 2024. I have attached the documented
account of one of those students from an email sent to the Student Community Liaison Committee or
SCLC (See attachment: “Fwd_St. Fratty's Day - Student Account.pdf”). Unfortunately, I don’t believe
the email was ever distributed to each of the SCLC representatives.
Councilmember Marx said, “I don’t know if Cal Poly has gotten the message that the City of San Luis
Obispo wants this event to stop,” referring to the Saturday St. Fratty’s Day event. She said, “I’m afraid
that we’re going to be faced with the same situation in March that we had last March” and described
how fraternities start planning St. Fratty’s Day in the winter quarter, people order clothing or
costumes, and that our city needs to give a strong message that this event has to stop and should not
be accepted as the status quo. She asked if St. Fratty’s Day could be added to the Council’s Agenda.
2
The city manager responded that she would request that Cal Poly come to the City Council and provide
a presentation “to give people an idea of what they (Cal Poly) have been planning…in terms of a
discussion with the Council and in reporting out what they’re planning on doing…” Again, the city
manager was specifically referring to the St. Fratty’s Day event on Saturday, March 15, 2025.
Two days later, on Thursday, 11/21/2024, Councilmember Michelle Shoresman reported to the SCLC
members that the City Council discussed the Council’s “concerns” about the Saturday St. Fratty's Day
event. She said the Council “directed staff to ask Cal Poly to come and give an update on their plans so
that all of this information can be shared with the community, too.”
I understand that the safety enhancement zone in March was expanded last year to include a few
weekends in March, including the Saturday before Cal Poly’s winter finals when St. Fratty’s Day occurs,
and the weekend before St. Fratty’s Day, which has also become a heavy-party weekend in our
neighborhoods among Cal Poly’s fraternities in the past couple of years. But most community members
likely don’t know what a safety enhancement zone is, or that the item on the Agenda is related to St.
Fratty's or Patrick’s Day. I feel it would have been more accurate and transparent to at least include
“St. Patrick’s Day” in the wording of the Council Agenda item. Hopefully, it will be specifically stated in
any future Agendas so it is made clear to community members.
Finally, it is confusing to reference "St. Patrick's Day" when it doesn't mean St. Patrick's Day on March
17 and actually means St. Fratty's Day on the Saturday before Cal Poly winter finals.
St. Fratty's Day was started by a Cal Poly fraternity in 2009, who coined the name St. Fratty's Day.
It evolved into a street party in 2015 when a few fraternities operating illegally on Hathway Ave hosted
events there was a mass casualty incident because of a roof collapse. The event was called "St.
Fratty's Day" in Cal Poly's after-action report.
It re-emerged in 2022 because several Cal Poly fraternities organized simultaneous parties at illegal
fraternity houses in our neighborhood and they overflowed into the Hathway Avenue and Bond Street.
The SLOPD dispatch log shows the activity and citations issued to addresses that are known fraternity
houses, illegally operating in our neighborhood. Video documentation also shows parties at illegal
fraternity houses in our neighborhood. There were several posts on social media about being on Sigma
Nu's rooftop, which was the fraternity illegally operating at 348 Hathway Ave a.k.a."the Pink House" in
2022. (I called SLOPD about the crazy party and rooftop activity at this address twice that morning and
it was never issued a citation.) Some fraternities rented port-a-potties for their yards and hired DJs to
blast music at their illegal fraternity houses in single-family areas, including on Albert Drive.
In 2023, many Cal Poly fraternities listed parties on St. Fratty's Day, Saturday 3/18 in their AB 524
reports, and not a single fraternity had a party listed on St. Patrick's Day on 3/17/2023 even though it
fell on a Friday in 2023. Apparently, they were not interested in celebrating St. Patrick's Day and were
saving their energy for St. Fratty's Day on Saturday.
There is negative publicity around the event, and, thus, Cal Poly fraternities want to distance
themselves from the name "St. Fratty's Day". It's a little late for that and it is disingenuous to claim
that fraternities are not involved in the event. They have been, historically, since 2009 to the present.
In 2024, the then-president of Cal Poly's Interfraternity Council, a member of the Delta Upsilon
fraternity, rebuked the term "St. Fratty's Day" and claimed fraternities do not sanction the event.
However, four noise citations were issued to Cal Poly fraternities before 4 a.m. on St. Fratty's Day.
Also, Delta Upsilon, had a blow-out St. Fratty's Day party later that morning at their illegal fraternity
house at 281 Albert Drive. SLOPD issued an unruly gathering citation to a member of Delta Upsilon's
leadership, and a police report was filed regarding the party. Delta Upsilon was on social probation
from February 2024 to April 2024 and was not supposed to have parties during that time. There were
other parties at illegal fraternity houses that morning, as well.
3
It is disingenuous for Cal Poly and its fraternities to reject the term "St. Fratty's Day" because they feel
it has a negative connotation. The event was founded by a Cal Poly fraternity, and the tradition has
been carried forward by many Cal Poly fraternities, up to the present. They should take responsibility
and stop the event. Their actions should be consistent with their words.
Everyone knows that the Saturday "St. Fratty's Day" event is not the same as St. Patrick's Day, on
March 17th. Please try to be clear around the messaging for St. Fratty's Day versus St. Patrick's Day so
there isn't confusion within our community. When the event stops, we will never have to say St.
Fratty's Day in the present tense again.
Information and documentation related to the history of St. Fratty's Day in SLO is conveniently
accessible at StFrattys.com.
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
Fwd: St. Fratty's Day - Student Account
From: (email redacted)
Date: November 22, 2024 at 2:59:24 PM PST
To:
Subject: St. Fratty's Day - Student Account
Hi Tracy!
My name is (name redacted), and I am a previous tenant of 306 Hathway Avenue. I have been asked to detail
to you my concerns regarding “St. Fratty’s Day” celebrations, namely the unsanctioned block party that
typically occurs on Hathway Ave. I have attached a detailed timeline of the St. Fratty’s events from this past
year, that I wrote and shared with my landlord (name redacted) in April.
'As tenants and Cal Poly students, my housemates and I were aware that the block party would occur near our
house. We were concerned about possible damage to the house/yard, and facing fines from SLOPD due to
our proximity to the block party, and we communicated this with our landlord well in advance. She had
temporary orange fencing installed that circled the yard, and we locked all the doors and windows in
preparation. What we did not expect was that partygoers tore down the orange fencing, and began climbing on
top of our roof. My roommates and I were inside the house when we heard stomping on the roof, and when I
attempted to get people down, I was met with aggression by some men who had used our outdoor furniture
and gutters to climb up. We brought the furniture inside, barricaded the door, and had already called the police
for help.
As the crowd on the roof grew, we became increasingly scared of it collapsing. Our gutters were torn down,
our wooden fence was ripped apart, and people attempted to kick down one of the side doors to enter our
house. It’s hard to convey the amount of panic we felt inside the house, as we were effectively trapped under a
roof that had over 100 people on it and could collapse on us at any moment. We repeatedly called the police
for help, and were ignored or hung up on. Eventually, police came into the yard and I went outside to get their
assistance clearing the roof. Instead, they accused me of throwing the “entire party” and knowing everyone on
the roof (I clarified that they were all strangers, and no party had been held. The police confirmed that they
saw no one inside). When I asked for their help getting people off the roof, as I was afraid of it collapsing, they
said that I would have to handle it myself, and instead issued me a ticket. In the end, I had to physically pull
people down as they tried to scale the sides of the house, and eventually brought a ladder to get everyone off
the roof.
The police watched me struggling to clear the roof for over 30 minutes, and still refused to take action. I am a
young woman who was ill-equipped to stand alone against the drunk and aggressive mob-mentality that
prevailed, and I was extremely scared and disheartened by the lack of support we received. If we had received
assistance the first time (or two) that we called the police, they would have been able to clear the small crowd
of people in our yard and on our roof, before it became a serious and dangerous situation. I understand that
large crowds are difficult to control, but my housemates and I were put in danger due to the police’s lack of
action, and I urge you to implement safer strategies moving forward.'
If any further action is taken or information provided by me is used, please refrain from sharing my name.
Thank you for your time!
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ik=c193ab931d&view=pt&search=all&permmsgid=msg-f:1816469536304155060&simpl=msg-f:1816469536304155060 2/2
1
From:Shoresman, Michelle
Sent:Friday, January 31, 2025 8:02 PM
To:kathie walker
Subject:RE: SLO City Council Meeting 2/4/2025, Agenda Item 3.b.
Kathie,
Thank you for the clarification and I appreciate it. I’m sure staff will see your email and try to be more clear in the
future. That said, I also DO see the value in referring to the safety enhancement zone in the title of the item as the
SEZ does surround both St. Patricks and St. Fratty’s Day, so it is intended to include both. I also think that the Greek
system entities are very aware, as are affected community members, of what safety enhancement zones are. Maybe
not everyone, I agree. But, many do.
Regardless, again, your suggestion is noted.
I am guessing we will see you Tuesday night and I appreciate your ongoing support for our efforts to end this event
and our attempts to achieve assistance from Cal Poly in doing so.
Thank you,
Michelle
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Friday, January 31, 2025 3:00 PM
To: E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org>; Marx, Jan <jmarx@slocity.org>; Francis, Emily <EFrancis@slocity.org>;
Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; Boswell, Mike <MBoswell@slocity.org>
Cc: Sandra Rowley < ; Carolyn Smith < ; Brett Cross < ;
Stewjenkins Info <
Subject: SLO City Council Meeting 2/4/2025, Agenda Item 3.b.
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear Elected Representatives,
The City Council Agenda for 2/4/2025 lists an item called "March Safety Enhancement Zone Response
Plan Presentation" and does not specifically mention St. Fratty's Day or St. Patrick's Day, which is
confusing. Most non-college-student community members probably don't understand what a safety
enhancement zone means, however, they do know what St. Fratty's Day or St. Patrick's Day in SLO
means. Many community members will read the Agenda and not understand that the "Response Plan
Presentation" has anything to do with plans for St. Fratty's Day on Saturday, March 15th, or St.
Patrick's Day on Monday, March 17th.
A presentation by Cal Poly to address St. Fratty’s Day was discussed during the City Council meeting
on November 19, 2024, with the directive that Cal Poly present its plans to the City Council and the
community in early 2025.
The Agenda Item about the ‘safety enhancement zone’ is actually that presentation, referenced during
the City Council meeting on 11/19/2024, specifically related to Cal Poly’s preparations for St. Fratty’s
Day, a.k.a. the neighborhood street party on the Saturday before winter finals when college students
set their alarms for 3:17 a.m., quickly consume high amounts of alcohol, and converge into our
neighborhood, creating a dangerous unlawful assembly with thousands of people. It is a stand-alone
2
event and is separate from St. Patrick's Day, which is always on March 17th and is mostly celebrated
by people over 21 years old at downtown bars.
It appears the Council’s directive has morphed a bit, and the City has joined forces with Cal Poly for
the presentation to be given on 2/4/2025. But still, the core of the issue is related to the Saturday St.
Fratty’s Day event and its disruption to our ne ighborhoods. I hope that won't be minimized or confused
with St. Patrick's Day on Monday, March 17.
During the November 19th meeting, City Council discussed concerns about Cal Poly’s role in St. Fratty’s
Day, and that the event “needs to end.” Councilmember Marx noted that some Cal Poly students were
trapped in their homes during the morning of St. Fratty’s Day 2024. I have attached the documented
account of one of those students from an email sent to the Student Community Liaison Committee or
SCLC (See attachment: “Fwd_St. Fratty's Day - Student Account.pdf”). Unfortunately, I don’t believe
the email was ever distributed to each of the SCLC representatives.
Councilmember Marx said, “I don’t know if Cal Poly has gotten the message that the City of San Luis
Obispo wants this event to stop,” referring to the Saturday St. Fratty’s Day event. She said, “I’m afraid
that we’re going to be faced with the same situation in March that we had last March” and described
how fraternities start planning St. Fratty’s Day in the winter quarter, people order clothing or
costumes, and that our city needs to give a strong message that this event has to stop and should not
be accepted as the status quo. She asked if St. Fratty’s Day could be added to the Council’s Agenda.
The city manager responded that she would request that Cal Poly come to the City Council and provide
a presentation “to give people an idea of what they (Cal Poly) have been planning…in terms of a
discussion with the Council and in reporting out what they’re planning on doing…” Again, the city
manager was specifically referring to the St. Fratty’s Day event on Saturday, March 15, 2025.
Two days later, on Thursday, 11/21/2024, Councilmember Michelle Shoresman reported to the SCLC
members that the City Council discussed the Council’s “concerns” about the Saturday St. Fratty's Day
event. She said the Council “directed staff to ask Cal Poly to come and give an update on their plans so
that all of this information can be shared with the community, too.”
I understand that the safety enhancement zone in March was expanded last year to include a few
weekends in March, including the Saturday before Cal Poly’s winter finals when St. Fratty’s Day occurs,
and the weekend before St. Fratty’s Day, which has also become a heavy-party weekend in our
neighborhoods among Cal Poly’s fraternities in the past couple of years. But most community members
likely don’t know what a safety enhancement zone is, or that the item on the Agenda is related to St.
Fratty's or Patrick’s Day. I feel it would have been more accurate and transparent to at least include
“St. Patrick’s Day” in the wording of the Council Agenda item. Hopefully, it will be specifically stated in
any future Agendas so it is made clear to community members.
Finally, it is confusing to reference "St. Patrick's Day" when it doesn't mean St. Patrick's Day on March
17 and actually means St. Fratty's Day on the Saturday before Cal Poly winter finals.
St. Fratty's Day was started by a Cal Poly fraternity in 2009, who coined the name St. Fratty's Day.
It evolved into a street party in 2015 when a few fraternities operating illegally on Hathway Ave hosted
events there was a mass casualty incident because of a roof collapse. The event was called "St.
Fratty's Day" in Cal Poly's after-action report.
It re-emerged in 2022 because several Cal Poly fraternities organized simultaneous parties at illegal
fraternity houses in our neighborhood and they overflowed into the Hathway Avenue and Bond Street.
The SLOPD dispatch log shows the activity and citations issued to addresses that are known fraternity
houses, illegally operating in our neighborhood. Video documentation also shows parties at illegal
fraternity houses in our neighborhood. There were several posts on social media about being on Sigma
Nu's rooftop, which was the fraternity illegally operating at 348 Hathway Ave a.k.a."the Pink House" in
2022. (I called SLOPD about the crazy party and rooftop activity at this address twice that morning and
3
it was never issued a citation.) Some fraternities rented port-a-potties for their yards and hired DJs to
blast music at their illegal fraternity houses in single-family areas, including on Albert Drive.
In 2023, many Cal Poly fraternities listed parties on St. Fratty's Day, Saturday 3/18 in their AB 524
reports, and not a single fraternity had a party listed on St. Patrick's Day on 3/17/2023 even though it
fell on a Friday in 2023. Apparently, they were not interested in celebrating St. Patrick's Day and were
saving their energy for St. Fratty's Day on Saturday.
There is negative publicity around the event, and, thus, Cal Poly fraternities want to distance
themselves from the name "St. Fratty's Day". It's a little late for that and it is disingenuous to claim
that fraternities are not involved in the event. They have been, historically, since 2009 to the present.
In 2024, the then-president of Cal Poly's Interfraternity Council, a member of the Delta Upsilon
fraternity, rebuked the term "St. Fratty's Day" and claimed fraternities do not sanction the event.
However, four noise citations were issued to Cal Poly fraternities before 4 a.m. on St. Fratty's Day.
Also, Delta Upsilon, had a blow-out St. Fratty's Day party later that morning at their illegal fraternity
house at 281 Albert Drive. SLOPD issued an unruly gathering citation to a member of Delta Upsilon's
leadership, and a police report was filed regarding the party. Delta Upsilon was on social probation
from February 2024 to April 2024 and was not supposed to have parties during that time. There were
other parties at illegal fraternity houses that morning, as well.
It is disingenuous for Cal Poly and its fraternities to reject the term "St. Fratty's Day" because they feel
it has a negative connotation. The event was founded by a Cal Poly fraternity, and the tradition has
been carried forward by many Cal Poly fraternities, up to the present. They should take responsibility
and stop the event. Their actions should be consistent with their words.
Everyone knows that the Saturday "St. Fratty's Day" event is not the same as St. Patrick's Day, on
March 17th. Please try to be clear around the messaging for St. Fratty's Day versus St. Patrick's Day so
there isn't confusion within our community. When the event stops, we will never have to say St.
Fratty's Day in the present tense again.
Information and documentation related to the history of St. Fratty's Day in SLO is conveniently
accessible at StFrattys.com.
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
1
From:Wilbanks, Megan
Sent:Friday, January 31, 2025 3:57 PM
To:kathie walker
Cc:CityClerk
Subject:RE: SLO City Council Meeting 2/4/2025, Agenda Item 3.b.
Hi Kathy,
Thank you for your input, it has been sent to the City Council members. It is now placed in the public archive
for the upcoming meeting on February 4, 2025.
Megan Wilbanks
Deputy City Clerk
City Administration
990 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3249
E mwilbank@slocity.org
T 805.781.7103
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
From: kathie walker <kathiewalkerslo@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, January 31, 2025 3:00 PM
To: E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org>; Marx, Jan <jmarx@slocity.org>; Francis, Emily <EFrancis@slocity.org>;
Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; Boswell, Mike <MBoswell@slocity.org>
Cc: Sandra Rowley < ; Carolyn Smith < ; Brett Cross < ;
Stewjenkins Info <
Subject: SLO City Council Meeting 2/4/2025, Agenda Item 3.b.
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear Elected Representatives,
The City Council Agenda for 2/4/2025 lists an item called "March Safety Enhancement Zone Response
Plan Presentation" and does not specifically mention St. Fratty's Day or St. Patrick's Day, which is
confusing. Most non-college-student community members probably don't understand what a safety
enhancement zone means, however, they do know what St. Fratty's Day or St. Patrick's Day in SLO
means. Many community members will read the Agenda and not understand that the "Response Plan
Presentation" has anything to do with plans for St. Fratty's Day on Saturday, March 15th, or St.
Patrick's Day on Monday, March 17th.
A presentation by Cal Poly to address St. Fratty’s Day was discussed during the City Council meeting
on November 19, 2024, with the directive that Cal Poly present its plans to the City Council and the
community in early 2025.
2
The Agenda Item about the ‘safety enhancement zone’ is actually that presentation, referenced during
the City Council meeting on 11/19/2024, specifically related to Cal Poly’s preparations for St. Fratty’s
Day, a.k.a. the neighborhood street party on the Saturday before winter finals when college students
set their alarms for 3:17 a.m., quickly consume high amounts of alcohol, and converge into our
neighborhood, creating a dangerous unlawful assembly with thousands of people. It is a stand-alone
event and is separate from St. Patrick's Day, which is always on March 17th and is mostly celebrated
by people over 21 years old at downtown bars.
It appears the Council’s directive has morphed a bit, and the City has joined forces with Cal Poly for
the presentation to be given on 2/4/2025. But still, the core of the issue is related to the Saturday St.
Fratty’s Day event and its disruption to our ne ighborhoods. I hope that won't be minimized or confused
with St. Patrick's Day on Monday, March 17.
During the November 19th meeting, City Council discussed concerns about Cal Poly’s role in St. Fratty’s
Day, and that the event “needs to end.” Councilmember Marx noted that some Cal Poly students were
trapped in their homes during the morning of St. Fratty’s Day 2024. I have attached the documented
account of one of those students from an email sent to the Student Community Liaison Committee or
SCLC (See attachment: “Fwd_St. Fratty's Day - Student Account.pdf”). Unfortunately, I don’t believe
the email was ever distributed to each of the SCLC representatives.
Councilmember Marx said, “I don’t know if Cal Poly has gotten the message that the City of San Luis
Obispo wants this event to stop,” referring to the Saturday St. Fratty’s Day event. She said, “I’m afraid
that we’re going to be faced with the same situation in March that we had last March” and described
how fraternities start planning St. Fratty’s Day in the winter quarter, people order clothing or
costumes, and that our city needs to give a strong message that this event has to stop and should not
be accepted as the status quo. She asked if St. Fratty’s Day could be added to the Council’s Agenda.
The city manager responded that she would request that Cal Poly come to the City Council and provide
a presentation “to give people an idea of what they (Cal Poly) have been planning…in terms of a
discussion with the Council and in reporting out what they’re planning on doing…” Again, the city
manager was specifically referring to the St. Fratty’s Day event on Saturday, March 15, 2025.
Two days later, on Thursday, 11/21/2024, Councilmember Michelle Shoresman reported to the SCLC
members that the City Council discussed the Council’s “concerns” about the Saturday St. Fratty's Day
event. She said the Council “directed staff to ask Cal Poly to come and give an update on their plans so
that all of this information can be shared with the community, too.”
I understand that the safety enhancement zone in March was expanded last year to include a few
weekends in March, including the Saturday before Cal Poly’s winter finals when St. Fratty’s Day occurs,
and the weekend before St. Fratty’s Day, which has also become a heavy-party weekend in our
neighborhoods among Cal Poly’s fraternities in the past couple of years. But most community members
likely don’t know what a safety enhancement zone is, or that the item on the Agenda is related to St.
Fratty's or Patrick’s Day. I feel it would have been more accurate and transparent to at least include
“St. Patrick’s Day” in the wording of the Council Agenda item. Hopefully, it will be specifically stated in
any future Agendas so it is made clear to community members.
Finally, it is confusing to reference "St. Patrick's Day" when it doesn't mean St. Patrick's Day on March
17 and actually means St. Fratty's Day on the Saturday before Cal Poly winter finals.
St. Fratty's Day was started by a Cal Poly fraternity in 2009, who coined the name St. Fratty's Day.
It evolved into a street party in 2015 when a few fraternities operating illegally on Hathway Ave hosted
events there was a mass casualty incident because of a roof collapse. The event was called "St.
Fratty's Day" in Cal Poly's after-action report.
It re-emerged in 2022 because several Cal Poly fraternities organized simultaneous parties at illegal
fraternity houses in our neighborhood and they overflowed into the Hathway Avenue and Bond Street.
3
The SLOPD dispatch log shows the activity and citations issued to addresses that are known fraternity
houses, illegally operating in our neighborhood. Video documentation also shows parties at illegal
fraternity houses in our neighborhood. There were several posts on social media about being on Sigma
Nu's rooftop, which was the fraternity illegally operating at 348 Hathway Ave a.k.a."the Pink House" in
2022. (I called SLOPD about the crazy party and rooftop activity at this address twice that morning and
it was never issued a citation.) Some fraternities rented port-a-potties for their yards and hired DJs to
blast music at their illegal fraternity houses in single-family areas, including on Albert Drive.
In 2023, many Cal Poly fraternities listed parties on St. Fratty's Day, Saturday 3/18 in their AB 524
reports, and not a single fraternity had a party listed on St. Patrick's Day on 3/17/2023 even though it
fell on a Friday in 2023. Apparently, they were not interested in celebrating St. Patrick's Day and were
saving their energy for St. Fratty's Day on Saturday.
There is negative publicity around the event, and, thus, Cal Poly fraternities want to distance
themselves from the name "St. Fratty's Day". It's a little late for that and it is disingenuous to claim
that fraternities are not involved in the event. They have been, historically, since 2009 to the present.
In 2024, the then-president of Cal Poly's Interfraternity Council, a member of the Delta Upsilon
fraternity, rebuked the term "St. Fratty's Day" and claimed fraternities do not sanction the event.
However, four noise citations were issued to Cal Poly fraternities before 4 a.m. on St. Fratty's Day.
Also, Delta Upsilon, had a blow-out St. Fratty's Day party later that morning at their illegal fraternity
house at 281 Albert Drive. SLOPD issued an unruly gathering citation to a member of Delta Upsilon's
leadership, and a police report was filed regarding the party. Delta Upsilon was on social probation
from February 2024 to April 2024 and was not supposed to have parties during that time. There were
other parties at illegal fraternity houses that morning, as well.
It is disingenuous for Cal Poly and its fraternities to reject the term "St. Fratty's Day" because they feel
it has a negative connotation. The event was founded by a Cal Poly fraternity, and the tradition has
been carried forward by many Cal Poly fraternities, up to the present. They should take responsibility
and stop the event. Their actions should be consistent with their words.
Everyone knows that the Saturday "St. Fratty's Day" event is not the same as St. Patrick's Day, on
March 17th. Please try to be clear around the messaging for St. Fratty's Day versus St. Patrick's Day so
there isn't confusion within our community. When the event stops, we will never have to say St.
Fratty's Day in the present tense again.
Information and documentation related to the history of St. Fratty's Day in SLO is conveniently
accessible at StFrattys.com.
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Friday, January 31, 2025 8:14 PM
To:Shoresman, Michelle
Subject:Re: SLO City Council Meeting 2/4/2025, Agenda Item 3.b.
Hi Michelle,
Yes, Greek members are familiar with the safety enhancement zone, along with most Cal Poly students,
because there is extensive messaging at Cal Poly about the SEZ during the first two weeks of school, Halloween,
etc. But I don't think that most community members - your constituents - know what it means. However, many
know what St. Fratty's and St. Patrick's Day mean in SLO, and it is the reason for the SEZ, therefore it should
have been included in the title.
My point is emphasized by the fact that the directive made by the Council on 11/19/2024 for Cal Poly to give the
presentation was specifically related to St. Fratty's Day. I re-watched that portion of the meeting twice to be
sure, and there is no doubt about what was said and it was about St. Fratty's Day. So why is that not
mentioned?
-Kathie
On Fri, Jan 31, 2025 at 8:02 PM Shoresman, Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org> wrote:
Kathie,
Thank you for the clarification and I appreciate it. I’m sure staff will see your email and try to be more clear in the
future. That said, I also DO see the value in referring to the safety enhancement zone in the title of the item as the
SEZ does surround both St. Patricks and St. Fratty’s Day, so it is intended to include both. I also think that the Greek
system entities are very aware, as are affected community members, of what safety enhancement zones are. Maybe
not everyone, I agree. But, many do.
Regardless, again, your suggestion is noted.
I am guessing we will see you Tuesday night and I appreciate your ongoing support for our efforts to end this event
and our attempts to achieve assistance from Cal Poly in doing so.
Thank you,
Michelle
2
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Friday, January 31, 2025 3:00 PM
To: E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org>; Marx, Jan <jmarx@slocity.org>; Francis, Emily <EFrancis@slocity.org>;
Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; Boswell, Mike <MBoswell@slocity.org>
Cc: Sandra Rowley < ; Carolyn Smith < ; Brett Cross < ;
Stewjenkins Info <
Subject: SLO City Council Meeting 2/4/2025, Agenda Item 3.b.
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear Elected Representatives,
The City Council Agenda for 2/4/2025 lists an item called "March Safety Enhancement Zone Response
Plan Presentation" and does not specifically mention St. Fratty's Day or St. Patrick's Day, which is
confusing. Most non-college-student community members probably don't understand what a safety
enhancement zone means, however, they do know what St. Fratty's Day or St. Patrick's Day in SLO
means. Many community members will read the Agenda and not understand that the "Response Plan
Presentation" has anything to do with plans for St. Fratty's Day on Saturday, March 15th, or St.
Patrick's Day on Monday, March 17th.
A presentation by Cal Poly to address St. Fratty’s Day was discussed during the City Council meeting
on November 19, 2024, with the directive that Cal Poly present its plans to the City Council and the
community in early 2025.
The Agenda Item about the ‘safety enhancement zone’ is actually that presentation, referenced during
the City Council meeting on 11/19/2024, specifically related to Cal Poly’s preparations for St. Fratty’s
Day, a.k.a. the neighborhood street party on the Saturday before winter finals when college students
set their alarms for 3:17 a.m., quickly consume high amounts of alcohol, and converge into our
neighborhood, creating a dangerous unlawful assembly with thousands of people. It is a stand-alone
event and is separate from St. Patrick's Day, which is always on March 17th and is mostly celebrated
by people over 21 years old at downtown bars.
It appears the Council’s directive has morphed a bit, and the City has joined forces with Cal Poly for
the presentation to be given on 2/4/2025. But still, the core of the issue is related to the Saturday St.
Fratty’s Day event and its disruption to our neighborhoods. I hope that won't be minimized or
confused with St. Patrick's Day on Monday, March 17.
During the November 19th meeting, City Council discussed concerns about Cal Poly’s role in St.
Fratty’s Day, and that the event “needs to end.” Councilmember Marx noted that some Cal Poly
students were trapped in their homes during the morning of St. Fratty’s Day 2024. I have attached
the documented account of one of those students from an email sent to the Student Community
Liaison Committee or SCLC (See attachment: “Fwd_St. Fratty's Day - Student Account.pdf”).
Unfortunately, I don’t believe the email was ever distributed to each of the SCLC representatives.
Councilmember Marx said, “I don’t know if Cal Poly has gotten the message that the City of San Luis
Obispo wants this event to stop,” referring to the Saturday St. Fratty’s Day event. She said, “I’m
afraid that we’re going to be faced with the same situation in March that we had last March” and
described how fraternities start planning St. Fratty’s Day in the winter quarter, people order clothing
or costumes, and that our city needs to give a strong message that this event has to stop and should
3
not be accepted as the status quo. She asked if St. Fratty’s Day could be added to the Council’s
Agenda.
The city manager responded that she would request that Cal Poly come to the City Council and
provide a presentation “to give people an idea of what they (Cal Poly) have been planning…in terms of
a discussion with the Council and in reporting out what they’re planning on doing…” Again, the city
manager was specifically referring to the St. Fratty’s Day event on Saturday, March 15, 2025.
Two days later, on Thursday, 11/21/2024, Councilmember Michelle Shoresman reported to the SCLC
members that the City Council discussed the Council’s “concerns” about the Saturday St. Fratty's Day
event. She said the Council “directed staff to ask Cal Poly to come and give an update on their plans
so that all of this information can be shared with the community, too.”
I understand that the safety enhancement zone in March was expanded last year to include a few
weekends in March, including the Saturday before Cal Poly’s winter finals when St. Fratty’s Day
occurs, and the weekend before St. Fratty’s Day, which has also become a heavy-party weekend in
our neighborhoods among Cal Poly’s fraternities in the past couple of years. But most community
members likely don’t know what a safety enhancement zone is, or that the item on the Agenda is
related to St. Fratty's or Patrick’s Day. I feel it would have been more accurate and transparent to at
least include “St. Patrick’s Day” in the wording of the Council Agenda item. Hopefully, it will be
specifically stated in any future Agendas so it is made clear to community members.
Finally, it is confusing to reference "St. Patrick's Day" when it doesn't mean St. Patrick's Day on March
17 and actually means St. Fratty's Day on the Saturday before Cal Poly winter finals.
St. Fratty's Day was started by a Cal Poly fraternity in 2009, who coined the name St. Fratty's Day.
It evolved into a street party in 2015 when a few fraternities operating illegally on Hathway Ave
hosted events there was a mass casualty incident because of a roof collapse. The event was called
"St. Fratty's Day" in Cal Poly's after-action report.
It re-emerged in 2022 because several Cal Poly fraternities organized simultaneous parties at illegal
fraternity houses in our neighborhood and they overflowed into the Hathway Avenue and Bond Street.
The SLOPD dispatch log shows the activity and citations issued to addresses that are known fraternity
houses, illegally operating in our neighborhood. Video documentation also shows parties at illegal
fraternity houses in our neighborhood. There were several posts on social media about being on
Sigma Nu's rooftop, which was the fraternity illegally operating at 348 Hathway Ave a.k.a."the Pink
House" in 2022. (I called SLOPD about the crazy party and rooftop activity at this address twice that
morning and it was never issued a citation.) Some fraternities rented port-a-potties for their yards
and hired DJs to blast music at their illegal fraternity houses in single-family areas, including on Albert
Drive.
In 2023, many Cal Poly fraternities listed parties on St. Fratty's Day, Saturday 3/18 in their AB 524
reports, and not a single fraternity had a party listed on St. Patrick's Day on 3/17/2023 even though it
fell on a Friday in 2023. Apparently, they were not interested in celebrating St. Patrick's Day and were
saving their energy for St. Fratty's Day on Saturday.
There is negative publicity around the event, and, thus, Cal Poly fraternities want to distance
themselves from the name "St. Fratty's Day". It's a little late for that and it is disingenuous to claim
that fraternities are not involved in the event. They have been, historically, since 2009 to the present.
4
In 2024, the then-president of Cal Poly's Interfraternity Council, a member of the Delta Upsilon
fraternity, rebuked the term "St. Fratty's Day" and claimed fraternities do not sanction the event.
However, four noise citations were issued to Cal Poly fraternities before 4 a.m. on St. Fratty's Day.
Also, Delta Upsilon, had a blow-out St. Fratty's Day party later that morning at their illegal fraternity
house at 281 Albert Drive. SLOPD issued an unruly gathering citation to a member of Delta Upsilon's
leadership, and a police report was filed regarding the party. Delta Upsilon was on social probation
from February 2024 to April 2024 and was not supposed to have parties during that time. There were
other parties at illegal fraternity houses that morning, as well.
It is disingenuous for Cal Poly and its fraternities to reject the term "St. Fratty's Day" because they
feel it has a negative connotation. The event was founded by a Cal Poly fraternity, and the tradition
has been carried forward by many Cal Poly fraternities, up to the present. They should take
responsibility and stop the event. Their actions should be consistent with their words.
Everyone knows that the Saturday "St. Fratty's Day" event is not the same as St. Patrick's Day, on
March 17th. Please try to be clear around the messaging for St. Fratty's Day versus St. Patrick's Day
so there isn't confusion within our community. When the event stops, we will never have to say St.
Fratty's Day in the present tense again.
Information and documentation related to the history of St. Fratty's Day in SLO is conveniently
accessible at StFrattys.com.
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Friday, January 31, 2025 8:52 PM
To:Shoresman, Michelle
Subject:Re: SLO City Council Meeting 2/4/2025, Agenda Item 3.b.
I guess what I'm trying to say, not very successfully, is that the point of the presentation was supposed to
address concerns related to Cal Poly's handling of St. Fratty's Day. Full stop. Cal Poly does not have a SEZ and
has plans only related to the weekend of St. Fratty's Day, which the City is relying on. Cal Poly's plan stops at its
boundary and does not include the neighborhoods. The Agenda Item does not convey that accurately.
Somehow, somewhere along the line, the presentation changed from the Council's directive on 11/19/2024 to
now include the City, and it is a joint presentation. However, after St. Fratty's re-emerged in 2022 and caused
damage to our properties and general welfare, Cal Poly failed to take responsibility in 2022 and 2023. It has only
since their dorms were so severely damaged in 2024 that they subsequently formed a task force, which is
focused on protecting Cal Poly's campus and doesn't involve the City's neighborhoods. The task force only
began including the City (Chief Scott) in November and is asking SLOPD to assist on Cal Poly's campus.
So on one hand, it's letting Cal Poly off the hook to make this a joint presentation with the City when they've
been pushing off their responsibility for the event until it had consequential damages to its campus. The City's
plan is distinctly separate from Cal Poly's plan. Cal Poly is taking care of its campus and the City is responsible
for taking care of the neighborhoods. Erica told me that Cal Poly isn't paying for law enforcement to protect our
neighborhoods. That's up to us, the taxpayers, to pay for those expenses.
I understand that it's convenient for the City to make a joint presentation, but I don't agree with the premise
because I have heard the message from Cal Poly all along, that Cal Poly's responsibility stops at its property
boundaries. As Michelle Crawford suggested to City leadership during an SCLC meeting, the City needs to take
care of the City. She suggested the City look at what Miami Beach did during its Spring Break "We're breaking up
with Spring Break" ad campaign in 2024. The key piece of that campaign was a curfew, but the City does not
seem to be moving in that direction. Instead, the City is paying for a lot more law enforcement to oversee the St.
Fratty's event in our neighborhood. And Cal Poly's separate plan is to protect its dorms and campus.
The bottom line: I don't see how Cal Poly's plan has anything to do with the SEZ since Cal Poly does not have a
SEZ, and the directive was for Cal Poly to present its plan. That is getting muddled with the City's plan, which is
separate from Cal Poly's plan. And the Agenda item is not transparent as it the presentation is mostly related to
Cal Poly's plan for St. Fratty's Day.
That's it. Thank you for listening.
On Fri, Jan 31, 2025 at 8:13 PM kathie walker < > wrote:
Hi Michelle,
Yes, Greek members are familiar with the safety enhancement zone, along with most Cal Poly students,
because there is extensive messaging at Cal Poly about the SEZ during the first two weeks of school,
Halloween, etc. But I don't think that most community members - your constituents - know what it means.
However, many know what St. Fratty's and St. Patrick's Day mean in SLO, and it is the reason for the SEZ,
therefore it should have been included in the title.
2
My point is emphasized by the fact that the directive made by the Council on 11/19/2024 for Cal Poly to give the
presentation was specifically related to St. Fratty's Day. I re-watched that portion of the meeting twice to be
sure, and there is no doubt about what was said and it was about St. Fratty's Day. So why is that not
mentioned?
-Kathie
On Fri, Jan 31, 2025 at 8:02 PM Shoresman, Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org> wrote:
Kathie,
Thank you for the clarification and I appreciate it. I’m sure staff will see your email and try to be more clear in the
future. That said, I also DO see the value in referring to the safety enhancement zone in the title of the item as the
SEZ does surround both St. Patricks and St. Fratty’s Day, so it is intended to include both. I also think that the Greek
system entities are very aware, as are affected community members, of what safety enhancement zones are.
Maybe not everyone, I agree. But, many do.
Regardless, again, your suggestion is noted.
I am guessing we will see you Tuesday night and I appreciate your ongoing support for our efforts to end this event
and our attempts to achieve assistance from Cal Poly in doing so.
Thank you,
Michelle
From: kathie walker <kathiewalkerslo@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, January 31, 2025 3:00 PM
To: E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org>; Marx, Jan <jmarx@slocity.org>; Francis, Emily <EFrancis@slocity.org>;
Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; Boswell, Mike <MBoswell@slocity.org>
Cc: Sandra Rowley < ; Carolyn Smith < ; Brett Cross
< ; Stewjenkins Info <
Subject: SLO City Council Meeting 2/4/2025, Agenda Item 3.b.
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Dear Elected Representatives,
3
The City Council Agenda for 2/4/2025 lists an item called "March Safety Enhancement Zone Response
Plan Presentation" and does not specifically mention St. Fratty's Day or St. Patrick's Day, which is
confusing. Most non-college-student community members probably don't understand what a safety
enhancement zone means, however, they do know what St. Fratty's Day or St. Patrick's Day in SLO
means. Many community members will read the Agenda and not understand that the "Response Plan
Presentation" has anything to do with plans for St. Fratty's Day on Saturday, March 15th, or St.
Patrick's Day on Monday, March 17th.
A presentation by Cal Poly to address St. Fratty’s Day was discussed during the City Council meeting
on November 19, 2024, with the directive that Cal Poly present its plans to the City Council and the
community in early 2025.
The Agenda Item about the ‘safety enhancement zone’ is actually that presentation, referenced
during the City Council meeting on 11/19/2024, specifically related to Cal Poly’s preparations for St.
Fratty’s Day, a.k.a. the neighborhood street party on the Saturday before winter finals when college
students set their alarms for 3:17 a.m., quickly consume high amounts of alcohol, and converge into
our neighborhood, creating a dangerous unlawful assembly with thousands of people. It is a stand-
alone event and is separate from St. Patrick's Day, which is always on March 17th and is mostly
celebrated by people over 21 years old at downtown bars.
It appears the Council’s directive has morphed a bit, and the City has joined forces with Cal Poly for
the presentation to be given on 2/4/2025. But still, the core of the issue is related to the Saturday
St. Fratty’s Day event and its disruption to our neighborhoods. I hope that won't be minimized or
confused with St. Patrick's Day on Monday, March 17.
During the November 19th meeting, City Council discussed concerns about Cal Poly’s role in St.
Fratty’s Day, and that the event “needs to end.” Councilmember Marx noted that some Cal Poly
students were trapped in their homes during the morning of St. Fratty’s Day 2024. I have attached
the documented account of one of those students from an email sent to the Student Community
Liaison Committee or SCLC (See attachment: “Fwd_St. Fratty's Day - Student Account.pdf”).
Unfortunately, I don’t believe the email was ever distributed to each of the SCLC representatives.
Councilmember Marx said, “I don’t know if Cal Poly has gotten the message that the City of San Luis
Obispo wants this event to stop,” referring to the Saturday St. Fratty’s Day event. She said, “I’m
afraid that we’re going to be faced with the same situation in March that we had last March” and
described how fraternities start planning St. Fratty’s Day in the winter quarter, people order clothing
or costumes, and that our city needs to give a strong message that this event has to stop and should
not be accepted as the status quo. She asked if St. Fratty’s Day could be added to the Council’s
Agenda.
The city manager responded that she would request that Cal Poly come to the City Council and
provide a presentation “to give people an idea of what they (Cal Poly) have been planning…in terms
of a discussion with the Council and in reporting out what they’re planning on doing…” Again, the city
manager was specifically referring to the St. Fratty’s Day event on Saturday, March 15, 2025.
Two days later, on Thursday, 11/21/2024, Councilmember Michelle Shoresman reported to the SCLC
members that the City Council discussed the Council’s “concerns” about the Saturday St. Fratty's Day
event. She said the Council “directed staff to ask Cal Poly to come and give an update on their plans
so that all of this information can be shared with the community, too.”
I understand that the safety enhancement zone in March was expanded last year to include a few
weekends in March, including the Saturday before Cal Poly’s winter finals when St. Fratty’s Day
4
occurs, and the weekend before St. Fratty’s Day, which has also become a heavy-party weekend in
our neighborhoods among Cal Poly’s fraternities in the past couple of years. But most community
members likely don’t know what a safety enhancement zone is, or that the item on the Agenda is
related to St. Fratty's or Patrick’s Day. I feel it would have been more accurate and transparent to at
least include “St. Patrick’s Day” in the wording of the Council Agenda item. Hopefully, it will be
specifically stated in any future Agendas so it is made clear to community members.
Finally, it is confusing to reference "St. Patrick's Day" when it doesn't mean St. Patrick's Day on
March 17 and actually means St. Fratty's Day on the Saturday before Cal Poly winter finals.
St. Fratty's Day was started by a Cal Poly fraternity in 2009, who coined the name St. Fratty's Day.
It evolved into a street party in 2015 when a few fraternities operating illegally on Hathway Ave
hosted events there was a mass casualty incident because of a roof collapse. The event was called
"St. Fratty's Day" in Cal Poly's after-action report.
It re-emerged in 2022 because several Cal Poly fraternities organized simultaneous parties at illegal
fraternity houses in our neighborhood and they overflowed into the Hathway Avenue and Bond
Street. The SLOPD dispatch log shows the activity and citations issued to addresses that are known
fraternity houses, illegally operating in our neighborhood. Video documentation also shows parties at
illegal fraternity houses in our neighborhood. There were several posts on social media about being
on Sigma Nu's rooftop, which was the fraternity illegally operating at 348 Hathway Ave a.k.a."the
Pink House" in 2022. (I called SLOPD about the crazy party and rooftop activity at this address twice
that morning and it was never issued a citation.) Some fraternities rented port-a-potties for their
yards and hired DJs to blast music at their illegal fraternity houses in single-family areas, including
on Albert Drive.
In 2023, many Cal Poly fraternities listed parties on St. Fratty's Day, Saturday 3/18 in their AB 524
reports, and not a single fraternity had a party listed on St. Patrick's Day on 3/17/2023 even though
it fell on a Friday in 2023. Apparently, they were not interested in celebrating St. Patrick's Day and
were saving their energy for St. Fratty's Day on Saturday.
There is negative publicity around the event, and, thus, Cal Poly fraternities want to distance
themselves from the name "St. Fratty's Day". It's a little late for that and it is disingenuous to claim
that fraternities are not involved in the event. They have been, historically, since 2009 to the
present.
In 2024, the then-president of Cal Poly's Interfraternity Council, a member of the Delta Upsilon
fraternity, rebuked the term "St. Fratty's Day" and claimed fraternities do not sanction the event.
However, four noise citations were issued to Cal Poly fraternities before 4 a.m. on St. Fratty's Day.
Also, Delta Upsilon, had a blow-out St. Fratty's Day party later that morning at their illegal fraternity
house at 281 Albert Drive. SLOPD issued an unruly gathering citation to a member of Delta Upsilon's
leadership, and a police report was filed regarding the party. Delta Upsilon was on social probation
from February 2024 to April 2024 and was not supposed to have parties during that time. There were
other parties at illegal fraternity houses that morning, as well.
It is disingenuous for Cal Poly and its fraternities to reject the term "St. Fratty's Day" because they
feel it has a negative connotation. The event was founded by a Cal Poly fraternity, and the tradition
has been carried forward by many Cal Poly fraternities, up to the present. They should take
responsibility and stop the event. Their actions should be consistent with their words.
5
Everyone knows that the Saturday "St. Fratty's Day" event is not the same as St. Patrick's Day, on
March 17th. Please try to be clear around the messaging for St. Fratty's Day versus St. Patrick's Day
so there isn't confusion within our community. When the event stops, we will never have to say St.
Fratty's Day in the present tense again.
Information and documentation related to the history of St. Fratty's Day in SLO is conveniently
accessible at StFrattys.com.
Thank you,
Kathie Walker
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Monday, February 3, 2025 11:52 PM
To:E-mail Council Website; Marx, Jan; Francis, Emily; Stewart, Erica A; Boswell, Mike
Cc:Brett Cross; Carolyn Smith; Stewjenkins Info; Steven Walker
Subject:St. Fratty's Day 3/15/2025
Attachments:Fwd_ St. Fratty's Day - Student Account.pdf; SLOPD calls on St Frattys 3.16.2024.pdf; st frattys
big larry at 330 a.m. uber.mp4; Comprehensive Plan to Cancel St Frattys Day 2025.pdf; Leaders
and ER Doc Statements re Mardi Gras 2005.pdf
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
San Luis Obispo City Councilmembers,
The illegal drunken takeover of our neighborhood by thousands of people on the Saturday before Cal Poly’s
winter finals is unacceptable and needs to be prevented. It’s a dangerous public nuisance for the people
who live in our neighborhood and is going to end badly if the City doesn’t come up with a plan that does not
allow people this illegal gathering using a different approach. Cal Poly students are replenished with a new
class each fall, and they will continue to seek out “the tradition” unless the City uses tools that have been
successful in other communities to stop unruly gatherings, such as a curfew.
In March 2024, the city manager, Derek Johnson, said that the event must be prevented after the St. Fratty’s
Day event on 3/16/2024, and the City Council directed that the event be prevented moving forward. Derek
said a resident task force would be formed but that never happened. Back then, the trauma was fresh and
the City was motivated, but it seems that motivation has fallen by the wayside and the event is not going to
be prevented in 2025.
In November 2024, several residents and property owners in the Alta Vista neighborhood formed a task
force to communicate with the City about ideas to stop the event because it has affected us since it re-
emerged in 2022. It’s notable that before 2022, the only other time St. Fratty’s Day was an “unlawful
assembly” in San Luis Obispo was in 2015 when 3,000 people converged into our neighborhood and a
roof collapsed at approximately 6:30 a.m., which ended the event that day. It did not return until 2022.
On 12/11/2024, members of our task force met with SLOPD, Erica Stewart, and Whitney McDonald. We had
prepared a comprehensive plan to stop St. Fratty’s Day, which included setting a curfew, a successful tool in
Miami Beach for ending the destructive unlawful assemblies during Spring Break. This suggestion was
made by Cal Poly staff during an SCLC meeting on 10/17/2024.
During that SCLC meeting on 10/17/2024, it was made clear that Cal Poly is going to take care of Cal Poly
at its boundary, and that the City needs to take care of the City within the city limits. Cal Poly representative
Michelle Crawford told Deputy City Manager, Greg Hermann and SLOPD Chief Rick Scott, that she
recommended looking at what the city of Miami Beach did to stop Spring Break in 2024, with its “We’re
breaking up with Spring Break” campaign. A key component of its successful campaign was a curfew.
Michelle Crawford commented that Miami Beach’s campaign “worked very effectively.”
The resident task force generated a plan using ChatGPT to effectively prevent St. Fratty’s Day using metrics
from St. Fratty’s Day 2022, 2023, and 2024, and effective methods from other unlawful assemblies across
the country, not including protests. We provided the plan to SLOPD, Erica, and Whitney, and I have
attached it to this correspondence, along with the statements from city leaders and an ER doctor that were
published when Mardi Gras was canceled.
2
Unfortunately, it does not appear the City has chosen to implement a curfew and therefore, St. Fratty’s Day
is going to disrupt our neighborhood yet again, which is super disappointing.
I think it’s important to point out that since 2022, SLOPD Chief Scott has repeatedly said they are going to
have a “proactive” approach to St. Fratty’s Day, and that approach has failed every year. I want to revisit the
facts that are backed up by SLOPD dispatch logs and other documentation since St. Fratty’s 2022.
St. Fratty’s Day 2022
In 2022, approximately 2,000 people overtook the intersection of Bond and Hathway, however, the entire
neighborhood was affected by screaming people, fireworks, trespassing, and vandalism from 4 a.m. to 10:00
a.m. In 2022, the Saturday before winter finals was on 3/12, five days before St. Patrick’s Day.
There were many posts on social media the night before the event that indicated the event was going to
happen, but SLOPD did not anticipate the event. Fireworks woke our neighborhood at 4 a.m. There were
only a handful of officers in our neighborhood until shift change when more officers came on duty.
Some noise citations were written, mostly to known illegal fraternity houses but many calls were not
responded to and there was a point where officers stood around the perimeter of the crowd because it was
too large. People were openly drinking alcohol, climbing telephone poles, standing on rooftops, and law
enforcement did not intervene. They waited until the unlawful assembly of drunken people burnt itself out,
six hours after it started. A spreadsheet of the calls to SLOPD dispatch was prepared after St. Fratty's Day
to show the timeline and was emailed to the City Council before St. Fratty's 2023:
During the debrief to the City Council, SLOPD Chief Scott minimized what happened during St. Fratty’s
2022, and said they “went ahead and just secured the area and helped diffuse the rest of the parties to go
3
ahead and help them out of the neighborhoods” and that it only took “a couple of hours to get the situation
under control.” The event lasted for six hours and was not under control until 10 a.m.
Preparation for St. Fratty’s 2023
In the summer of 2022, I noticed that St. Fratty’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day were back-to-back on Friday and
Saturday. I knew that would cause a terrible situation and I wrote to SLOPD Chief Scott and the City
Council that summer, expressing my concern. I prepared calendars to illustrate the bad situation.
The City did not take any action to implement a Safety Enhancement Zone (SEZ). On 2/21/2023, before St.
Fratty’s Day 2023, several concerned residents went to the City Council, explained our concerns, and asked
for the city to implement a SEZ, even on an emergency basis, citing the perfect-storm scenario of back-to-
back dates on the weekend.
The SLOPD Chief was in the audience, and he addressed Council, stating “I would like to say that we do
have a plan in place. Contrary to some of the comments, our plan does work.”
On 3/7/2023, SLOPD Chief Scott told the City Council “We’ll have available resources from other agencies
should that be required. … we’re going to be proactively focused on spot enforcement of critical areas and
also those areas where we’ve had historical challenges due to large gatherings and unruly crowds.”
On 3/15/2023, SLOPD Chief Scott and Deputy Chief Fred Mickel met with RQN and explained that they had
“proactive” plans to address the event. They said they had adequate staff and plans to circumvent any
dangerous activity, and we should not be worried because they were on top of it.
St. Fratty’s 2023
On 3/18/2023, St. Fratty’s Day, crowds began to overtake the neighborhood at 4 a.m. SLOPD did not
anticipate the crowd would gather that early and was not prepared for the volume of people who overtook
the neighborhood. College-aged people were openly drinking alcohol, carrying BORGs (Black Out Rage
Gallons), and many, many people climbed utility poles without any intervention from law enforcement.
SLOPD stood around the perimeter and did not engage with the crowd. I was standing near SLOPD officers
when we witnessed a guy climb out onto the utility line doing pull-ups. An officer said there was nothing he
could do and that he thought PG&E had turned off the power to the pole.
One of my neighbors called 911 because intoxicated guys trespassed onto his property and threatened to
fight him. He said the SLOPD dispatcher told him they could not help him due to his proximity to the street
party and hung up on him.
4
The unlawful gathering was allowed to continue until it fizzled out at around 10:30 a.m. SLOPD did not shut
down large fraternity parties or get people off rooftops. It’s my understanding that SLOPD issued citations
after the event based on drone footage, but an Administrative Hearing Officer dismissed those citations so
there were no consequences for the citations.
During a City Council meeting on 1/9/2024 for the Safety Enhancement Zone, Deputy Chief Mickel admitted
that SLOPD was not prepared for St. Fratty’s Day in 2023. A transcript from the meeting is below:
Erica Stewart: “On page 405…it says the PD doesn’t do anything during the unruly gatherings and so
I thought you could share why the PD respond as they do during the large gatherings.”
Fred Mickel: “It really depends on manpower. … like for instance, this past St. Fratty’s Day, we had
a much larger – we planned for a large event, (but) this was three times larger than we even
thought. It really, unfortunately, caught us a little bit by surprise even though we had a really
good plan going into it. And so at that point, you just start managing safety. And that’s our first
thing, right? And there’s a lot of things going on, yes we could take action against. And we tried to.
We tried some creative approaches to doing some unruly gathering, and we did do some unruly
gathering citations during that event. But probably not as many as we could have.
But we had to look at the bigger picture of, how do we not only keep the residents as safe as we can,
the officers, and all the people that were participating in the party. So, that’s really what drove that.
Now if we had the manpower, the personnel, the things that we could do, then absolutely we’d be
enforcing the unruly gatherings and those types of things. We just have to weigh those out at the
time.”
After St. Fratty’s 2023
On 3/21/2023, SLOPD Chief Scott told the City Council that during St. Fratty’s 2023 there was “a larger
crowd, as expected, post-COVID” and that “SLOPD was upstaffed” to address the event. The true events
that day were downplayed or not discussed.
He said he planned to do an after-action analysis and talk with residents of our neighborhood but none of
the long-term residents in our neighborhood were contacted.
Mitigation Measures:
· On 1/9/2024, City Council adopted a SEZ for some weekends in March, including the Saturday
before Cal Poly’s winter finals, which is traditionally St. Fratty’s Day.
· PG&E removed the lower rungs from utility poles in the neighborhood.
St. Fratty’s 2024
Calls to SLOPD dispatch started at 3:20 a.m.; Illegal gathering in the street 5:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Streets were blocked and parties in the upper Alta Vista neighborhood, Albert Drive, until 10:30 a.m.
Medical calls/welfare checks (unconscious intoxicated people) until 12:20 p.m.
Noisy parties started in the neighborhood just after 3:00 a.m. Four illegal fraternity houses were cited for
noisy parties by 4:00 a.m. There was a constant stream of people screaming past our house and a city utility
truck placed unmanned barricades at intersections to stop vehicles from driving on the streets just after 6:00
a.m., allowing parades of people to walk down the center of streets. I've attached a PDF that shows the calls
to SLOPD dispatch on 3/16/2024, St. Fratty's Day, including complaints at local hotels about noisy people
partying between 5:30 a.m. and 6:15 a.m.
I've also attached a video posted on social media by an Uber driver who picked up a group of gals at 3:30
a.m. They were "going to Beta" (Beta Theta Pi fraternity) which held a party, as many fraternities did
5
that morning. Some property owners of illegal fraternity houses had received notification from Code
Enforcement before St. Fratty's Day, and it seems that message was passed along to the fraternities
because some did not host events that day. (I called the owner of 348 Hathway on 2/28/2024 and he
promised me the fraternity would not have a party that morning.)
Still, 6,000-7,000 people showed up to block neighborhood streets. While it was difficult for them to climb
utility poles because the rungs were removed, people trespassed into yards and climbed on parked cars and
rooftops. Cars were scratched and windows smashed, fences were torn down, landscapes and bushes were
trampled, gutters were torn off houses, etc. Electric and cable lines were pulled down from a house. The
weight of people in a front yard caused a sewer line to collapse.
The damage to the Cal Poly dorms is often highlighted, but the total damage in the neighborhood
was in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Numerous people accessed an electrical line from a house to the utility pole and climbed across the wire.
One did pull-ups and fell. I heard that he broke his arm and was not identified until days later. Based on
dozens of videos posted online, there was no law enforcement anywhere nearby to remove him or the
hundreds of people on the rooftops for an extended period.
A tenant in a different house documented her terrifying experience, attached to this email. She and her
roommates called SLOPD four times because trespassers were on their rooftop and they feared the roof
would collapse on them. The SLOPD dispatcher hung up on them. When SLOPD finally arrived, they did not
help her to get the people off her roof. Part of her account is below:
“The police watched me struggling to clear the roof for over 30 minutes and still refused to take
action. I am a young woman who was ill-equipped to stand alone against the drunk and aggressive
mob-mentality that prevailed, and I was extremely scared and disheartened by the lack of support we
received. If we had received assistance the first time (or two) that we called the police, they would
have been able to clear the small crowd of people in our yard and on our roof, before it became a
serious and dangerous situation. I understand that large crowds are difficult to control, but my
housemates and I were put in danger due to the police’s lack of action, and I urge you to implement
safer strategies moving forward.”
The ”street party” ended at about 9:30 a.m. Streets were still blocked by college-aged people, and many
were obviously intoxicated and it was difficult to get through in a car. There were also rideshare drivers
everywhere, blocking the streets with hazard lights on. An unruly gathering was cited at Delta Upsilon’s
illegal fraternity house at 281 Albert Drive at 10:30 a.m.
Sirens continued as emergency calls for intoxicated people continued until after 12:00 p.m., including an
unconscious male on a 2-story rooftop at 146 Stenner and an unconscious male on a rooftop at 1861 Hope.
Both are illegal fraternity houses for Kappa Sigma.
6
After St. Fratty’s 2024
During his debrief to the City Council on 3/19/2024, Chief Scott noted that there were no problems at bars or
downtown core on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th. On St. Fratty’s Day, police presence was tripled with
assistance from Cal Poly, CSU CRU Team, California Men’s Colony, and California Alcohol and Beverage
Control. He said early enforcement led to citations and arrests but about two hours later (just after 6 a.m.)
the streets needed to be closed, as crowds swelled to 6,000 – 7,000 people.
He said he found the activities “extremely disappointing, dangerous and criminal. This is not in keeping with
Cal Poly’s reputation and certainly not that of our community. Looking ahead, these lawless activities
cannot and should not be allowed to occur in our communities .”
During the SCLC meeting on 4/18/2024, Chief Scott said, “the fact that we didn’t have any significant injuries
is, I think, by sheer luck. You saw what was going on inside the incident. We had over 30 calls for service for
EMS and nearly all of those were related to alcohol or consumption of alcohol. Any one of those calls
could turn fatal if we’re not able to get resources to those that need it. We really can’t. And so the fact that
we escaped without a significant injury is really not something to brag about. It’s sheer luck that that
happened.”
St. Fratty’s 2025
It is unknown what will happen in 2025.
Other than in 2015, the unlawful assembly/neighborhood takeover called "St. Fratty's Day" has only happened
in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Each of those three years, we were woken up before dawn, there were people on
rooftops, young people openly drinking alcohol, and damage to our neighborhood. It was unacceptable in 2022,
with 2,000 people. In 2023 and 2024, SLOPD has said there would be proactive enforcement but the mayhem
has been allowed to continue.
7
The City Council and SLOPD were warned of the impending doom in 2023 based on it falling on Friday and
Saturday unless some action was taken to prevent it and no action was taken. Messages posted by Cal Poly
students on social media in 2022 and 2023 said that SLOPD was "just keeping us safe" and there was a
permissive message that the event was okay. So it's no surprise that it happened again in 2024.
It should not be allowed to happen again in 2025.
You have an opportunity to stop the event by implementing a curfew and not allowing people to gather in the
neighborhood. It is not “successful” if even 2,000 people show up for an unlawful assembly in our
neighborhood like they did for St. Fratty's in 2022. A plan is successful if you use all the tools available to
prevent the event from happening at all. Please do more this year, than just hiring more law enforcement to
cite people and stand by. Use the tools available to stop the event.
Sincerely,
Kathie Walker
Fwd: St. Fratty's Day - Student Account
From: (email redacted)
Date: November 22, 2024 at 2:59:24 PM PST
To:
Subject: St. Fratty's Day - Student Account
Hi Tracy!
My name is (name redacted), and I am a previous tenant of 306 Hathway Avenue. I have been asked to detail
to you my concerns regarding “St. Fratty’s Day” celebrations, namely the unsanctioned block party that
typically occurs on Hathway Ave. I have attached a detailed timeline of the St. Fratty’s events from this past
year, that I wrote and shared with my landlord (name redacted) in April.
'As tenants and Cal Poly students, my housemates and I were aware that the block party would occur near our
house. We were concerned about possible damage to the house/yard, and facing fines from SLOPD due to
our proximity to the block party, and we communicated this with our landlord well in advance. She had
temporary orange fencing installed that circled the yard, and we locked all the doors and windows in
preparation. What we did not expect was that partygoers tore down the orange fencing, and began climbing on
top of our roof. My roommates and I were inside the house when we heard stomping on the roof, and when I
attempted to get people down, I was met with aggression by some men who had used our outdoor furniture
and gutters to climb up. We brought the furniture inside, barricaded the door, and had already called the police
for help.
As the crowd on the roof grew, we became increasingly scared of it collapsing. Our gutters were torn down,
our wooden fence was ripped apart, and people attempted to kick down one of the side doors to enter our
house. It’s hard to convey the amount of panic we felt inside the house, as we were effectively trapped under a
roof that had over 100 people on it and could collapse on us at any moment. We repeatedly called the police
for help, and were ignored or hung up on. Eventually, police came into the yard and I went outside to get their
assistance clearing the roof. Instead, they accused me of throwing the “entire party” and knowing everyone on
the roof (I clarified that they were all strangers, and no party had been held. The police confirmed that they
saw no one inside). When I asked for their help getting people off the roof, as I was afraid of it collapsing, they
said that I would have to handle it myself, and instead issued me a ticket. In the end, I had to physically pull
people down as they tried to scale the sides of the house, and eventually brought a ladder to get everyone off
the roof.
The police watched me struggling to clear the roof for over 30 minutes, and still refused to take action. I am a
young woman who was ill-equipped to stand alone against the drunk and aggressive mob-mentality that
prevailed, and I was extremely scared and disheartened by the lack of support we received. If we had received
assistance the first time (or two) that we called the police, they would have been able to clear the small crowd
of people in our yard and on our roof, before it became a serious and dangerous situation. I understand that
large crowds are difficult to control, but my housemates and I were put in danger due to the police’s lack of
action, and I urge you to implement safer strategies moving forward.'
If any further action is taken or information provided by me is used, please refrain from sharing my name.
Thank you for your time!
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ik=c193ab931d&view=pt&search=all&permmsgid=msg-f:1816469536304155060&simpl=msg-f:1816469536304155060 2/2
1 - 03:24 a.m. 1264 Foothill, (Lambda Chi Alpha)
2 - 03:33 a.m. 1251 Monte Vista, (Lambda Chi Alpha)
3 - 03:51 a.m. 1275 Stafford, (Phi Kappa Psi)
4 – 04:03 a.m. 325 Kentucky
5 – 04:05 a.m. 248 Grand, (Sigma Nu – now Theta Chi)
6 – 04:10 a.m. 1185 Foothill #19
7 – 04:12 a.m. 322 Hathway, (Kappa Sigma)
3
9
10,69
8,
11
12
25 – 05:46 a.m. Bond & Kentucky, Alcohol Offense
26 – 05:50 a.m. Bond & Hathway, Alcohol Offense
27 – 05:54 a.m. 306 Hathway, Disorderly
28 – 05:54 a.m. 1200 Block Bond, Alcohol Offense
29 – 05:55 a.m. Kentucky & Bond, Suspicious
30 – 05:56 a.m. Hathway & California, Alcohol Offense
31 – 05:57 a.m. Ramona & Tassajara; off map
32 – 06:03 a.m. 1116 Peach; off map
33 – 06:07 a.m. 1600 McCollum, 10 males fighting
34 – 06:11 a.m. 1825 Monterey, University Inn; off map
35 – 06:26 a.m. 123 Crandall, (Sigma Nu)
36 – 06:31 a.m. Hathway & Carpenter
37 – 06:31 a.m. 531 Hathway; off map
38 – 06:34 a.m. 1128 Peach; off map
39 – 06:47 a.m. 376 Graves
40 – 06:50 a.m. Kentucky & Bond, Alcohol Offense
41 – 06:54 a.m. Kentucky & Bond, Alcohol Offense
19 47, 65
5
20
23
24,75
26,50
53,58
30, 45,
46,47,
64
3328
35
36,42
47,49
42 – 06:56 a.m. Hathway & Carpenter, Alcohol Offense
43 – 06:57 a.m. 1355 Bond, Alcohol Offense
44 – 07:04 a.m. 1355 Bond, Alcohol Offense
45 – 07:05 a.m. California & Hathway, Alcohol Offense
46 – 07:06 a.m. California & Hathway, Alcohol Offense
47 – 07:08 a.m. Carpenter & Hathway, Alcohol Offense
48 – 07:11 a.m. 300 Blk Hathway, Criminal Mischief, Alc
49 - 07:17 a.m. Hathway & Carpenter, Alcohol Offense
50 – 07:21 a.m. Hathway & Bond, Vandalism Vehicle
51 – 07:26 a.m. 290 California, Alcohol Offense
52 – 07:28 a.m. 306 Hathway, Disorderly
53 – 07:29 a.m. Hathway & Bond, Criminal Mischief, Disorde
54 – 07:29 a.m. 306 Hathway, Disorderly
55 - 07:46 a.m. 1214 Bond, Disorderly
56 – 07:48 a.m. Slack & Longview, Alcohol Offense
57 – 07:49 a.m. Kentucky & Fredericks, Alcohol Offense
58 – 07:53 a.m. Hathway & Bond, Disorderly
59 – 07:55 a.m. 290 California, Alcohol Offense
60 – 07:56 a.m. 1214 Bond, Disorderly
61 – 08:10 a.m. 301 Hathway (Sigma Nu)
62 – 08:13 a.m. 1216 Bond, Disorderly
63 – 08:20 a.m. 306 Hathway, Intoxicated Person
64 – 08:24 a.m. California & Hathway, Obstruct Justice
65 – 08:29 a.m. 322 Hathway, Loitering/Trespass
66 – 08:53 a.m. 440 Kentucky, Disorderly
67 – 08:58 a.m. 331 Hathway (Alpha Epsilon Pi)
68 – 08:58 a.m. 269 Hathway, Alcohol Offense
69 – 09:04 a.m. Longview & Bond, Resist, Interfere w/Police
70 – 09:41 a.m. 357 Graves, Male passed out on sidewalk
71 – 09:42 a.m. 281 Hathway, (Kappa Sigma)
72 – 09:49 a.m. 269 Hathway, Alcohol Offense
73 – 09:50 a.m. 101 Graves, Loitering/Trespassing
74 – 09:52 a.m. 2065 Sierra; off map Welfare Check, Intoxica
75 – 09:59 a.m. 208 Hathway, (Alpha Epsilon Pi)
76 – 10:04 a.m. 138 Orange (Pi Kappa Alpha, disaffiliated)
77 – 10:00 a.m. French Hosp, Intox female took out IV & left
78 – 10:05 a.m. Longview & Albert, Alcohol Offense
79 – 10:08 a.m. Longview & Albert, Alcohol Offense
80 – 10:09 a.m. 116 Mustang, Collision/DUI
81 – 10:17 a.m. 281 Albert, (Delta Upsilon) Party 300 people
82 – 10:47 a.m. 59 S. Tassajara; off map
83 – 11:26 a.m. Kentucky & Fredericks, Alcohol Offense
84 – 11:45 a.m. 146 Stenner (Kappa Sigma) Medical uncons
85 – 12:03 p.m. 109 Mustang; off map Welfare Check
86 – 12:24 p.m. 1861 Hope, (Kappa Signa) Welfare unconsci
39
43,44
25,29
40,41
48
51,59
27,52
54,63
56
57,83
60,62
61
8 – 04:15 a.m. 1267 Fredericks (sorority)
9 – 04:32 a.m. 1453 Slack, Alcohol Offense
10- 04:43 a.m. Longview & Bond, Alcohol Offense
11- 04:44 a.m. 1267 Fredericks (sorority)
12- 04:45 a.m. 1840 Hope
13- 04:50 a.m. Ramona & La Entrada; off map
14- 04:54 a.m. 241 Foothill; off map
15- 05:05 a.m. Tassajara & Foothill, Alcohol Offense; off map
16 – 05:16 a.m. 410 N. Chorro; off map
17 – 05:21 a.m. 457 Pismo; off map
18 – 05:25 a.m. 303 Foothill; off map
19 – 05:26 a.m. 364 Hathway
20 – 05:27 a.m. 296 Albert
21 – 05:28 a.m. 210 Madonna, Vagabond Inn; off map
22 – 05:29 a.m. 200 Santa Rosa; off map
23 – 05:33 a.m. Hathway & Murray
24 – 05:37 a.m. 208 Hathway (Alpha Epsilon Pi)
Charles Teach Elementary
&
SLO Classical Academy
Cal Poly
campus
Calls to SLOPD
related to
St. Fratty’s Day
03/16/2024
(Noisy parties,
etc.)
3:24 a.m. – 12:24 p.m.
70
66
67
68,72
71
73
76
78,79
81
84
86
Comprehensive Plan to Cancel St. Fratty’s Day 2025
To cancel and prevent the unlawful assembly known as St. Fratty's Day in 2025, San Luis Obispo must adopt a
multi-layered strategy combining enforcement, preventative measures, public communication, and inter-agency
collaboration. Below is a step-by-step guide:
1. Declare the Event as Unlawful in Advance
• Public Declaration:
o Officially designate that St. Fratty's Day was an unlawful assembly under California Penal Code
§407 in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
o Issue a resolution by the City Council declaring the event illegal and emphasizing the risks of
participation (e.g., injury, arrest, property damage).
• Proactive Ordinances:
o Pass temporary measures for March 14–16, 2025, including:
A ban on public gatherings of more than 10 people in designated neighborhoods.
Prohibition of rooftop access during the weekend.
Strict noise restrictions and alcohol bans in public spaces.
2. Establish a Curfew
By integrating a curfew into the broader prevention plan, San Luis Obispo can take proactive steps to cancel St.
Fratty’s Day in 2025 and prioritize the safety of its community.
• Details of the Curfew:
o Curfew Hours: Midnight to 8:00 AM from March 14 to March 16, 2025.
o Affected Area: Apply the curfew to neighborhoods historically impacted by the event.
• Enforcement Plan:
o Use high-visibility checkpoints at key access points to enforce the curfew.
o Deploy foot patrols in residential areas to ensure compliance.
o Arrest violators and issue citations for curfew breaches, emphasizing deterrence.
• Legal Framework:
o Issue the curfew under the city’s emergency powers and its authority under California
Government Code §8634, citing public safety concerns.
• Rationale for a Curfew
o Miami Beach successfully used curfews to control spring break crowds and prevent dangerous
behavior, resulting in fewer incidents and improved public safety.
o A curfew establishes clear boundaries and reduces the likelihood of large gatherings forming,
while also enabling law enforcement to act decisively against violators and fostering the
protection of life and property.
3. Launch a Public Awareness Campaign
• Campaign Goals:
o Discourage attendance and participation in St. Fratty’s Day.
o Educate the public on the risks and legal consequences of the event.
• Messaging: Launch a city-wide campaign with clear messaging to deter participation. This approach was
effective during the 2005 Mardi Gras, where similar messaging was used to discourage large gatherings.
o Slogans like "The Party is Over: St. Fratty’s Day 2025" or "Stay Safe, Stay Home."
o Use social media, electronic billboards, and local media outlets to reach students and the broader
community.
o Collaborate with Cal Poly and Cuesta College to send emails and alerts to students emphasizing
the event’s dangers and illegality.
(See Attachment of statements issued by the Mayor, Cal Poly and Cuesta College Presidents, and Sierra
Vista ER doctor in January 2005 regarding the cancellation of Mardi Gras.)
• Media Outreach: Utilize local media, social media platforms, and community events to disseminate
information about the risks and legal consequences associated with participating in unauthorized
gatherings.
4. Strengthen Law Enforcement Resources
• Resource Allocation:
o Request mutual aid from neighboring agencies, including CHP and Sheriff’s department.
o Deploy officers at key areas for proactive prevention.
o Prioritize SLOPD presence in affected neighborhoods while Cal Poly Police manage on-campus
enforcement.
• Crowd Management:
o Equip law enforcement with tools for early dispersal, such as loudspeakers, barricades, and
mounted patrols. (SLO does not have mounted patrols so perhaps foot and bike patrol.)
o Adopt a clear plan to declare an unlawful assembly and disperse crowds at the first sign of
gathering in the street.
• Zero-Tolerance Policy:
o Intervene early to prevent people from converging.
o Enforce citations for noise violations, public intoxication, trespassing, and vandalism.
5. Restrict Access to Neighborhoods
• Temporary Street Closures:
o Restrict vehicle and pedestrian access to impacted areas during the event timeframe.
o Issue permits or enact policies for residents and essential personnel to ensure legitimate access.
• Barricades:
o Place physical barriers at key intersections to prevent crowds from forming.
• Parking Restrictions:
o Impose temporary no-parking zones in affected neighborhoods.
6. Provide Clear Consequences
• Legal Penalties:
o Highlight fines for curfew violations, trespassing, and public intoxication (e.g., $1,000+ for major
infractions).
o Announce that arrests and criminal charges will be reported to the university, potentially
impacting academic standing.
Dear Friends,
I have lived and worked in San Luis Obispo for the majority of my life, and I love this town. Our people –
including our college students – are creative and spirited, and special events have been a big part of our
community life. The annual Mardi Gras celebration was one such event, growing over the years from a tiny one
block celebration into a huge parade. Unfortunately, something else grew along with the parade: Hoards of out-
of control and destructive partiers, many from outside the community, who drink excessively and cause major
problems. In 2004, this destructive and violent behavior resulted in a riot, which cost our taxpayers almost a half
million dollars.
This is not what San Luis Obispo is about, and as much as we like special events, our City Council concluded that
Mardi Gras in San Luis Obispo must stop – completely. And we have backed up our commitment with the
resources necessary to create huge consequences for those who choose to disrespect our town.
As your Mayor, I ask that those of you who live in San Luis Obispo help us protect our community from such
destructive behavior. Please don’t invite out-of-town guests to San Luis Obispo to party over Mardi Gras
weekend (February 4 – 8, 2005). Encourage your friends who live here to enjoy the weekend in a safe and
helpful way.
If you don’t live in San Luis Obispo, please don’t visit us for Mardi Gras. MARDI GRAS IN SAN LUIS OBISPO IS
OVER.
Dave Romero
Mayor
Dear Cal Poly Student:
Welcome back to Cal Poly. I hope you enjoyed your holidays and have returned to campus refreshed and eager
to start winter quarter.
This month you have probably been hearing about the City of San Luis Obispo's intention to bring an end to
public celebrations of Mardi Gras. Cal Poly supports the City's plans for strongly discouraging such celebrations
and maintaining the peace this year.
For more information on these plans, please take a look at www.MardiGrasSLO.com.
It is broadly recognized that Cal Poly students are good citizens and contribute much to the community. And all
but a small number of Cal Poly students avoided involvement in the serious disturbances in the community
associated with last year's Mardi Gras celebrations. We wish to commend you for that.
I urge you to heed the City's call for cessation of public Mardi Gras celebrations in the streets of San Luis Obispo
and to encourage others to join with you in continuing the Cal Poly traditions of civility and respect for the law.
Thank you for your support and cooperation.
Sincerely,
Warren J. Baker
President
January 24, 2005
Cuesta College Students
RE: Mardi Gras in San Luis Obispo
Dear Students,
We are pleased to welcome new and returning Cuesta College students to the Spring 2005 semester. For many of
you it will be your first time living away from home and your first time experiencing the excitement, fulfillment,
and increased sense of responsibility that the college environment fosters.
At the same time that you are experiencing wonderful opportunities for personal growth and increased
knowledge, you are also encountering more opportunities to socialize. As you might be aware, Mardi Gras
weekend is a particularly social period in San Luis Obispo. Unfortunately, Mardi Gras in San Luis Obispo has
evolved into an out-of-control party scene that culminated last year in a large-scale, violent riot, which involved a
few Cuesta and Cal Poly students as well as out-of-area visitors.
Because of those issues, the City of San Luis Obispo is working in conjunction with Cuesta College and Cal Poly
San Luis Obispo University to communicate new plans to discourage public Mardi Gras celebrations. These
efforts are made in the interest of maintaining peace throughout the city during the Mardi Gras weekend
beginning February 4. Higher fines, an increased police presence on the streets of San Luis Obispo, and a more
stringent prosecution of offenders are just a few of the ramifications you could face this year if you choose to
attend or host Mardi Gras parties.
It is always important for you to make safe and responsible decisions, on campus and off. As a Cuesta College
student, please join us in reinforcing the need to comply with the City’s call to discontinue public Mardi Gras
celebrations in the streets of San Luis Obispo. I urge you to avoid participating in any disorderly public Mardi Gras
parties and to discourage out-of-area friends from visiting during that weekend.
Please do not drink and drive. Thank you for your support and consideration of this important matter.
Sincerely,
Marie E. Rosenwasser, Ph.D.
Superintendent/President
Dr. Steve Sainsbury, Emergency Room Doctor – Sierra Vista Hospital
Many of you probably view Mardi Gras as a time of celebration.
I view Mardi Gras as a night where my Emergency Department is overwhelmed with drunken brawlers, whose
bleeding and scarred faces are devoid of fun or frolic. I view Mardi Gras as a succession of somber women who
face the day-after consequences of unwanted or unremembered sexual activity, complete with very real worries
about pregnancy, HIV and STDs. I view Mardi Gras as a time when any behavior is deemed acceptable – even if it
risks the health and welfare of both police and public – all in the name of “fun”.
As a career emergency physician, I dread Mardi Gras like no other event.
Dr. Steve Sainsbury
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Tuesday, February 4, 2025 12:19 AM
To:CityClerk
Subject:Fwd: St. Fratty's Day 3/15/2025
Attachments:Fwd_ St. Fratty's Day - Student Account.pdf; SLOPD calls on St Frattys 3.16.2024.pdf; st frattys
big larry at 330 a.m. uber.mp4; Comprehensive Plan to Cancel St Frattys Day 2025.pdf; Leaders
and ER Doc Statements re Mardi Gras 2005.pdf
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
This was meant to be included in Agenda Correspondence for 2/4/2025 Item 3.b.
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: kathie walker < >
Date: Mon, Feb 3, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Subject: St. Fratty's Day 3/15/2025
To: E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org>, Jan Marx <jmarx@slocity.org>, Francis, Emily
<EFrancis@slocity.org>, Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>, <mboswell@slocity.org>
Cc: Brett Cross < , Carolyn Smith < , Stewjenkins Info
< , Steven Walker < >
San Luis Obispo City Councilmembers,
The illegal drunken takeover of our neighborhood by thousands of people on the Saturday before Cal Poly’s
winter finals is unacceptable and needs to be prevented. It’s a dangerous public nuisance for the people
who live in our neighborhood and is going to end badly if the City doesn’t come up with a plan that does not
allow people this illegal gathering using a different approach. Cal Poly students are replenished with a new
class each fall, and they will continue to seek out “the tradition” unless the City uses tools that have been
successful in other communities to stop unruly gatherings, such as a curfew.
In March 2024, the city manager, Derek Johnson, said that the event must be prevented after the St. Fratty’s
Day event on 3/16/2024, and the City Council directed that the event be prevented moving forward. Derek
said a resident task force would be formed but that never happened. Back then, the trauma was fresh and
the City was motivated, but it seems that motivation has fallen by the wayside and the event is not going to
be prevented in 2025.
In November 2024, several residents and property owners in the Alta Vista neighborhood formed a task
force to communicate with the City about ideas to stop the event because it has affected us since it re-
emerged in 2022. It’s notable that before 2022, the only other time St. Fratty’s Day was an “unlawful
assembly” in San Luis Obispo was in 2015 when 3,000 people converged into our neighborhood and a
roof collapsed at approximately 6:30 a.m., which ended the event that day. It did not return until 2022.
On 12/11/2024, members of our task force met with SLOPD, Erica Stewart, and Whitney McDonald. We had
prepared a comprehensive plan to stop St. Fratty’s Day, which included setting a curfew, a successful tool in
Miami Beach for ending the destructive unlawful assemblies during Spring Break. This suggestion was
made by Cal Poly staff during an SCLC meeting on 10/17/2024.
2
During that SCLC meeting on 10/17/2024, it was made clear that Cal Poly is going to take care of Cal Poly
at its boundary, and that the City needs to take care of the City within the city limits. Cal Poly representative
Michelle Crawford told Deputy City Manager, Greg Hermann and SLOPD Chief Rick Scott, that she
recommended looking at what the city of Miami Beach did to stop Spring Break in 2024, with its “We’re
breaking up with Spring Break” campaign. A key component of its successful campaign was a curfew.
Michelle Crawford commented that Miami Beach’s campaign “worked very effectively.”
The resident task force generated a plan using ChatGPT to effectively prevent St. Fratty’s Day using metrics
from St. Fratty’s Day 2022, 2023, and 2024, and effective methods from other unlawful assemblies across
the country, not including protests. We provided the plan to SLOPD, Erica, and Whitney, and I have
attached it to this correspondence, along with the statements from city leaders and an ER doctor that were
published when Mardi Gras was canceled.
Unfortunately, it does not appear the City has chosen to implement a curfew and therefore, St. Fratty’s Day
is going to disrupt our neighborhood yet again, which is super disappointing.
I think it’s important to point out that since 2022, SLOPD Chief Scott has repeatedly said they are going to
have a “proactive” approach to St. Fratty’s Day, and that approach has failed every year. I want to revisit the
facts that are backed up by SLOPD dispatch logs and other documentation since St. Fratty’s 2022.
St. Fratty’s Day 2022
In 2022, approximately 2,000 people overtook the intersection of Bond and Hathway, however, the entire
neighborhood was affected by screaming people, fireworks, trespassing, and vandalism from 4 a.m. to 10:00
a.m. In 2022, the Saturday before winter finals was on 3/12, five days before St. Patrick’s Day.
There were many posts on social media the night before the event that indicated the event was going to
happen, but SLOPD did not anticipate the event. Fireworks woke our neighborhood at 4 a.m. There were
only a handful of officers in our neighborhood until shift change when more officers came on duty.
Some noise citations were written, mostly to known illegal fraternity houses but many calls were not
responded to and there was a point where officers stood around the perimeter of the crowd because it was
too large. People were openly drinking alcohol, climbing telephone poles, standing on rooftops, and law
enforcement did not intervene. They waited until the unlawful assembly of drunken people burnt itself out,
six hours after it started. A spreadsheet of the calls to SLOPD dispatch was prepared after St. Fratty's Day
to show the timeline and was emailed to the City Council before St. Fratty's 2023:
3
During the debrief to the City Council, SLOPD Chief Scott minimized what happened during St. Fratty’s
2022, and said they “went ahead and just secured the area and helped diffuse the rest of the parties to go
ahead and help them out of the neighborhoods” and that it only took “a couple of hours to get the situation
under control.” The event lasted for six hours and was not under control until 10 a.m.
Preparation for St. Fratty’s 2023
In the summer of 2022, I noticed that St. Fratty’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day were back-to-back on Friday and
Saturday. I knew that would cause a terrible situation and I wrote to SLOPD Chief Scott and the City
Council that summer, expressing my concern. I prepared calendars to illustrate the bad situation.
4
The City did not take any action to implement a Safety Enhancement Zone (SEZ). On 2/21/2023, before St.
Fratty’s Day 2023, several concerned residents went to the City Council, explained our concerns, and asked
for the city to implement a SEZ, even on an emergency basis, citing the perfect-storm scenario of back-to-
back dates on the weekend.
The SLOPD Chief was in the audience, and he addressed Council, stating “I would like to say that we do
have a plan in place. Contrary to some of the comments, our plan does work.”
On 3/7/2023, SLOPD Chief Scott told the City Council “We’ll have available resources from other agencies
should that be required. … we’re going to be proactively focused on spot enforcement of critical areas and
also those areas where we’ve had historical challenges due to large gatherings and unruly crowds.”
On 3/15/2023, SLOPD Chief Scott and Deputy Chief Fred Mickel met with RQN and explained that they had
“proactive” plans to address the event. They said they had adequate staff and plans to circumvent any
dangerous activity, and we should not be worried because they were on top of it.
St. Fratty’s 2023
On 3/18/2023, St. Fratty’s Day, crowds began to overtake the neighborhood at 4 a.m. SLOPD did not
anticipate the crowd would gather that early and was not prepared for the volume of people who overtook
the neighborhood. College-aged people were openly drinking alcohol, carrying BORGs (Black Out Rage
Gallons), and many, many people climbed utility poles without any intervention from law enforcement.
SLOPD stood around the perimeter and did not engage with the crowd. I was standing near SLOPD officers
when we witnessed a guy climb out onto the utility line doing pull-ups. An officer said there was nothing he
could do and that he thought PG&E had turned off the power to the pole.
One of my neighbors called 911 because intoxicated guys trespassed onto his property and threatened to
fight him. He said the SLOPD dispatcher told him they could not help him due to his proximity to the street
party and hung up on him.
The unlawful gathering was allowed to continue until it fizzled out at around 10:30 a.m. SLOPD did not shut
down large fraternity parties or get people off rooftops. It’s my understanding that SLOPD issued citations
after the event based on drone footage, but an Administrative Hearing Officer dismissed those citations so
there were no consequences for the citations.
During a City Council meeting on 1/9/2024 for the Safety Enhancement Zone, Deputy Chief Mickel admitted
that SLOPD was not prepared for St. Fratty’s Day in 2023. A transcript from the meeting is below:
Erica Stewart: “On page 405…it says the PD doesn’t do anything during the unruly gatherings and so
I thought you could share why the PD respond as they do during the large gatherings.”
Fred Mickel: “It really depends on manpower. … like for instance, this past St. Fratty’s Day, we had
a much larger – we planned for a large event, (but) this was three times larger than we even
thought. It really, unfortunately, caught us a little bit by surprise even though we had a really
good plan going into it. And so at that point, you just start managing safety. And that’s our first
thing, right? And there’s a lot of things going on, yes we could take action against. And we tried to.
We tried some creative approaches to doing some unruly gathering, and we did do some unruly
gathering citations during that event. But probably not as many as we could have.
But we had to look at the bigger picture of, how do we not only keep the residents as safe as we can,
the officers, and all the people that were participating in the party. So, that’s really what drove that.
Now if we had the manpower, the personnel, the things that we could do, then absolutely we’d be
enforcing the unruly gatherings and those types of things. We just have to weigh those out at the
time.”
5
After St. Fratty’s 2023
On 3/21/2023, SLOPD Chief Scott told the City Council that during St. Fratty’s 2023 there was “a larger
crowd, as expected, post-COVID” and that “SLOPD was upstaffed” to address the event. The true events
that day were downplayed or not discussed.
He said he planned to do an after-action analysis and talk with residents of our neighborhood but none of
the long-term residents in our neighborhood were contacted.
Mitigation Measures:
· On 1/9/2024, City Council adopted a SEZ for some weekends in March, including the Saturday
before Cal Poly’s winter finals, which is traditionally St. Fratty’s Day.
· PG&E removed the lower rungs from utility poles in the neighborhood.
St. Fratty’s 2024
Calls to SLOPD dispatch started at 3:20 a.m.; Illegal gathering in the street 5:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Streets were blocked and parties in the upper Alta Vista neighborhood, Albert Drive, until 10:30 a.m.
Medical calls/welfare checks (unconscious intoxicated people) until 12:20 p.m.
Noisy parties started in the neighborhood just after 3:00 a.m. Four illegal fraternity houses were cited for
noisy parties by 4:00 a.m. There was a constant stream of people screaming past our house and a city utility
truck placed unmanned barricades at intersections to stop vehicles from driving on the streets just after 6:00
a.m., allowing parades of people to walk down the center of streets. I've attached a PDF that shows the calls
to SLOPD dispatch on 3/16/2024, St. Fratty's Day, including complaints at local hotels about noisy people
partying between 5:30 a.m. and 6:15 a.m.
I've also attached a video posted on social media by an Uber driver who picked up a group of gals at 3:30
a.m. They were "going to Beta" (Beta Theta Pi fraternity) which held a party, as many fraternities did
that morning. Some property owners of illegal fraternity houses had received notification from Code
Enforcement before St. Fratty's Day, and it seems that message was passed along to the fraternities
because some did not host events that day. (I called the owner of 348 Hathway on 2/28/2024 and he
promised me the fraternity would not have a party that morning.)
Still, 6,000-7,000 people showed up to block neighborhood streets. While it was difficult for them to climb
utility poles because the rungs were removed, people trespassed into yards and climbed on parked cars and
rooftops. Cars were scratched and windows smashed, fences were torn down, landscapes and bushes were
trampled, gutters were torn off houses, etc. Electric and cable lines were pulled down from a house. The
weight of people in a front yard caused a sewer line to collapse.
The damage to the Cal Poly dorms is often highlighted, but the total damage in the neighborhood
was in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Numerous people accessed an electrical line from a house to the utility pole and climbed across the wire.
One did pull-ups and fell. I heard that he broke his arm and was not identified until days later. Based on
dozens of videos posted online, there was no law enforcement anywhere nearby to remove him or the
hundreds of people on the rooftops for an extended period.
A tenant in a different house documented her terrifying experience, attached to this email. She and her
roommates called SLOPD four times because trespassers were on their rooftop and they feared the roof
would collapse on them. The SLOPD dispatcher hung up on them. When SLOPD finally arrived, they did not
help her to get the people off her roof. Part of her account is below:
“The police watched me struggling to clear the roof for over 30 minutes and still refused to take
action. I am a young woman who was ill-equipped to stand alone against the drunk and aggressive
6
mob-mentality that prevailed, and I was extremely scared and disheartened by the lack of support we
received. If we had received assistance the first time (or two) that we called the police, they would
have been able to clear the small crowd of people in our yard and on our roof, before it became a
serious and dangerous situation. I understand that large crowds are difficult to control, but my
housemates and I were put in danger due to the police’s lack of action, and I urge you to implement
safer strategies moving forward.”
The ”street party” ended at about 9:30 a.m. Streets were still blocked by college-aged people, and many
were obviously intoxicated and it was difficult to get through in a car. There were also rideshare drivers
everywhere, blocking the streets with hazard lights on. An unruly gathering was cited at Delta Upsilon’s
illegal fraternity house at 281 Albert Drive at 10:30 a.m.
Sirens continued as emergency calls for intoxicated people continued until after 12:00 p.m., including an
unconscious male on a 2-story rooftop at 146 Stenner and an unconscious male on a rooftop at 1861 Hope.
Both are illegal fraternity houses for Kappa Sigma.
After St. Fratty’s 2024
7
During his debrief to the City Council on 3/19/2024, Chief Scott noted that there were no problems at bars or
downtown core on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th. On St. Fratty’s Day, police presence was tripled with
assistance from Cal Poly, CSU CRU Team, California Men’s Colony, and California Alcohol and Beverage
Control. He said early enforcement led to citations and arrests but about two hours later (just after 6 a.m.)
the streets needed to be closed, as crowds swelled to 6,000 – 7,000 people.
He said he found the activities “extremely disappointing, dangerous and criminal. This is not in keeping with
Cal Poly’s reputation and certainly not that of our community. Looking ahead, these lawless activities
cannot and should not be allowed to occur in our communities .”
During the SCLC meeting on 4/18/2024, Chief Scott said, “the fact that we didn’t have any significant injuries
is, I think, by sheer luck. You saw what was going on inside the incident. We had over 30 calls for service for
EMS and nearly all of those were related to alcohol or consumption of alcohol. Any one of those calls
could turn fatal if we’re not able to get resources to those that need it. We really can’t. And so the fact that
we escaped without a significant injury is really not something to brag about. It’s sheer luck that that
happened.”
St. Fratty’s 2025
It is unknown what will happen in 2025.
Other than in 2015, the unlawful assembly/neighborhood takeover called "St. Fratty's Day" has only happened
in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Each of those three years, we were woken up before dawn, there were people on
rooftops, young people openly drinking alcohol, and damage to our neighborhood. It was unacceptable in 2022,
with 2,000 people. In 2023 and 2024, SLOPD has said there would be proactive enforcement but the mayhem
has been allowed to continue.
The City Council and SLOPD were warned of the impending doom in 2023 based on it falling on Friday and
Saturday unless some action was taken to prevent it and no action was taken. Messages posted by Cal Poly
students on social media in 2022 and 2023 said that SLOPD was "just keeping us safe" and there was a
permissive message that the event was okay. So it's no surprise that it happened again in 2024.
It should not be allowed to happen again in 2025.
You have an opportunity to stop the event by implementing a curfew and not allowing people to gather in the
neighborhood. It is not “successful” if even 2,000 people show up for an unlawful assembly in our
neighborhood like they did for St. Fratty's in 2022. A plan is successful if you use all the tools available to
prevent the event from happening at all. Please do more this year, than just hiring more law enforcement to
cite people and stand by. Use the tools available to stop the event.
Sincerely,
Kathie Walker
Fwd: St. Fratty's Day - Student Account
From: (email redacted)
Date: November 22, 2024 at 2:59:24 PM PST
To:
Subject: St. Fratty's Day - Student Account
Hi Tracy!
My name is (name redacted), and I am a previous tenant of 306 Hathway Avenue. I have been asked to detail
to you my concerns regarding “St. Fratty’s Day” celebrations, namely the unsanctioned block party that
typically occurs on Hathway Ave. I have attached a detailed timeline of the St. Fratty’s events from this past
year, that I wrote and shared with my landlord (name redacted) in April.
'As tenants and Cal Poly students, my housemates and I were aware that the block party would occur near our
house. We were concerned about possible damage to the house/yard, and facing fines from SLOPD due to
our proximity to the block party, and we communicated this with our landlord well in advance. She had
temporary orange fencing installed that circled the yard, and we locked all the doors and windows in
preparation. What we did not expect was that partygoers tore down the orange fencing, and began climbing on
top of our roof. My roommates and I were inside the house when we heard stomping on the roof, and when I
attempted to get people down, I was met with aggression by some men who had used our outdoor furniture
and gutters to climb up. We brought the furniture inside, barricaded the door, and had already called the police
for help.
As the crowd on the roof grew, we became increasingly scared of it collapsing. Our gutters were torn down,
our wooden fence was ripped apart, and people attempted to kick down one of the side doors to enter our
house. It’s hard to convey the amount of panic we felt inside the house, as we were effectively trapped under a
roof that had over 100 people on it and could collapse on us at any moment. We repeatedly called the police
for help, and were ignored or hung up on. Eventually, police came into the yard and I went outside to get their
assistance clearing the roof. Instead, they accused me of throwing the “entire party” and knowing everyone on
the roof (I clarified that they were all strangers, and no party had been held. The police confirmed that they
saw no one inside). When I asked for their help getting people off the roof, as I was afraid of it collapsing, they
said that I would have to handle it myself, and instead issued me a ticket. In the end, I had to physically pull
people down as they tried to scale the sides of the house, and eventually brought a ladder to get everyone off
the roof.
The police watched me struggling to clear the roof for over 30 minutes, and still refused to take action. I am a
young woman who was ill-equipped to stand alone against the drunk and aggressive mob-mentality that
prevailed, and I was extremely scared and disheartened by the lack of support we received. If we had received
assistance the first time (or two) that we called the police, they would have been able to clear the small crowd
of people in our yard and on our roof, before it became a serious and dangerous situation. I understand that
large crowds are difficult to control, but my housemates and I were put in danger due to the police’s lack of
action, and I urge you to implement safer strategies moving forward.'
If any further action is taken or information provided by me is used, please refrain from sharing my name.
Thank you for your time!
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ik=c193ab931d&view=pt&search=all&permmsgid=msg-f:1816469536304155060&simpl=msg-f:1816469536304155060 2/2
1 - 03:24 a.m. 1264 Foothill, (Lambda Chi Alpha)
2 - 03:33 a.m. 1251 Monte Vista, (Lambda Chi Alpha)
3 - 03:51 a.m. 1275 Stafford, (Phi Kappa Psi)
4 – 04:03 a.m. 325 Kentucky
5 – 04:05 a.m. 248 Grand, (Sigma Nu – now Theta Chi)
6 – 04:10 a.m. 1185 Foothill #19
7 – 04:12 a.m. 322 Hathway, (Kappa Sigma)
3
9
10,69
8,
11
12
25 – 05:46 a.m. Bond & Kentucky, Alcohol Offense
26 – 05:50 a.m. Bond & Hathway, Alcohol Offense
27 – 05:54 a.m. 306 Hathway, Disorderly
28 – 05:54 a.m. 1200 Block Bond, Alcohol Offense
29 – 05:55 a.m. Kentucky & Bond, Suspicious
30 – 05:56 a.m. Hathway & California, Alcohol Offense
31 – 05:57 a.m. Ramona & Tassajara; off map
32 – 06:03 a.m. 1116 Peach; off map
33 – 06:07 a.m. 1600 McCollum, 10 males fighting
34 – 06:11 a.m. 1825 Monterey, University Inn; off map
35 – 06:26 a.m. 123 Crandall, (Sigma Nu)
36 – 06:31 a.m. Hathway & Carpenter
37 – 06:31 a.m. 531 Hathway; off map
38 – 06:34 a.m. 1128 Peach; off map
39 – 06:47 a.m. 376 Graves
40 – 06:50 a.m. Kentucky & Bond, Alcohol Offense
41 – 06:54 a.m. Kentucky & Bond, Alcohol Offense
19 47, 65
5
20
23
24,75
26,50
53,58
30, 45,
46,47,
64
3328
35
36,42
47,49
42 – 06:56 a.m. Hathway & Carpenter, Alcohol Offense
43 – 06:57 a.m. 1355 Bond, Alcohol Offense
44 – 07:04 a.m. 1355 Bond, Alcohol Offense
45 – 07:05 a.m. California & Hathway, Alcohol Offense
46 – 07:06 a.m. California & Hathway, Alcohol Offense
47 – 07:08 a.m. Carpenter & Hathway, Alcohol Offense
48 – 07:11 a.m. 300 Blk Hathway, Criminal Mischief, Alc
49 - 07:17 a.m. Hathway & Carpenter, Alcohol Offense
50 – 07:21 a.m. Hathway & Bond, Vandalism Vehicle
51 – 07:26 a.m. 290 California, Alcohol Offense
52 – 07:28 a.m. 306 Hathway, Disorderly
53 – 07:29 a.m. Hathway & Bond, Criminal Mischief, Disorde
54 – 07:29 a.m. 306 Hathway, Disorderly
55 - 07:46 a.m. 1214 Bond, Disorderly
56 – 07:48 a.m. Slack & Longview, Alcohol Offense
57 – 07:49 a.m. Kentucky & Fredericks, Alcohol Offense
58 – 07:53 a.m. Hathway & Bond, Disorderly
59 – 07:55 a.m. 290 California, Alcohol Offense
60 – 07:56 a.m. 1214 Bond, Disorderly
61 – 08:10 a.m. 301 Hathway (Sigma Nu)
62 – 08:13 a.m. 1216 Bond, Disorderly
63 – 08:20 a.m. 306 Hathway, Intoxicated Person
64 – 08:24 a.m. California & Hathway, Obstruct Justice
65 – 08:29 a.m. 322 Hathway, Loitering/Trespass
66 – 08:53 a.m. 440 Kentucky, Disorderly
67 – 08:58 a.m. 331 Hathway (Alpha Epsilon Pi)
68 – 08:58 a.m. 269 Hathway, Alcohol Offense
69 – 09:04 a.m. Longview & Bond, Resist, Interfere w/Police
70 – 09:41 a.m. 357 Graves, Male passed out on sidewalk
71 – 09:42 a.m. 281 Hathway, (Kappa Sigma)
72 – 09:49 a.m. 269 Hathway, Alcohol Offense
73 – 09:50 a.m. 101 Graves, Loitering/Trespassing
74 – 09:52 a.m. 2065 Sierra; off map Welfare Check, Intoxica
75 – 09:59 a.m. 208 Hathway, (Alpha Epsilon Pi)
76 – 10:04 a.m. 138 Orange (Pi Kappa Alpha, disaffiliated)
77 – 10:00 a.m. French Hosp, Intox female took out IV & left
78 – 10:05 a.m. Longview & Albert, Alcohol Offense
79 – 10:08 a.m. Longview & Albert, Alcohol Offense
80 – 10:09 a.m. 116 Mustang, Collision/DUI
81 – 10:17 a.m. 281 Albert, (Delta Upsilon) Party 300 people
82 – 10:47 a.m. 59 S. Tassajara; off map
83 – 11:26 a.m. Kentucky & Fredericks, Alcohol Offense
84 – 11:45 a.m. 146 Stenner (Kappa Sigma) Medical uncons
85 – 12:03 p.m. 109 Mustang; off map Welfare Check
86 – 12:24 p.m. 1861 Hope, (Kappa Signa) Welfare unconsci
39
43,44
25,29
40,41
48
51,59
27,52
54,63
56
57,83
60,62
61
8 – 04:15 a.m. 1267 Fredericks (sorority)
9 – 04:32 a.m. 1453 Slack, Alcohol Offense
10- 04:43 a.m. Longview & Bond, Alcohol Offense
11- 04:44 a.m. 1267 Fredericks (sorority)
12- 04:45 a.m. 1840 Hope
13- 04:50 a.m. Ramona & La Entrada; off map
14- 04:54 a.m. 241 Foothill; off map
15- 05:05 a.m. Tassajara & Foothill, Alcohol Offense; off map
16 – 05:16 a.m. 410 N. Chorro; off map
17 – 05:21 a.m. 457 Pismo; off map
18 – 05:25 a.m. 303 Foothill; off map
19 – 05:26 a.m. 364 Hathway
20 – 05:27 a.m. 296 Albert
21 – 05:28 a.m. 210 Madonna, Vagabond Inn; off map
22 – 05:29 a.m. 200 Santa Rosa; off map
23 – 05:33 a.m. Hathway & Murray
24 – 05:37 a.m. 208 Hathway (Alpha Epsilon Pi)
Charles Teach Elementary
&
SLO Classical Academy
Cal Poly
campus
Calls to SLOPD
related to
St. Fratty’s Day
03/16/2024
(Noisy parties,
etc.)
3:24 a.m. – 12:24 p.m.
70
66
67
68,72
71
73
76
78,79
81
84
86
Comprehensive Plan to Cancel St. Fratty’s Day 2025
To cancel and prevent the unlawful assembly known as St. Fratty's Day in 2025, San Luis Obispo must adopt a
multi-layered strategy combining enforcement, preventative measures, public communication, and inter-agency
collaboration. Below is a step-by-step guide:
1. Declare the Event as Unlawful in Advance
• Public Declaration:
o Officially designate that St. Fratty's Day was an unlawful assembly under California Penal Code
§407 in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
o Issue a resolution by the City Council declaring the event illegal and emphasizing the risks of
participation (e.g., injury, arrest, property damage).
• Proactive Ordinances:
o Pass temporary measures for March 14–16, 2025, including:
A ban on public gatherings of more than 10 people in designated neighborhoods.
Prohibition of rooftop access during the weekend.
Strict noise restrictions and alcohol bans in public spaces.
2. Establish a Curfew
By integrating a curfew into the broader prevention plan, San Luis Obispo can take proactive steps to cancel St.
Fratty’s Day in 2025 and prioritize the safety of its community.
• Details of the Curfew:
o Curfew Hours: Midnight to 8:00 AM from March 14 to March 16, 2025.
o Affected Area: Apply the curfew to neighborhoods historically impacted by the event.
• Enforcement Plan:
o Use high-visibility checkpoints at key access points to enforce the curfew.
o Deploy foot patrols in residential areas to ensure compliance.
o Arrest violators and issue citations for curfew breaches, emphasizing deterrence.
• Legal Framework:
o Issue the curfew under the city’s emergency powers and its authority under California
Government Code §8634, citing public safety concerns.
• Rationale for a Curfew
o Miami Beach successfully used curfews to control spring break crowds and prevent dangerous
behavior, resulting in fewer incidents and improved public safety.
o A curfew establishes clear boundaries and reduces the likelihood of large gatherings forming,
while also enabling law enforcement to act decisively against violators and fostering the
protection of life and property.
3. Launch a Public Awareness Campaign
• Campaign Goals:
o Discourage attendance and participation in St. Fratty’s Day.
o Educate the public on the risks and legal consequences of the event.
• Messaging: Launch a city-wide campaign with clear messaging to deter participation. This approach was
effective during the 2005 Mardi Gras, where similar messaging was used to discourage large gatherings.
o Slogans like "The Party is Over: St. Fratty’s Day 2025" or "Stay Safe, Stay Home."
o Use social media, electronic billboards, and local media outlets to reach students and the broader
community.
o Collaborate with Cal Poly and Cuesta College to send emails and alerts to students emphasizing
the event’s dangers and illegality.
(See Attachment of statements issued by the Mayor, Cal Poly and Cuesta College Presidents, and Sierra
Vista ER doctor in January 2005 regarding the cancellation of Mardi Gras.)
• Media Outreach: Utilize local media, social media platforms, and community events to disseminate
information about the risks and legal consequences associated with participating in unauthorized
gatherings.
4. Strengthen Law Enforcement Resources
• Resource Allocation:
o Request mutual aid from neighboring agencies, including CHP and Sheriff’s department.
o Deploy officers at key areas for proactive prevention.
o Prioritize SLOPD presence in affected neighborhoods while Cal Poly Police manage on-campus
enforcement.
• Crowd Management:
o Equip law enforcement with tools for early dispersal, such as loudspeakers, barricades, and
mounted patrols. (SLO does not have mounted patrols so perhaps foot and bike patrol.)
o Adopt a clear plan to declare an unlawful assembly and disperse crowds at the first sign of
gathering in the street.
• Zero-Tolerance Policy:
o Intervene early to prevent people from converging.
o Enforce citations for noise violations, public intoxication, trespassing, and vandalism.
5. Restrict Access to Neighborhoods
• Temporary Street Closures:
o Restrict vehicle and pedestrian access to impacted areas during the event timeframe.
o Issue permits or enact policies for residents and essential personnel to ensure legitimate access.
• Barricades:
o Place physical barriers at key intersections to prevent crowds from forming.
• Parking Restrictions:
o Impose temporary no-parking zones in affected neighborhoods.
6. Provide Clear Consequences
• Legal Penalties:
o Highlight fines for curfew violations, trespassing, and public intoxication (e.g., $1,000+ for major
infractions).
o Announce that arrests and criminal charges will be reported to the university, potentially
impacting academic standing.
Dear Friends,
I have lived and worked in San Luis Obispo for the majority of my life, and I love this town. Our people –
including our college students – are creative and spirited, and special events have been a big part of our
community life. The annual Mardi Gras celebration was one such event, growing over the years from a tiny one
block celebration into a huge parade. Unfortunately, something else grew along with the parade: Hoards of out-
of control and destructive partiers, many from outside the community, who drink excessively and cause major
problems. In 2004, this destructive and violent behavior resulted in a riot, which cost our taxpayers almost a half
million dollars.
This is not what San Luis Obispo is about, and as much as we like special events, our City Council concluded that
Mardi Gras in San Luis Obispo must stop – completely. And we have backed up our commitment with the
resources necessary to create huge consequences for those who choose to disrespect our town.
As your Mayor, I ask that those of you who live in San Luis Obispo help us protect our community from such
destructive behavior. Please don’t invite out-of-town guests to San Luis Obispo to party over Mardi Gras
weekend (February 4 – 8, 2005). Encourage your friends who live here to enjoy the weekend in a safe and
helpful way.
If you don’t live in San Luis Obispo, please don’t visit us for Mardi Gras. MARDI GRAS IN SAN LUIS OBISPO IS
OVER.
Dave Romero
Mayor
Dear Cal Poly Student:
Welcome back to Cal Poly. I hope you enjoyed your holidays and have returned to campus refreshed and eager
to start winter quarter.
This month you have probably been hearing about the City of San Luis Obispo's intention to bring an end to
public celebrations of Mardi Gras. Cal Poly supports the City's plans for strongly discouraging such celebrations
and maintaining the peace this year.
For more information on these plans, please take a look at www.MardiGrasSLO.com.
It is broadly recognized that Cal Poly students are good citizens and contribute much to the community. And all
but a small number of Cal Poly students avoided involvement in the serious disturbances in the community
associated with last year's Mardi Gras celebrations. We wish to commend you for that.
I urge you to heed the City's call for cessation of public Mardi Gras celebrations in the streets of San Luis Obispo
and to encourage others to join with you in continuing the Cal Poly traditions of civility and respect for the law.
Thank you for your support and cooperation.
Sincerely,
Warren J. Baker
President
January 24, 2005
Cuesta College Students
RE: Mardi Gras in San Luis Obispo
Dear Students,
We are pleased to welcome new and returning Cuesta College students to the Spring 2005 semester. For many of
you it will be your first time living away from home and your first time experiencing the excitement, fulfillment,
and increased sense of responsibility that the college environment fosters.
At the same time that you are experiencing wonderful opportunities for personal growth and increased
knowledge, you are also encountering more opportunities to socialize. As you might be aware, Mardi Gras
weekend is a particularly social period in San Luis Obispo. Unfortunately, Mardi Gras in San Luis Obispo has
evolved into an out-of-control party scene that culminated last year in a large-scale, violent riot, which involved a
few Cuesta and Cal Poly students as well as out-of-area visitors.
Because of those issues, the City of San Luis Obispo is working in conjunction with Cuesta College and Cal Poly
San Luis Obispo University to communicate new plans to discourage public Mardi Gras celebrations. These
efforts are made in the interest of maintaining peace throughout the city during the Mardi Gras weekend
beginning February 4. Higher fines, an increased police presence on the streets of San Luis Obispo, and a more
stringent prosecution of offenders are just a few of the ramifications you could face this year if you choose to
attend or host Mardi Gras parties.
It is always important for you to make safe and responsible decisions, on campus and off. As a Cuesta College
student, please join us in reinforcing the need to comply with the City’s call to discontinue public Mardi Gras
celebrations in the streets of San Luis Obispo. I urge you to avoid participating in any disorderly public Mardi Gras
parties and to discourage out-of-area friends from visiting during that weekend.
Please do not drink and drive. Thank you for your support and consideration of this important matter.
Sincerely,
Marie E. Rosenwasser, Ph.D.
Superintendent/President
Dr. Steve Sainsbury, Emergency Room Doctor – Sierra Vista Hospital
Many of you probably view Mardi Gras as a time of celebration.
I view Mardi Gras as a night where my Emergency Department is overwhelmed with drunken brawlers, whose
bleeding and scarred faces are devoid of fun or frolic. I view Mardi Gras as a succession of somber women who
face the day-after consequences of unwanted or unremembered sexual activity, complete with very real worries
about pregnancy, HIV and STDs. I view Mardi Gras as a time when any behavior is deemed acceptable – even if it
risks the health and welfare of both police and public – all in the name of “fun”.
As a career emergency physician, I dread Mardi Gras like no other event.
Dr. Steve Sainsbury
1
From:Colunga-Lopez, Andrea
Sent:Tuesday, February 4, 2025 8:30 AM
To:kathie walker
Cc:CityClerk
Subject:RE: St. Fratty's Day 3/15/2025
Hi Kathie,
Thank you for your input, it has been sent to the City Council members. It is now placed in the public archive for
tonight’s meeting.
Best,
Andrea Colunga-Lopez
pronouns she/her/hers
Administrative Assistant II
City Administration
E AColunga@slocity.org
T 805.781.7105
slocity.org
Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications
From: kathie walker < >
Sent: Monday, February 3, 2025 11:52 PM
To: E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org>; Marx, Jan <jmarx@slocity.org>; Francis, Emily <EFrancis@slocity.org>;
Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; Boswell, Mike <MBoswell@slocity.org>
Cc: Brett Cross < ; Carolyn Smith < ; Stewjenkins Info
< ; Steven Walker < >
Subject: St. Fratty's Day 3/15/2025
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
San Luis Obispo City Councilmembers,
The illegal drunken takeover of our neighborhood by thousands of people on the Saturday before Cal Poly’s
winter finals is unacceptable and needs to be prevented. It’s a dangerous public nuisance for the people
who live in our neighborhood and is going to end badly if the City doesn’t come up with a plan that does not
allow people this illegal gathering using a different approach. Cal Poly students are replenished with a new
class each fall, and they will continue to seek out “the tradition” unless the City uses tools that have been
successful in other communities to stop unruly gatherings, such as a curfew.
In March 2024, the city manager, Derek Johnson, said that the event must be prevented after the St. Fratty’s
Day event on 3/16/2024, and the City Council directed that the event be prevented moving forward. Derek
said a resident task force would be formed but that never happened. Back then, the trauma was fresh and
2
the City was motivated, but it seems that motivation has fallen by the wayside and the event is not going to
be prevented in 2025.
In November 2024, several residents and property owners in the Alta Vista neighborhood formed a task
force to communicate with the City about ideas to stop the event because it has affected us since it re-
emerged in 2022. It’s notable that before 2022, the only other time St. Fratty’s Day was an “unlawful
assembly” in San Luis Obispo was in 2015 when 3,000 people converged into our neighborhood and a
roof collapsed at approximately 6:30 a.m., which ended the event that day. It did not return until 2022.
On 12/11/2024, members of our task force met with SLOPD, Erica Stewart, and Whitney McDonald. We had
prepared a comprehensive plan to stop St. Fratty’s Day, which included setting a curfew, a successful tool in
Miami Beach for ending the destructive unlawful assemblies during Spring Break. This suggestion was
made by Cal Poly staff during an SCLC meeting on 10/17/2024.
During that SCLC meeting on 10/17/2024, it was made clear that Cal Poly is going to take care of Cal Poly
at its boundary, and that the City needs to take care of the City within the city limits. Cal Poly representative
Michelle Crawford told Deputy City Manager, Greg Hermann and SLOPD Chief Rick Scott, that she
recommended looking at what the city of Miami Beach did to stop Spring Break in 2024, with its “We’re
breaking up with Spring Break” campaign. A key component of its successful campaign was a curfew.
Michelle Crawford commented that Miami Beach’s campaign “worked very effectively.”
The resident task force generated a plan using ChatGPT to effectively prevent St. Fratty’s Day using metrics
from St. Fratty’s Day 2022, 2023, and 2024, and effective methods from other unlawful assemblies across
the country, not including protests. We provided the plan to SLOPD, Erica, and Whitney, and I have
attached it to this correspondence, along with the statements from city leaders and an ER doctor that were
published when Mardi Gras was canceled.
Unfortunately, it does not appear the City has chosen to implement a curfew and therefore, St. Fratty’s Day
is going to disrupt our neighborhood yet again, which is super disappointing.
I think it’s important to point out that since 2022, SLOPD Chief Scott has repeatedly said they are going to
have a “proactive” approach to St. Fratty’s Day, and that approach has failed every year. I want to revisit the
facts that are backed up by SLOPD dispatch logs and other documentation since St. Fratty’s 2022.
St. Fratty’s Day 2022
In 2022, approximately 2,000 people overtook the intersection of Bond and Hathway, however, the entire
neighborhood was affected by screaming people, fireworks, trespassing, and vandalism from 4 a.m. to 10:00
a.m. In 2022, the Saturday before winter finals was on 3/12, five days before St. Patrick’s Day.
There were many posts on social media the night before the event that indicated the event was going to
happen, but SLOPD did not anticipate the event. Fireworks woke our neighborhood at 4 a.m. There were
only a handful of officers in our neighborhood until shift change when more officers came on duty.
Some noise citations were written, mostly to known illegal fraternity houses but many calls were not
responded to and there was a point where officers stood around the perimeter of the crowd because it was
too large. People were openly drinking alcohol, climbing telephone poles, standing on rooftops, and law
enforcement did not intervene. They waited until the unlawful assembly of drunken people burnt itself out,
six hours after it started. A spreadsheet of the calls to SLOPD dispatch was prepared after St. Fratty's Day
to show the timeline and was emailed to the City Council before St. Fratty's 2023:
3
During the debrief to the City Council, SLOPD Chief Scott minimized what happened during St. Fratty’s
2022, and said they “went ahead and just secured the area and helped diffuse the rest of the parties to go
ahead and help them out of the neighborhoods” and that it only took “a couple of hours to get the situation
under control.” The event lasted for six hours and was not under control until 10 a.m.
Preparation for St. Fratty’s 2023
In the summer of 2022, I noticed that St. Fratty’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day were back-to-back on Friday and
Saturday. I knew that would cause a terrible situation and I wrote to SLOPD Chief Scott and the City
Council that summer, expressing my concern. I prepared calendars to illustrate the bad situation.
4
The City did not take any action to implement a Safety Enhancement Zone (SEZ). On 2/21/2023, before St.
Fratty’s Day 2023, several concerned residents went to the City Council, explained our concerns, and asked
for the city to implement a SEZ, even on an emergency basis, citing the perfect-storm scenario of back-to-
back dates on the weekend.
The SLOPD Chief was in the audience, and he addressed Council, stating “I would like to say that we do
have a plan in place. Contrary to some of the comments, our plan does work.”
On 3/7/2023, SLOPD Chief Scott told the City Council “We’ll have available resources from other agencies
should that be required. … we’re going to be proactively focused on spot enforcement of critical areas and
also those areas where we’ve had historical challenges due to large gatherings and unruly crowds.”
On 3/15/2023, SLOPD Chief Scott and Deputy Chief Fred Mickel met with RQN and explained that they had
“proactive” plans to address the event. They said they had adequate staff and plans to circumvent any
dangerous activity, and we should not be worried because they were on top of it.
St. Fratty’s 2023
On 3/18/2023, St. Fratty’s Day, crowds began to overtake the neighborhood at 4 a.m. SLOPD did not
anticipate the crowd would gather that early and was not prepared for the volume of people who overtook
the neighborhood. College-aged people were openly drinking alcohol, carrying BORGs (Black Out Rage
Gallons), and many, many people climbed utility poles without any intervention from law enforcement.
SLOPD stood around the perimeter and did not engage with the crowd. I was standing near SLOPD officers
when we witnessed a guy climb out onto the utility line doing pull-ups. An officer said there was nothing he
could do and that he thought PG&E had turned off the power to the pole.
One of my neighbors called 911 because intoxicated guys trespassed onto his property and threatened to
fight him. He said the SLOPD dispatcher told him they could not help him due to his proximity to the street
party and hung up on him.
The unlawful gathering was allowed to continue until it fizzled out at around 10:30 a.m. SLOPD did not shut
down large fraternity parties or get people off rooftops. It’s my understanding that SLOPD issued citations
after the event based on drone footage, but an Administrative Hearing Officer dismissed those citations so
there were no consequences for the citations.
During a City Council meeting on 1/9/2024 for the Safety Enhancement Zone, Deputy Chief Mickel admitted
that SLOPD was not prepared for St. Fratty’s Day in 2023. A transcript from the meeting is below:
Erica Stewart: “On page 405…it says the PD doesn’t do anything during the unruly gatherings and so
I thought you could share why the PD respond as they do during the large gatherings.”
Fred Mickel: “It really depends on manpower. … like for instance, this past St. Fratty’s Day, we had
a much larger – we planned for a large event, (but) this was three times larger than we even
thought. It really, unfortunately, caught us a little bit by surprise even though we had a really
good plan going into it. And so at that point, you just start managing safety. And that’s our first
thing, right? And there’s a lot of things going on, yes we could take action against. And we tried to.
We tried some creative approaches to doing some unruly gathering, and we did do some unruly
gathering citations during that event. But probably not as many as we could have.
But we had to look at the bigger picture of, how do we not only keep the residents as safe as we can,
the officers, and all the people that were participating in the party. So, that’s really what drove that.
Now if we had the manpower, the personnel, the things that we could do, then absolutely we’d be
enforcing the unruly gatherings and those types of things. We just have to weigh those out at the
time.”
5
After St. Fratty’s 2023
On 3/21/2023, SLOPD Chief Scott told the City Council that during St. Fratty’s 2023 there was “a larger
crowd, as expected, post-COVID” and that “SLOPD was upstaffed” to address the event. The true events
that day were downplayed or not discussed.
He said he planned to do an after-action analysis and talk with residents of our neighborhood but none of
the long-term residents in our neighborhood were contacted.
Mitigation Measures:
· On 1/9/2024, City Council adopted a SEZ for some weekends in March, including the Saturday
before Cal Poly’s winter finals, which is traditionally St. Fratty’s Day.
· PG&E removed the lower rungs from utility poles in the neighborhood.
St. Fratty’s 2024
Calls to SLOPD dispatch started at 3:20 a.m.; Illegal gathering in the street 5:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Streets were blocked and parties in the upper Alta Vista neighborhood, Albert Drive, until 10:30 a.m.
Medical calls/welfare checks (unconscious intoxicated people) until 12:20 p.m.
Noisy parties started in the neighborhood just after 3:00 a.m. Four illegal fraternity houses were cited for
noisy parties by 4:00 a.m. There was a constant stream of people screaming past our house and a city utility
truck placed unmanned barricades at intersections to stop vehicles from driving on the streets just after 6:00
a.m., allowing parades of people to walk down the center of streets. I've attached a PDF that shows the calls
to SLOPD dispatch on 3/16/2024, St. Fratty's Day, including complaints at local hotels about noisy people
partying between 5:30 a.m. and 6:15 a.m.
I've also attached a video posted on social media by an Uber driver who picked up a group of gals at 3:30
a.m. They were "going to Beta" (Beta Theta Pi fraternity) which held a party, as many fraternities did
that morning. Some property owners of illegal fraternity houses had received notification from Code
Enforcement before St. Fratty's Day, and it seems that message was passed along to the fraternities
because some did not host events that day. (I called the owner of 348 Hathway on 2/28/2024 and he
promised me the fraternity would not have a party that morning.)
Still, 6,000-7,000 people showed up to block neighborhood streets. While it was difficult for them to climb
utility poles because the rungs were removed, people trespassed into yards and climbed on parked cars and
rooftops. Cars were scratched and windows smashed, fences were torn down, landscapes and bushes were
trampled, gutters were torn off houses, etc. Electric and cable lines were pulled down from a house. The
weight of people in a front yard caused a sewer line to collapse.
The damage to the Cal Poly dorms is often highlighted, but the total damage in the neighborhood
was in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Numerous people accessed an electrical line from a house to the utility pole and climbed across the wire.
One did pull-ups and fell. I heard that he broke his arm and was not identified until days later. Based on
dozens of videos posted online, there was no law enforcement anywhere nearby to remove him or the
hundreds of people on the rooftops for an extended period.
A tenant in a different house documented her terrifying experience, attached to this email. She and her
roommates called SLOPD four times because trespassers were on their rooftop and they feared the roof
would collapse on them. The SLOPD dispatcher hung up on them. When SLOPD finally arrived, they did not
help her to get the people off her roof. Part of her account is below:
“The police watched me struggling to clear the roof for over 30 minutes and still refused to take
action. I am a young woman who was ill-equipped to stand alone against the drunk and aggressive
6
mob-mentality that prevailed, and I was extremely scared and disheartened by the lack of support we
received. If we had received assistance the first time (or two) that we called the police, they would
have been able to clear the small crowd of people in our yard and on our roof, before it became a
serious and dangerous situation. I understand that large crowds are difficult to control, but my
housemates and I were put in danger due to the police’s lack of action, and I urge you to implement
safer strategies moving forward.”
The ”street party” ended at about 9:30 a.m. Streets were still blocked by college-aged people, and many
were obviously intoxicated and it was difficult to get through in a car. There were also rideshare drivers
everywhere, blocking the streets with hazard lights on. An unruly gathering was cited at Delta Upsilon’s
illegal fraternity house at 281 Albert Drive at 10:30 a.m.
Sirens continued as emergency calls for intoxicated people continued until after 12:00 p.m., including an
unconscious male on a 2-story rooftop at 146 Stenner and an unconscious male on a rooftop at 1861 Hope.
Both are illegal fraternity houses for Kappa Sigma.
After St. Fratty’s 2024
7
During his debrief to the City Council on 3/19/2024, Chief Scott noted that there were no problems at bars or
downtown core on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th. On St. Fratty’s Day, police presence was tripled with
assistance from Cal Poly, CSU CRU Team, California Men’s Colony, and California Alcohol and Beverage
Control. He said early enforcement led to citations and arrests but about two hours later (just after 6 a.m.)
the streets needed to be closed, as crowds swelled to 6,000 – 7,000 people.
He said he found the activities “extremely disappointing, dangerous and criminal. This is not in keeping with
Cal Poly’s reputation and certainly not that of our community. Looking ahead, these lawless activities
cannot and should not be allowed to occur in our communities .”
During the SCLC meeting on 4/18/2024, Chief Scott said, “the fact that we didn’t have any significant injuries
is, I think, by sheer luck. You saw what was going on inside the incident. We had over 30 calls for service for
EMS and nearly all of those were related to alcohol or consumption of alcohol. Any one of those calls
could turn fatal if we’re not able to get resources to those that need it. We really can’t. And so the fact that
we escaped without a significant injury is really not something to brag about. It’s sheer luck that that
happened.”
St. Fratty’s 2025
It is unknown what will happen in 2025.
Other than in 2015, the unlawful assembly/neighborhood takeover called "St. Fratty's Day" has only happened
in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Each of those three years, we were woken up before dawn, there were people on
rooftops, young people openly drinking alcohol, and damage to our neighborhood. It was unacceptable in 2022,
with 2,000 people. In 2023 and 2024, SLOPD has said there would be proactive enforcement but the mayhem
has been allowed to continue.
The City Council and SLOPD were warned of the impending doom in 2023 based on it falling on Friday and
Saturday unless some action was taken to prevent it and no action was taken. Messages posted by Cal Poly
students on social media in 2022 and 2023 said that SLOPD was "just keeping us safe" and there was a
permissive message that the event was okay. So it's no surprise that it happened again in 2024.
It should not be allowed to happen again in 2025.
You have an opportunity to stop the event by implementing a curfew and not allowing people to gather in the
neighborhood. It is not “successful” if even 2,000 people show up for an unlawful assembly in our
neighborhood like they did for St. Fratty's in 2022. A plan is successful if you use all the tools available to
prevent the event from happening at all. Please do more this year, than just hiring more law enforcement to
cite people and stand by. Use the tools available to stop the event.
Sincerely,
Kathie Walker
1
From:Francis, Emily
Sent:Tuesday, February 4, 2025 4:18 PM
To:kathie walker
Subject:Re: St. Fratty's Day 3/15/2025
Hi Kathie,
The council can't coordinate response to emails due to the Brown Act, but I just happened to have blocked out
today to get caught up with my email backlog. I try to respond to every email that comes through, but
sometimes find that the moment passes and meetings and other work get in the way. Thanks for all you do for
your neighborhood.
Emily
Emily Francis
pronouns she/her/hers
Council Member
Office of the City Council
990 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3249
E EFrancis@slocity.org
On Tue, Feb 04, 2025 at 4:03 PM, kathie walker < > wrote:
Emily wrote to me too. She must be the designated Council person to respond to this item.
On Tue, Feb 4, 2025 at 3:08 PM Francis, Emily <EFrancis@slocity.org> wrote:
Kathie,
Thank you for the time and effort you’ve put into gathering this information and advocating for solutions. Your
documentation of past events and ongoing concerns is invaluable in keeping attention on the challenges your
neighborhood is facing. I appreciate your continued engagement in these discussions.
Take care,
Emily
Emily Francis
pronouns she/her/hers
Council Member
Office of the City Council
990 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3249
E EFrancis@slocity.org
2
On Mon, Feb 03, 2025 at 11:52 PM, kathie walker < > wrote:
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
San Luis Obispo City Councilmembers,
The illegal drunken takeover of our neighborhood by thousands of people on the Saturday before Cal
Poly’s winter finals is unacceptable and needs to be prevented. It’s a dangerous public nuisance for the
people who live in our neighborhood and is going to end badly if the City doesn’t come up with a plan that
does not allow people this illegal gathering using a different approach. Cal Poly students are replenished
with a new class each fall, and they will continue to seek out “the tradition” unless the City uses tools that
have been successful in other communities to stop unruly gatherings, such as a curfew.
In March 2024, the city manager, Derek Johnson, said that the event must be prevented after the St.
Fratty’s Day event on 3/16/2024, and the City Council directed that the event be prevented moving
forward. Derek said a resident task force would be formed but that never happened. Back then, the
trauma was fresh and the City was motivated, but it seems that motivation has fallen by the wayside and
the event is not going to be prevented in 2025.
In November 2024, several residents and property owners in the Alta Vista neighborhood formed a task
force to communicate with the City about ideas to stop the event because it has affected us since it re-
emerged in 2022. It’s notable that before 2022, the only other time St. Fratty’s Day was an “unlawful
assembly” in San Luis Obispo was in 2015 when 3,000 people converged into our neighborhood and a
roof collapsed at approximately 6:30 a.m., which ended the event that day. It did not return until 2022.
On 12/11/2024, members of our task force met with SLOPD, Erica Stewart, and Whitney McDonald. We
had prepared a comprehensive plan to stop St. Fratty’s Day, which included setting a curfew, a
successful tool in Miami Beach for ending the destructive unlawful assemblies during Spring Break. This
suggestion was made by Cal Poly staff during an SCLC meeting on 10/17/2024.
During that SCLC meeting on 10/17/2024, it was made clear that Cal Poly is going to take care of Cal
Poly at its boundary, and that the City needs to take care of the City within the city limits. Cal Poly
representative Michelle Crawford told Deputy City Manager, Greg Hermann and SLOPD Chief R ick Scott,
that she recommended looking at what the city of Miami Beach did to stop Spring Break in 2024, with its
“We’re breaking up with Spring Break” campaign. A key component of its successful campaign was a
curfew. Michelle Crawford commented that Miami Beach’s campaign “worked very effectively.”
The resident task force generated a plan using ChatGPT to effectively prevent St. Fratty’s Day using
metrics from St. Fratty’s Day 2022, 2023, and 2024, and effective methods from other unlawful
assemblies across the country, not including protests. We provided the plan to SLOPD, Erica, and
Whitney, and I have attached it to this correspondence, along with the statements from city leaders and
an ER doctor that were published when Mardi Gras was canceled.
Unfortunately, it does not appear the City has chosen to implement a curfew and therefore, St. Fratty’s
Day is going to disrupt our neighborhood yet again, which is super disappointing.
I think it’s important to point out that since 2022, SLOPD Chief Scott has repeatedly said they are going to
have a “proactive” approach to St. Fratty’s Day, and that approach has failed every year. I want to revisit
the facts that are backed up by SLOPD dispatch logs and other documentation since St. Fratty’s 2022.
St. Fratty’s Day 2022
3
In 2022, approximately 2,000 people overtook the intersection of Bond and Hathway, however, the entire
neighborhood was affected by screaming people, fireworks, trespassing, and vandalism from 4 a.m. to
10:00 a.m. In 2022, the Saturday before winter finals was on 3/12, five days before St. Patrick’s Day.
There were many posts on social media the night before the event that indicated the event was going to
happen, but SLOPD did not anticipate the event. Fireworks woke our neighborhood at 4 a.m. There were
only a handful of officers in our neighborhood until shift change when more officers came on duty.
Some noise citations were written, mostly to known illegal fraternity houses but many calls were not
responded to and there was a point where officers stood around the perimeter of the crowd because it
was too large. People were openly drinking alcohol, climbing telephone poles, standing on rooftops, and
law enforcement did not intervene. They waited until the unlawful assembly of drunken people burnt itself
out, six hours after it started. A spreadsheet of the calls to SLOPD dispatch was prepared after St.
Fratty's Day to show the timeline and was emailed to the City Council before St. Fratty's 2023:
4
5
During the debrief to the City Council, SLOPD Chief Scott minimized what happened during St. Fratty’s
2022, and said they “went ahead and just secured the area and helped diffuse the rest of the parties to go
ahead and help them out of the neighborhoods” a nd that it only took “a couple of hours to get the situation
under control.” The event lasted for six hours and was not under control until 10 a.m.
Preparation for St. Fratty’s 2023
In the summer of 2022, I noticed that St. Fratty’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day were back-to-back on Friday
and Saturday. I knew that would cause a terrible situation and I wrote to SLOPD Chief Scott and the City
Council that summer, expressing my concern. I prepared calendars to illustrate the bad situation.
The City did not take any action to implement a Safety Enhancement Zone (SEZ). On 2/21/2023, before
St. Fratty’s Day 2023, several concerned residents went to the City Council, explained our concerns, and
asked for the city to implement a SEZ, even on an emergency basis, citing the perfect-storm scenario of
back-to-back dates on the weekend.
The SLOPD Chief was in the audience, and he addressed Council, stating “I would like to say that we do
have a plan in place. Contrary to some of the comments, our plan does work.”
On 3/7/2023, SLOPD Chief Scott told the City Council “We’ll have available resources from other
agencies should that be required. … we’re going to be proactively focused on spot enforcement of
critical areas and also those areas where we’ve had historical challenges due to large gatherings and
unruly crowds.”
6
On 3/15/2023, SLOPD Chief Scott and Deputy Chief Fred Mickel met with RQN and explained that they
had “proactive” plans to address the event. They said they had adequate staff and plans to circumvent
any dangerous activity, and we should not be worried because they were on top of it.
St. Fratty’s 2023
On 3/18/2023, St. Fratty’s Day, crowds began to overtake the neighborhood at 4 a.m. SLOPD did not
anticipate the crowd would gather that early and was not prepared for the volume of people who overtook
the neighborhood. College-aged people were openly drinking alcohol, carrying BORGs (Black Out Rage
Gallons), and many, many people climbed utility poles without any intervention from law enforcement.
SLOPD stood around the perimeter and did not engage with the crowd. I was standing near SLOPD
officers when we witnessed a guy climb out onto the utility line doing pull-ups. An officer said there was
nothing he could do and that he thought PG&E had turned off the power to the pole.
One of my neighbors called 911 because intoxicated guys trespassed onto his property and threatened to
fight him. He said the SLOPD dispatcher told him they could not help him due to his proximity to the street
party and hung up on him.
The unlawful gathering was allowed to continue until it fizzled out at around 10:30 a.m. SLOPD did not
shut down large fraternity parties or get people off rooftops. It’s my understanding that SLOPD issued
citations after the event based on drone footage, but an Administrative Hearing Officer dismissed those
citations so there were no consequences for the citations.
During a City Council meeting on 1/9/2024 for the Safety Enhancement Zone, Deputy Chief Mickel
admitted that SLOPD was not prepared for St. Fratty’s Day in 2023. A transcript from the meeting is
below:
Erica Stewart: “On page 405…it says the PD doesn’t do anything during the unruly gatherings and
so I thought you could share why the PD respond as they do during the large gatherings.”
Fred Mickel: “It really depends on manpower. … like for instance, this past St. Fratty’s Day, we
had a much larger – we planned for a large event, (but) this was three times larger than we
even thought. It really, unfortunately, caught us a little bit by surprise even though we had a
really good plan going into it. And so at that point, you just start managing safety. And that’s our
first thing, right? And there’s a lot of things going on, yes we could take action against. And we
tried to. We tried some creative approaches to doing some unruly gathering, and we did do some
unruly gathering citations during that event. But probably not as many as we could have.
But we had to look at the bigger picture of, how do we not only keep the residents as safe as we
can, the officers, and all the people that were participating in the party. So, that’s really what drove
that.
Now if we had the manpower, the personnel, the things that we could do, then absolutely we’d be
enforcing the unruly gatherings and those types of things. We just have to weigh those out at the
time.”
After St. Fratty’s 2023
On 3/21/2023, SLOPD Chief Scott told the City Council that during St. Fratty’s 2023 there was “a larger
crowd, as expected, post-COVID” and that “SLOPD was upstaffed” to address the event. The true events
that day were downplayed or not discussed.
He said he planned to do an after-action analysis and talk with residents of our neighborhood but none of
the long-term residents in our neighborhood were contacted.
Mitigation Measures:
7
· On 1/9/2024, City Council adopted a SEZ for some weekends in March, including the
Saturday before Cal Poly’s winter finals, which is traditionally St. Fratty’s Day.
· PG&E removed the lower rungs from utility poles in the neighborhood.
St. Fratty’s 2024
Calls to SLOPD dispatch started at 3:20 a.m.; Illegal gathering in the street 5:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Streets were blocked and parties in the upper Alta Vista neighborhood, Albert Drive, until 10:30 a.m.
Medical calls/welfare checks (unconscious intoxicated people) until 12:20 p.m.
Noisy parties started in the neighborhood just after 3:00 a.m. Four illegal fraternity houses were cited for
noisy parties by 4:00 a.m. There was a constant stream of people screaming past our house and a city
utility truck placed unmanned barricades at intersections to stop vehicles from driving on the streets just
after 6:00 a.m., allowing parades of people to walk down the center of streets. I've attached a PDF that
shows the calls to SLOPD dispatch on 3/16/2024, St. Fratty's Day, including complaints at local hotels
about noisy people partying between 5:30 a.m. and 6:15 a.m.
I've also attached a video posted on social media by an Uber driver who picked up a group of gals at 3:30
a.m. They were "going to Beta" (Beta Theta Pi fraternity) which held a party, as many fraternities did
that morning. Some property owners of illegal fraternity houses had received notification from Code
Enforcement before St. Fratty's Day, and it seems that message was passed along to the fraternities
because some did not host events that day. (I called the owner of 348 Hathway on 2/28/2024 and he
promised me the fraternity would not have a party that morning.)
Still, 6,000-7,000 people showed up to block neighborhood streets. While it was difficult for them to climb
utility poles because the rungs were removed, people trespassed into yards and climbed on parked cars
and rooftops. Cars were scratched and windows smashed, fences were torn down, landscapes and
bushes were trampled, gutters were torn off houses, etc. Electric and cable lines were pulled down from a
house. The weight of people in a front yard caused a sewer line to collapse.
The damage to the Cal Poly dorms is often highlighted, but the total damage in the neighborhood
was in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Numerous people accessed an electrical line from a house to the utility pole and climbed across the wire.
One did pull-ups and fell. I heard that he broke his arm and was not identified until days later. Based on
dozens of videos posted online, there was no law enforcement anywhere nearby to remove him or the
hundreds of people on the rooftops for an extended period.
A tenant in a different house documented her terrifying experience, attached to this email. She and her
roommates called SLOPD four times because trespassers were on their rooftop and they feared the roof
would collapse on them. The SLOPD dispatcher hung up on them. When SLOPD finally arrived, they did
not help her to get the people off her roof. Part of her account is below:
“The police watched me struggling to clear the roof for over 30 minutes and still refused to take
action. I am a young woman who was ill-equipped to stand alone against the drunk and aggressive
mob-mentality that prevailed, and I was extremely scared and disheartened by the lack of support
we received. If we had received assistance the first time (or two) that we called the police, they
would have been able to clear the small crowd of people in our yard and on our roof, before it
became a serious and dangerous situation. I understand that large crowds are difficult to control,
but my housemates and I were put in danger due to the police’s lack of action, and I urge you to
implement safer strategies moving forward.”
The ”street party” ended at about 9:30 a.m. Streets were still blocked by college-aged people, and many
were obviously intoxicated and it was difficult to get through in a car. There were also rideshare drivers
8
everywhere, blocking the streets with hazard lights on. An unruly gathering was cited at Delta Upsilon’s
illegal fraternity house at 281 Albert Drive at 10:30 a.m.
Sirens continued as emergency calls for intoxicated people continued until after 12:00 p.m., including an
unconscious male on a 2-story rooftop at 146 Stenner and an unconscious male on a rooftop at 1861
Hope. Both are illegal fraternity houses for Kappa Sigma.
9
After St. Fratty’s 2024
During his debrief to the City Council on 3/19/2024 , Chief Scott noted that there were no problems at bars
or downtown core on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17 th. On St. Fratty’s Day, police presence was tripled with
assistance from Cal Poly, CSU CRU Team, California Men’s Colony, and California Alcohol and
Beverage Control. He said early enforcement led to citations and arrests but about two hours later (just
after 6 a.m.) the streets needed to be closed, as crowds swelled to 6,000 – 7,000 people.
He said he found the activities “extremely disappointing, dangerous and criminal. This is not in keeping
with Cal Poly’s reputation and certainly not that of our community. Looking ahead, these lawless
activities cannot and should not be allowed to occur in our communities .”
During the SCLC meeting on 4/18/2024, Chief Scott said, “the fact that we didn’t have any significant
injuries is, I think, by sheer luck. You saw what was going on inside the incident. We had over 30 calls for
service for EMS and nearly all of those were related to alcohol or consumption of alcohol. Any one of
those calls could turn fatal if we’re not able to get resources to those that need it. We really can’t. And
so the fact that we escaped without a significant injury is really not something to brag about. It’s sheer
luck that that happened.”
St. Fratty’s 2025
It is unknown what will happen in 2025.
10
Other than in 2015, the unlawful assembly/neighborhood takeover called "St. Fratty's Day" has only
happened in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Each of those three years, we were woken up before dawn, there were
people on rooftops, young people openly drinking alcohol, and damage to our neighborhood. It was
unacceptable in 2022, with 2,000 people. In 2023 and 2024, SLOPD has said there would be proactive
enforcement but the mayhem has been allowed to continue.
The City Council and SLOPD were warned of the impending doom in 2023 based on it falling on Friday and
Saturday unless some action was taken to prevent it and no action was taken. Messages posted by Cal Poly
students on social media in 2022 and 2023 said that SLOPD was "just keeping us safe" and there was a
permissive message that the event was okay. So it's no surprise that it happened again in 2024.
It should not be allowed to happen again in 2025.
You have an opportunity to stop the event by implementing a curfew and not allowing people to gather in
the neighborhood. It is not “successful” if even 2,000 people show up for an unlawful assembly in our
neighborhood like they did for St. Fratty's in 2022. A plan is successful if you use all the tools available to
prevent the event from happening at all. Please do more this year, than just hiring more law enforcement
to cite people and stand by. Use the tools available to stop the event.
Sincerely,
Kathie Walker
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Tuesday, February 4, 2025 4:03 PM
To:Francis, Emily
Subject:Re: St. Fratty's Day 3/15/2025
Emily wrote to me too. She must be the designated Council person to respond to this item.
On Tue, Feb 4, 2025 at 3:08 PM Francis, Emily <EFrancis@slocity.org> wrote:
Kathie,
Thank you for the time and effort you’ve put into gathering this information and advocating for solutions. Your
documentation of past events and ongoing concerns is invaluable in keeping attention on the challenges your
neighborhood is facing. I appreciate your continued engagement in these discussions.
Take care,
Emily
Emily Francis
pronouns she/her/hers
Council Member
Office of the City Council
990 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3249
E EFrancis@slocity.org
On Mon, Feb 03, 2025 at 11:52 PM, kathie walker < > wrote:
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
San Luis Obispo City Councilmembers,
The illegal drunken takeover of our neighborhood by thousands of people on the Saturday before Cal
Poly’s winter finals is unacceptable and needs to be prevented. It’s a dangerous public nuisance for the
people who live in our neighborhood and is going to end badly if the City doesn’t come up with a plan that
does not allow people this illegal gathering using a different approach. Cal Poly students are replenished
with a new class each fall, and they will continue to seek out “the tradition” unless the City uses tools that
have been successful in other communities to stop unruly gatherings, such as a curfew.
In March 2024, the city manager, Derek Johnson, said that the event must be prevented after the St.
Fratty’s Day event on 3/16/2024, and the City Council directed that the event be prevented moving
forward. Derek said a resident task force would be formed but that never happened. Back then, the trauma
was fresh and the City was motivated, but it seems that motivation has fallen by the wayside and the event
is not going to be prevented in 2025.
2
In November 2024, several residents and property owners in the Alta Vista neighborhood formed a task
force to communicate with the City about ideas to stop the event because it has affected us since it re-
emerged in 2022. It’s notable that before 2022, the only other time St. Fratty’s Day was an “unlawful
assembly” in San Luis Obispo was in 2015 when 3,000 people converged into our neighborhood and a
roof collapsed at approximately 6:30 a.m., which ended the event that day. It did not return until 2022.
On 12/11/2024, members of our task force met with SLOPD, Erica Stewart, and Whitney McDonald. We
had prepared a comprehensive plan to stop St. Fratty’s Day, which included setting a curfew, a successful
tool in Miami Beach for ending the destructive unlawful assemblies during Spring Break. This suggestion
was made by Cal Poly staff during an SCLC meeting on 10/17/2024.
During that SCLC meeting on 10/17/2024, it was made clear that Cal Poly is going to take care of Cal Poly
at its boundary, and that the City needs to take care of the City within the city limits. Cal Poly
representative Michelle Crawford told Deputy City Manager, Greg Hermann and SLOPD Chief Rick Scott,
that she recommended looking at what the city of Miami Beach did to stop Spring Break in 2024, with its
“We’re breaking up with Spring Break” campaign. A key component of its successful campaign was a
curfew. Michelle Crawford commented that Miami Beach’s campaign “worked very effectively.”
The resident task force generated a plan using ChatGPT to effectively prevent St. Fratty’s Day using
metrics from St. Fratty’s Day 2022, 2023, and 2024, and effective methods from other unlawful assemblies
across the country, not including protests. We pro vided the plan to SLOPD, Erica, and Whitney, and I have
attached it to this correspondence, along with the statements from city leaders and an ER doctor that were
published when Mardi Gras was canceled.
Unfortunately, it does not appear the City has chosen to implement a curfew and therefore, St. Fratty’s
Day is going to disrupt our neighborhood yet again, which is super disappointing.
I think it’s important to point out that since 2022, SLOPD Chief Scott has repeatedly said they are going to
have a “proactive” approach to St. Fratty’s Day, and that approach has failed every year. I want to revisit
the facts that are backed up by SLOPD dispatch logs and other documentation since St. Fratty’s 2022.
St. Fratty’s Day 2022
In 2022, approximately 2,000 people overtook the intersection of Bond and Hathway, however, the entire
neighborhood was affected by screaming people, fireworks, trespassing, and vandalism from 4 a.m. to
10:00 a.m. In 2022, the Saturday before winter finals was on 3/12, five days before St. Patrick’s Day.
There were many posts on social media the night before the event that indicated the event was going to
happen, but SLOPD did not anticipate the event. Fireworks woke our neighborhood at 4 a.m. There were
only a handful of officers in our neighborhood until shift change when more officers came on duty.
Some noise citations were written, mostly to known illegal fraternity houses but many calls were not
responded to and there was a point where officers stood around the perimeter of the crowd because it was
too large. People were openly drinking alcohol, climbing telephone poles, standing on rooftops, and law
enforcement did not intervene. They waited until the unlawful assembly of drunken people burnt itself out,
six hours after it started. A spreadsheet of the calls to SLOPD dispatch was prepared after St. Fratty's Day
to show the timeline and was emailed to the City Council before St. Fratty's 2023:
3
4
During the debrief to the City Council, SLOPD Chief Scott minimized what happened during St. Fratty’s
2022, and said they “went ahead and just secured the area and helped diffuse the rest of the parties to go
ahead and help them out of the neighborhoods” and that it only took “a couple of hours to get the situation
under control.” The event lasted for six hours and was not under control until 10 a.m.
Preparation for St. Fratty’s 2023
In the summer of 2022, I noticed that St. Fratty’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day were back-to-back on Friday
and Saturday. I knew that would cause a terrible situation and I wrote to SLOPD Chief Scott and the City
Council that summer, expressing my concern. I prepared calendars to illustrate the bad situation.
The City did not take any action to implement a Safety Enhancement Zone (SEZ). On 2/21/2023, before
St. Fratty’s Day 2023, several concerned residents went to the City Council, explained our concerns, and
asked for the city to implement a SEZ, even on an emergency basis, citing the perfect-storm scenario of
back-to-back dates on the weekend.
The SLOPD Chief was in the audience, and he addressed Council, stating “I would like to say that we do
have a plan in place. Contrary to some of the comments, our plan does work.”
On 3/7/2023, SLOPD Chief Scott told the City Council “We’ll have available resources from other agencies
should that be required. … we’re going to be proactively focused on spot enforcement of critical areas
and also those areas where we’ve had historical challenges due to large gatherings and unruly crowds.”
On 3/15/2023, SLOPD Chief Scott and Deputy Chief Fred Mickel met with RQN and explained that they
had “proactive” plans to address the event. They said they had adequate staff and plans to circumvent any
dangerous activity, and we should not be worried because they were on top of it.
5
St. Fratty’s 2023
On 3/18/2023, St. Fratty’s Day, crowds began to overtake the neighborhood at 4 a.m. SLOPD did not
anticipate the crowd would gather that early and was not prepared for the volume of people who overtook
the neighborhood. College-aged people were openly drinking alcohol, carrying BORGs (Black Out Rage
Gallons), and many, many people climbed utility poles without any intervention from law enforcement.
SLOPD stood around the perimeter and did not engage with the crowd. I was standing near SLOPD
officers when we witnessed a guy climb out onto the utility line doing pull-ups. An officer said there was
nothing he could do and that he thought PG&E had turned off the power to the pole.
One of my neighbors called 911 because intoxicated guys trespassed onto his property and threatened to
fight him. He said the SLOPD dispatcher told him they could not help him due to his proximity to the street
party and hung up on him.
The unlawful gathering was allowed to continue until it fizzled out at around 10:30 a.m. SLOPD did not
shut down large fraternity parties or get people off rooftops. It’s my understanding that SLOPD issued
citations after the event based on drone footage, but an Administrative Hearing Officer dismissed those
citations so there were no consequences for the citations.
During a City Council meeting on 1/9/2024 for the Safety Enhancement Zone, Deputy Chief Mickel
admitted that SLOPD was not prepared for St. Fratty’s Day in 2023. A transcript from the meeting is below:
Erica Stewart: “On page 405…it says the PD doesn’t do anything during the unruly gatherings and
so I thought you could share why the PD respond as they do during the large gatherings.”
Fred Mickel: “It really depends on manpower. … like for instance, this past St. Fratty’s Day, we
had a much larger – we planned for a large event, (but) this was three times larger than we
even thought. It really, unfortunately, caught us a little bit by surprise even though we had a
really good plan going into it. And so at that point, you just start managing safety. And that’s our
first thing, right? And there’s a lot of things going on, yes we could take action against. And we tried
to. We tried some creative approaches to doing some unruly gathering, and we did do some unruly
gathering citations during that event. But probably not as many as we could have.
But we had to look at the bigger picture of, how do we not only keep the residents as safe as we
can, the officers, and all the people that were participating in the party. So, that’s really what drove
that.
Now if we had the manpower, the personnel, the things that we could do, then absolutely we’d be
enforcing the unruly gatherings and those types of things. We just have to weigh those out at the
time.”
After St. Fratty’s 2023
On 3/21/2023, SLOPD Chief Scott told the City Council that during St. Fratty’s 2023 there was “a larger
crowd, as expected, post-COVID” and that “SLOPD was upstaffed” to address the event. The true events
that day were downplayed or not discussed.
He said he planned to do an after-action analysis and talk with residents of our neighborhood but none of
the long-term residents in our neighborhood were contacted.
Mitigation Measures:
· On 1/9/2024, City Council adopted a SEZ for some weekends in March, including the
Saturday before Cal Poly’s winter finals, which is traditionally St. Fratty’s Day.
· PG&E removed the lower rungs from utility poles in the neighborhood.
6
St. Fratty’s 2024
Calls to SLOPD dispatch started at 3:20 a.m.; Illegal gathering in the street 5:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Streets were blocked and parties in the upper Alta Vista neighborhood, Albert Drive, until 10:30 a.m.
Medical calls/welfare checks (unconscious intoxicated people) until 12:20 p.m.
Noisy parties started in the neighborhood just after 3:00 a.m. Four illegal fraternity houses were cited for
noisy parties by 4:00 a.m. There was a constant stream of people screaming past our house and a city
utility truck placed unmanned barricades at intersections to stop vehicles from driving on the streets just
after 6:00 a.m., allowing parades of people to walk down the center of streets. I've attached a PDF that
shows the calls to SLOPD dispatch on 3/16/2024, St. Fratty's Day, including complaints at local hotels
about noisy people partying between 5:30 a.m. and 6:15 a.m.
I've also attached a video posted on social media by an Uber driver who picked up a group of gals at 3:30
a.m. They were "going to Beta" (Beta Theta Pi fraternity) which held a party, as many fraternities did
that morning. Some property owners of illegal fraternity houses had received notification from Code
Enforcement before St. Fratty's Day, and it seems that message was passed along to the fraternities
because some did not host events that day. (I called the owner of 348 Hathway on 2/28/2024 and he
promised me the fraternity would not have a party that morning.)
Still, 6,000-7,000 people showed up to block neighborhood streets. While it was difficult for them to climb
utility poles because the rungs were removed, people trespassed into yards and climbed on parked cars
and rooftops. Cars were scratched and windows smashed, fences were torn down, landscapes and
bushes were trampled, gutters were torn off houses, etc. Electric and cable lines were pulled down from a
house. The weight of people in a front yard caused a sewer line to collapse.
The damage to the Cal Poly dorms is often highlighted, but the total damage in the neighborhood
was in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Numerous people accessed an electrical line from a house to the utility pole and climbed across the wire.
One did pull-ups and fell. I heard that he broke his arm and was not identified until days later. Based on
dozens of videos posted online, there was no law enforcement anywhere nearby to remove him or the
hundreds of people on the rooftops for an extended period.
A tenant in a different house documented her terrifying experience, attached to this email. She and her
roommates called SLOPD four times because trespassers were on their rooftop and they feared the roof
would collapse on them. The SLOPD dispatcher hung up on them. When SLOPD finally arrived, they did
not help her to get the people off her roof. Part of her account is below:
“The police watched me struggling to clear the roof for over 30 minutes and still refused to take
action. I am a young woman who was ill-equipped to stand alone against the drunk and aggressive
mob-mentality that prevailed, and I was extremely scared and disheartened by the lack of support
we received. If we had received assistance the first time (or two) that we called the police, they
would have been able to clear the small crowd of people in our yard and on our roof, before it
became a serious and dangerous situation. I understand that large crowds are difficult to control,
but my housemates and I were put in danger due to the police’s lack of action, and I urge you to
implement safer strategies moving forward.”
The ”street party” ended at about 9:30 a.m. Streets were still blocked by college-aged people, and many
were obviously intoxicated and it was difficult to get through in a car. There were also rideshare drivers
everywhere, blocking the streets with hazard lights on. An unruly gathering was cited at Delta Upsilon’s
illegal fraternity house at 281 Albert Drive at 10:30 a.m.
7
Sirens continued as emergency calls for intoxicated people continued until after 12:00 p.m., including an
unconscious male on a 2-story rooftop at 146 Stenner and an unconscious male on a rooftop at 1861
Hope. Both are illegal fraternity houses for Kappa Sigma.
8
After St. Fratty’s 2024
During his debrief to the City Council on 3/19/2024, Chief Scott noted that there were no problems at bars
or downtown core on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17 th. On St. Fratty’s Day, police presence was tripled with
assistance from Cal Poly, CSU CRU Team, California Men’s Colony, and California Alcohol and Beverage
Control. He said early enforcement led to citations and arrests but about two hours later (just after 6 a.m.)
the streets needed to be closed, as crowds swelled to 6,000 – 7,000 people.
He said he found the activities “extremely disappointing, dangerous and criminal. This is not in keeping
with Cal Poly’s reputation and certainly not that of our community. Looking ahead, these lawless
activities cannot and should not be allowed to occur in our communities .”
During the SCLC meeting on 4/18/2024, Chief Scott said, “the fact that we didn’t have any significant
injuries is, I think, by sheer luck. You saw what was going on inside the incident. We had over 30 calls for
service for EMS and nearly all of those were related to alcohol or consumption of alcohol. Any one of
those calls could turn fatal if we’re not able to get resources to those that need it. We really can’t. And
so the fact that we escaped without a significant injury is really not something to brag about. It’s sheer luck
that that happened.”
St. Fratty’s 2025
It is unknown what will happen in 2025.
Other than in 2015, the unlawful assembly/neighborhood takeover called "St. Fratty's Day" has only happened
in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Each of those three years, we were woken up before dawn, there were people on
rooftops, young people openly drinking alcohol, and damage to our neighborhood. It was unacceptable in
2022, with 2,000 people. In 2023 and 2024, SLOPD has said there would be proactive enforcement but the
mayhem has been allowed to continue.
The City Council and SLOPD were warned of the impending doom in 2023 based on it falling on Friday and
Saturday unless some action was taken to prevent it and no action was taken. Messages posted by Cal Poly
students on social media in 2022 and 2023 said that SLOPD was "just keeping us safe" and there was a
permissive message that the event was okay. So it's no surprise that it happened again in 2024.
It should not be allowed to happen again in 2025.
You have an opportunity to stop the event by implementing a curfew and not allowing people to gather in
the neighborhood. It is not “successful” if even 2,000 people show up for an unlawful assembly in our
neighborhood like they did for St. Fratty's in 2022. A plan is successful if you use all the tools available to
prevent the event from happening at all. Please do more this year, than just hiring more law enforcement
to cite people and stand by. Use the tools available to stop the event.
Sincerely,
Kathie Walker
1
From:kathie walker < >
Sent:Tuesday, February 4, 2025 4:32 PM
To:Francis, Emily
Subject:Re: St. Fratty's Day 3/15/2025
Perfect. Thank you for your response. I’m working hard to solve the issues in our neighborhood and thankfully,
have some help from neighbors and RQN. I’m hoping things will be solved soon so my husband and I aren’t
forced to move.
On Tue, Feb 4, 2025 at 4:18 PM Francis, Emily <EFrancis@slocity.org> wrote:
Hi Kathie,
The council can't coordinate response to emails due to the Brown Act, but I just happened to have blocked out
today to get caught up with my email backlog. I try to respond to every email that comes through, but
sometimes find that the moment passes and meetings and other work get in the way. Thanks for all you do for
your neighborhood.
Emily
Emily Francis
pronouns she/her/hers
Council Member
To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Office of the City Council
990 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3249
E EFrancis@slocity.org
On Tue, Feb 04, 2025 at 4:03 PM, kathie walker < > wrote:
Emily wrote to me too. She must be the designated Council person to respond to this item.
On Tue, Feb 4, 2025 at 3:08 PM Francis, Emily <EFrancis@slocity.org> wrote:
Kathie,
Thank you for the time and effort you’ve put into gathering this information and advocating for solutions. Your
documentation of past events and ongoing concerns is invaluable in keeping attention on the challenges
your neighborhood is facing. I appreciate your continued engagement in these discussions.
Take care,
Emily
Emily Francis
pronouns she/her/hers
Council Member
2
Office of the City Council
990 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3249
E EFrancis@slocity.org
On Mon, Feb 03, 2025 at 11:52 PM, kathie walker < > wrote:
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
San Luis Obispo City Councilmembers,
The illegal drunken takeover of our neighborhood by thousands of people on the Saturday before Cal
Poly’s winter finals is unacceptable and needs to be prevented. It’s a dangerous public nuisance for the
people who live in our neighborhood and is going to end badly if the City doesn’t come up with a plan
that does not allow people this illegal gathering using a different approach. Cal Poly students are
replenished with a new class each fall, and they will continue to seek out “the tradition” unless the City
uses tools that have been successful in other communities to stop unruly gatherings, such as a curfew.
In March 2024, the city manager, Derek Johnson, said that the event must be prevented after the St.
Fratty’s Day event on 3/16/2024, and the City Council directed that the event be prevented moving
forward. Derek said a resident task force would be formed but that never happened. Back then, the
trauma was fresh and the City was motivated, but it seems that motivation has fallen by the wayside and
the event is not going to be prevented in 2025.
In November 2024, several residents and property owners in the Alta Vista neighborhood formed a task
force to communicate with the City about ideas to stop the event because it has affected us since it re-
emerged in 2022. It’s notable that before 2022, the only other time St. Fratty’s Day was an
“unlawful assembly” in San Luis Obispo was in 2015 when 3,000 people converged into our
neighborhood and a roof collapsed at approximately 6:30 a.m., which ended the event that day. It did not
return until 2022.
On 12/11/2024, members of our task force met with SLOPD, Erica Stewart, and Whitney McDonald. We
had prepared a comprehensive plan to stop St. Fratty’s Day, which included setting a curfew, a
successful tool in Miami Beach for ending the destructive unlawful assemblies during Spring Break. This
suggestion was made by Cal Poly staff during an SCLC meeting on 10/17/2024.
During that SCLC meeting on 10/17/2024, it was made clear that Cal Poly is going to take care of Cal
Poly at its boundary, and that the City needs to take care of the City within the city limits. Cal Poly
representative Michelle Crawford told Deputy City Manager, Greg Hermann and SLOPD Chief Rick
Scott, that she recommended looking at what the city of Miami Beach did to stop Spring Break in 2024,
with its “We’re breaking up with Spring Break” campaign. A key component of its successful campaign
was a curfew. Michelle Crawford commented that Miami Beach’s campaign “worked very effectively.”
The resident task force generated a plan using ChatGPT to effectively prevent St. Fratty’s Day using
metrics from St. Fratty’s Day 2022, 2023, and 2024, and effective methods from other unlawful
assemblies across the country, not including protests. We provided the plan to SLOPD, Erica, and
Whitney, and I have attached it to this correspondence, along with the statements from city leaders and
an ER doctor that were published when Mardi Gras was canceled.
3
Unfortunately, it does not appear the City has chosen to implement a curfew and therefore, St. Fratty’s
Day is going to disrupt our neighborhood yet again, which is super disappointing.
I think it’s important to point out that since 2022, SLOPD Chief Scott has repeatedly said they are going
to have a “proactive” approach to St. Fratty’s Day, and that approach has failed every year. I want to
revisit the facts that are backed up by SLOPD dispatch logs and other documentation since St. Fratty’s
2022.
St. Fratty’s Day 2022
In 2022, approximately 2,000 people overtook the intersection of Bond and Hathway, however, the entire
neighborhood was affected by screaming people, fireworks, trespassing, and vandalism from 4 a.m. to
10:00 a.m. In 2022, the Saturday before winter finals was on 3/12, five days before St. Patrick’s Day.
There were many posts on social media the night before the event that indicated the event was going to
happen, but SLOPD did not anticipate the event. Fireworks woke our neighborhood at 4 a.m. There were
only a handful of officers in our neighborhood until shift change when more officers came on duty.
Some noise citations were written, mostly to known illegal fraternity houses but many calls were not
responded to and there was a point where officers stood around the perimeter of the crowd because it
was too large. People were openly drinking alcohol, climbing telephone poles, standing on rooftops, and
law enforcement did not intervene. They waited until the unlawful assembly of drunken people burnt itself
out, six hours after it started. A spreadsheet of the calls to SLOPD dispatch was prepared after St.
Fratty's Day to show the timeline and was emailed to the City Council before St. Fratty's 2023:
4
5
During the debrief to the City Council, SLOPD Chief Scott minimized what happened during St. Fratty’s
2022, and said they “went ahead and just secured the area and helped diffuse the rest of the parties to
go ahead and help them out of the neighborhoods” and that it only took “a couple of hours to get the
situation under control.” The event lasted for six hours and was not under control until 10 a.m.
Preparation for St. Fratty’s 2023
In the summer of 2022, I noticed that St. Fratty’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day were back-to-back on Friday
and Saturday. I knew that would cause a terrible situation and I wrote to SLOPD Chief Scott and the
City Council that summer, expressing my concern. I prepared calendars to illustrate the bad situation.
The City did not take any action to implement a Safety Enhancement Zone (SEZ). On 2/21/2023, before
St. Fratty’s Day 2023, several concerned residents went to the City Council, explained our concerns, and
asked for the city to implement a SEZ, even on an emergency basis, citing the perfect-storm scenario of
back-to-back dates on the weekend.
The SLOPD Chief was in the audience, and he addressed Council, stating “I would like to say that we do
have a plan in place. Contrary to some of the comments, our plan does work.”
On 3/7/2023, SLOPD Chief Scott told the City Council “We’ll have available resources from other
agencies should that be required. … we’re going to be proactively focused on spot enforcement of
critical areas and also those areas where we’ve had historical challenges due to large gatherings and
unruly crowds.”
6
On 3/15/2023, SLOPD Chief Scott and Deputy Chief Fred Mickel met with RQN and explained that they
had “proactive” plans to address the event. They said they had adequate staff and plans to circumvent
any dangerous activity, and we should not be worried because they were on top of it.
St. Fratty’s 2023
On 3/18/2023, St. Fratty’s Day, crowds began to overtake the neighborhood at 4 a.m. SLOPD did not
anticipate the crowd would gather that early and was not prepared for the volume of people who
overtook the neighborhood. College-aged people were openly drinking alcohol, carrying BORGs (Black
Out Rage Gallons), and many, many people climbed utility poles without any intervention from law
enforcement.
SLOPD stood around the perimeter and did not engage with the crowd. I was standing near SLOPD
officers when we witnessed a guy climb out onto the utility line doing pull-ups. An officer said there was
nothing he could do and that he thought PG&E had turned off the power to the pole.
One of my neighbors called 911 because intoxicated guys trespassed onto his property and threatened
to fight him. He said the SLOPD dispatcher told him they could not help him due to his proximity to the
street party and hung up on him.
The unlawful gathering was allowed to continue until it fizzled out at around 10:30 a.m. SLOPD did not
shut down large fraternity parties or get people off rooftops. It’s my understanding that SLOPD issued
citations after the event based on drone footage, but an Administrative Hearing Officer dismissed those
citations so there were no consequences for the citations.
During a City Council meeting on 1/9/2024 for the Safety Enhancement Zone, Deputy Chief Mickel
admitted that SLOPD was not prepared for St. Fratty’s Day in 2023. A transcript from the meeting is
below:
Erica Stewart: “On page 405…it says the PD doesn’t do anything during the unruly gatherings and
so I thought you could share why the PD respond as they do during the large gatherings.”
Fred Mickel: “It really depends on manpower. … like for instance, this past St. Fratty’s Day, we
had a much larger – we planned for a large event, (but) this was three times larger than we
even thought. It really, unfortunately, caught us a little bit by surprise even though we had
a really good plan going into it. And so at that point, you just start managing safety. And that’s
our first thing, right? And there’s a lot of things going on, yes we could take action against. And we
tried to. We tried some creative approaches to doing some unruly gathering, and we did do some
unruly gathering citations during that event. But probably not as many as we could have.
But we had to look at the bigger picture of, how do we not only keep the residents as safe as we
can, the officers, and all the people that were participating in the party. So, that’s really what drove
that.
Now if we had the manpower, the personnel, the things that we could do, then absolutely we’d be
enforcing the unruly gatherings and those types of things. We just have to weigh those out at the
time.”
After St. Fratty’s 2023
On 3/21/2023, SLOPD Chief Scott told the City Council that during St. Fratty’s 2023 there was “a larger
crowd, as expected, post-COVID” and that “SLOPD was upstaffed” to address the event. The true
events that day were downplayed or not discussed.
He said he planned to do an after-action analysis and talk with residents of our neighborhood but none of
the long-term residents in our neighborhood were contacted.
7
Mitigation Measures:
· On 1/9/2024, City Council adopted a SEZ for some weekends in March, including the
Saturday before Cal Poly’s winter finals, which is traditionally St. Fratty’s Day.
· PG&E removed the lower rungs from utility poles in the neighborhood.
St. Fratty’s 2024
Calls to SLOPD dispatch started at 3:20 a.m.; Illegal gathering in the street 5:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Streets were blocked and parties in the upper Alta Vista neighborhood, Albert Drive, until 10:30 a.m.
Medical calls/welfare checks (unconscious intoxicated people) until 12:20 p.m.
Noisy parties started in the neighborhood just after 3:00 a.m. Four illegal fraternity houses were cited for
noisy parties by 4:00 a.m. There was a constant stream of people screaming past our house and a city
utility truck placed unmanned barricades at intersections to stop vehicles from driving on the streets just
after 6:00 a.m., allowing parades of people to walk down the center of streets. I've attached a PDF that
shows the calls to SLOPD dispatch on 3/16/2024, St. Fratty's Day, including complaints at local hotels
about noisy people partying between 5:30 a.m. and 6:15 a.m.
I've also attached a video posted on social media by an Uber driver who picked up a group of gals at
3:30 a.m. They were "going to Beta" (Beta Theta Pi fraternity) which held a party, as many fraternities did
that morning. Some property owners of illegal fraternity houses had received notification from Code
Enforcement before St. Fratty's Day, and it seems that message was passed along to the fraternities
because some did not host events that day. (I called the owner of 348 Hathway on 2/28/2024 and he
promised me the fraternity would not have a party that morning.)
Still, 6,000-7,000 people showed up to block neighborhood streets. While it was difficult for them to climb
utility poles because the rungs were removed, people trespassed into yards and climbed on parked cars
and rooftops. Cars were scratched and windows smashed, fences were torn down, landscapes and
bushes were trampled, gutters were torn off houses, etc. Electric and cable lines were pulled down from
a house. The weight of people in a front yard caused a sewer line to collapse.
The damage to the Cal Poly dorms is often highlighted, but the total damage in the neighborhood
was in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Numerous people accessed an electrical line from a house to the utility pole and climbed across the
wire. One did pull-ups and fell. I heard that he broke his arm and was not identified until days later.
Based on dozens of videos posted online, there was no law enforcement anywhere nearby to remove
him or the hundreds of people on the rooftops for an extended period.
A tenant in a different house documented her terrifying experience, attached to this email. She and her
roommates called SLOPD four times because trespassers were on their rooftop and they feared the roof
would collapse on them. The SLOPD dispatcher hung up on them. When SLOPD finally arrived, they did
not help her to get the people off her roof. Part of her account is below:
“The police watched me struggling to clear the roof for over 30 minutes and still refused to take
action. I am a young woman who was ill-equipped to stand alone against the drunk and
aggressive mob-mentality that prevailed, and I was extremely scared and disheartened by the
lack of support we received. If we had received assistance the first time (or two) that we called the
police, they would have been able to clear the small crowd of people in our yard and on our roof,
before it became a serious and dangerous situation. I understand that large crowds are difficult to
control, but my housemates and I were put in danger due to the police’s lack of action, and I urge
you to implement safer strategies moving forward.”
8
The ”street party” ended at about 9:30 a.m. Streets were still blocked by college-aged people, and many
were obviously intoxicated and it was difficult to get through in a car. There were also rideshare drivers
everywhere, blocking the streets with hazard lights on. An unruly gathering was cited at Delta Upsilon’s
illegal fraternity house at 281 Albert Drive at 10:30 a.m.
Sirens continued as emergency calls for intoxicated people continued until after 12:00 p.m., including an
unconscious male on a 2-story rooftop at 146 Stenner and an unconscious male on a rooftop at 1861
Hope. Both are illegal fraternity houses for Kappa Sigma.
9
After St. Fratty’s 2024
During his debrief to the City Council on 3/19/2024, Chief Scott noted that there were no problems at
bars or downtown core on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17 th. On St. Fratty’s Day, police presence was tripled
with assistance from Cal Poly, CSU CRU Team, California Men’s Colony, and California Alcohol and
Beverage Control. He said early enforcement led to citations and arrests but about two hours later (just
after 6 a.m.) the streets needed to be closed, as crowds swelled to 6,000 – 7,000 people.
He said he found the activities “extremely disappointing, dangerous and criminal. This is not in keeping
with Cal Poly’s reputation and certainly not that of our community. Looking ahead, these lawless
activities cannot and should not be allowed to occur in our communities .”
During the SCLC meeting on 4/18/2024, Chief Scott said, “the fact that we didn’t have any significant
injuries is, I think, by sheer luck. You saw what was going on inside the incident. We had over 30 calls
for service for EMS and nearly all of those were related to alcohol or consumption of alcohol. Any one of
those calls could turn fatal if we’re not able to get resources to those that need it. We really can’t. And
so the fact that we escaped without a significant injury is really not something to brag about. It’s sheer
luck that that happened.”
St. Fratty’s 2025
It is unknown what will happen in 2025.
10
Other than in 2015, the unlawful assembly/neighborhood takeover called "St. Fratty's Day" has only
happened in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Each of those three years, we were woken up before dawn, there were
people on rooftops, young people openly drinking alcohol, and damage to our neighborhood. It was
unacceptable in 2022, with 2,000 people. In 2023 and 2024, SLOPD has said there would be proactive
enforcement but the mayhem has been allowed to continue.
The City Council and SLOPD were warned of the impending doom in 2023 based on it falling on Friday and
Saturday unless some action was taken to prevent it and no action was taken. Messages posted by Cal
Poly students on social media in 2022 and 2023 said that SLOPD was "just keeping us safe" and there was a
permissive message that the event was okay. So it's no surprise that it happened again in 2024.
It should not be allowed to happen again in 2025.
You have an opportunity to stop the event by implementing a curfew and not allowing people to gather in
the neighborhood. It is not “successful” if even 2,000 people show up for an unlawful assembly in our
neighborhood like they did for St. Fratty's in 202 2. A plan is successful if you use all the tools available to
prevent the event from happening at all. Please do more this year, than just hiring more law enforcement
to cite people and stand by. Use the tools available to stop the event.
Sincerely,
Kathie Walker
1
From:Francis, Emily
Sent:Tuesday, February 4, 2025 3:08 PM
To:kathie walker
Subject:Re: St. Fratty's Day 3/15/2025
Kathie,
Thank you for the time and effort you’ve put into gathering this information and advocating for solutions. Your
documentation of past events and ongoing concerns is invaluable in keeping attention on the challenges your
neighborhood is facing. I appreciate your continued engagement in these discussions.
Take care,
Emily
Emily Francis
pronouns she/her/hers
Council Member
Office of the City Council
990 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3249
E EFrancis@slocity.org
On Mon, Feb 03, 2025 at 11:52 PM, kathie walker < > wrote:
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
San Luis Obispo City Councilmembers,
The illegal drunken takeover of our neighborhood by thousands of people on the Saturday before Cal Poly’s
winter finals is unacceptable and needs to be prevented. It’s a dangerous public nuisance for the people
who live in our neighborhood and is going to end badly if the City doesn’t come up with a plan that does not
allow people this illegal gathering using a different approach. Cal Poly students are replenished with a new
class each fall, and they will continue to seek out “the tradition” unless the City uses tools that have been
successful in other communities to stop unruly gatherings, such as a curfew.
In March 2024, the city manager, Derek Johnson, said that the event must be prevented after the St.
Fratty’s Day event on 3/16/2024, and the City Council directed that the event be prevented moving forward.
Derek said a resident task force would be formed but that never happened. Back then, the trauma was
fresh and the City was motivated, but it seems that motivation has fallen by the wayside and the event is
not going to be prevented in 2025.
In November 2024, several residents and property owners in the Alta Vista neighborhood formed a task
force to communicate with the City about ideas to stop the event because it has affected us since it re-
emerged in 2022. It’s notable that before 2022, the only other time St. Fratty’s Day was an “unlawful
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assembly” in San Luis Obispo was in 2015 when 3,000 people converged into our neighborhood and a
roof collapsed at approximately 6:30 a.m., which ended the event that day. It did not return until 2022.
On 12/11/2024, members of our task force met with SLOPD, Erica Stewart, and Whitney McDonald. We
had prepared a comprehensive plan to stop St. Fratty’s Day, which included setting a curfew, a successful
tool in Miami Beach for ending the destructive unlawful assemblies during Spring Break. This suggestion
was made by Cal Poly staff during an SCLC meeting on 10/17/2024.
During that SCLC meeting on 10/17/2024, it was made clear that Cal Poly is going to take care of Cal Poly
at its boundary, and that the City needs to take care of the City within the city limits. Cal Poly representative
Michelle Crawford told Deputy City Manager, Greg Hermann and SLOPD Chief Rick Scott, that she
recommended looking at what the city of Miami Beach did to stop Spring Break in 2024, with its “We’re
breaking up with Spring Break” campaign. A key component of its successful campaign was a curfew.
Michelle Crawford commented that Miami Beach’s campaign “worked very effectively.”
The resident task force generated a plan using ChatGPT to effectively prevent St. Fratty’s Day using
metrics from St. Fratty’s Day 2022, 2023, and 2024, and effective methods from other unlawful assemblies
across the country, not including protests. We provided the plan to SLOPD, Erica, and Whitney, and I have
attached it to this correspondence, along with the statements from city leaders and an ER doctor that were
published when Mardi Gras was canceled.
Unfortunately, it does not appear the City has chosen to implement a curfew and therefore, St. Fratty’s Day
is going to disrupt our neighborhood yet again, which is super disappointing.
I think it’s important to point out that since 2022, SLOPD Chief Scott has repeatedly said they are going to
have a “proactive” approach to St. Fratty’s Day, and that approach has failed every year. I want to revisit
the facts that are backed up by SLOPD dispatch logs and other documentation since St. Fratty’s 2022.
St. Fratty’s Day 2022
In 2022, approximately 2,000 people overtook the intersection of Bond and Hathway, however, the entire
neighborhood was affected by screaming people, fireworks, trespassing, and vandalism from 4 a.m. to
10:00 a.m. In 2022, the Saturday before winter finals was on 3/12, five days before St. Patrick’s Day.
There were many posts on social media the night before the event that indicated the event was going to
happen, but SLOPD did not anticipate the event. Fireworks woke our neighborhood at 4 a.m. There were
only a handful of officers in our neighborhood until shift change when more officers came on duty.
Some noise citations were written, mostly to known illegal fraternity houses but many calls were not
responded to and there was a point where officers stood around the perimeter of the crowd because it was
too large. People were openly drinking alcohol, climbing telephone poles, standing on rooftops, and law
enforcement did not intervene. They waited until the unlawful assembly of drunken people burnt itself out,
six hours after it started. A spreadsheet of the calls to SLOPD dispatch was prepared after St. Fratty's Day
to show the timeline and was emailed to the City Council before St. Fratty's 2023:
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During the debrief to the City Council, SLOPD Chief Scott minimized what happened during St. Fratty’s
2022, and said they “went ahead and just secured the area and helped diffuse the rest of the parties to go
ahead and help them out of the neighborhoods” and that it only took “a couple of hours to get the situation
under control.” The event lasted for six hours and was not under control until 10 a.m.
Preparation for St. Fratty’s 2023
In the summer of 2022, I noticed that St. Fratty’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day were back-to-back on Friday
and Saturday. I knew that would cause a terrible situation and I wrote to SLOPD Chief Scott and the City
Council that summer, expressing my concern. I prepared calendars to illustrate the bad situation.
4
The City did not take any action to implement a Safety Enhancement Zone (SEZ). On 2/21/2023 , before St.
Fratty’s Day 2023, several concerned residents went to the City Council, explained our concerns, and
asked for the city to implement a SEZ, even on an emergency basis, citing the perfect-storm scenario of
back-to-back dates on the weekend.
The SLOPD Chief was in the audience, and he addressed Council, stating “I would like to say that we do
have a plan in place. Contrary to some of the comments, our plan does work.”
On 3/7/2023, SLOPD Chief Scott told the City Council “We’ll have available resources from other agencies
should that be required. … we’re going to be proactively focused on spot enforcement of critical areas
and also those areas where we’ve had historical challenges due to large gatherings and unruly crowds.”
On 3/15/2023, SLOPD Chief Scott and Deputy Chief Fred Mickel met with RQN and explained that they
had “proactive” plans to address the event. They said they had adequate staff and plans to circumvent any
dangerous activity, and we should not be worried because they were on top of it.
St. Fratty’s 2023
On 3/18/2023, St. Fratty’s Day, crowds began to overtake the neighborhood at 4 a.m. SLOPD did not
anticipate the crowd would gather that early and was not prepared for the volume of people who overtook
the neighborhood. College-aged people were openly drinking alcohol, carrying BORGs (Black Out Rage
Gallons), and many, many people climbed utility poles without any intervention from law enforcement.
SLOPD stood around the perimeter and did not engage with the crowd. I was standing near SLOPD officers
when we witnessed a guy climb out onto the utility line doing pull-ups. An officer said there was nothing he
could do and that he thought PG&E had turned off the power to the pole.
One of my neighbors called 911 because intoxicated guys trespassed onto his property and threatened to
fight him. He said the SLOPD dispatcher told him they could not help him due to his proximity to the street
party and hung up on him.
The unlawful gathering was allowed to continue until it fizzled out at around 10:30 a.m. SLOPD did not shut
down large fraternity parties or get people off rooftops. It’s my understanding that SLOPD issued citations
after the event based on drone footage, but an Administrative Hearing Officer dismissed those citations so
there were no consequences for the citations.
During a City Council meeting on 1/9/2024 for the Safety Enhancement Zone, Deputy Chief Mickel admitted
that SLOPD was not prepared for St. Fratty’s Day in 2023. A transcript from the meeting is below:
Erica Stewart: “On page 405…it says the PD doesn’t do anything during the unruly gatherings and
so I thought you could share why the PD respond as they do during the large gatherings.”
Fred Mickel: “It really depends on manpower. … like for instance, this past St. Fratty’s Day, we
had a much larger – we planned for a large event, (but) this was three times larger than we
even thought. It really, unfortunately, caught us a little bit by surprise even though we had a
really good plan going into it. And so at that point, you just start managing safety. And that’s our
first thing, right? And there’s a lot of things going on, yes we could take action against. And we tried
to. We tried some creative approaches to doing some unruly gathering, and we did do some unruly
gathering citations during that event. But probably not as many as we could have.
But we had to look at the bigger picture of, how do we not only keep the residents as safe as we can,
the officers, and all the people that were participating in the party. So, that’s really what drove that.
Now if we had the manpower, the personnel, the things that we could do, then absolutely we’d be
enforcing the unruly gatherings and those types of things. We just have to weigh those out at the
time.”
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After St. Fratty’s 2023
On 3/21/2023, SLOPD Chief Scott told the City Council that during St. Fratty’s 2023 there was “a larger
crowd, as expected, post-COVID” and that “SLOPD was upstaffed” to address the event. The true events
that day were downplayed or not discussed.
He said he planned to do an after-action analysis and talk with residents of our neighborhood but none of
the long-term residents in our neighborhood were contacted.
Mitigation Measures:
· On 1/9/2024, City Council adopted a SEZ for some weekends in March, including the Saturday
before Cal Poly’s winter finals, which is traditionally St. Fratty’s Day.
· PG&E removed the lower rungs from utility poles in the neighborhood.
St. Fratty’s 2024
Calls to SLOPD dispatch started at 3:20 a.m.; Illegal gathering in the street 5:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Streets were blocked and parties in the upper Alta Vista neighborhood, Albert Drive, until 10:30 a.m.
Medical calls/welfare checks (unconscious intoxicated people) until 12:20 p.m.
Noisy parties started in the neighborhood just after 3:00 a.m. Four illegal fraternity houses were cited for
noisy parties by 4:00 a.m. There was a constant stream of people screaming past our house and a city
utility truck placed unmanned barricades at intersections to stop vehicles from driving on the streets just
after 6:00 a.m., allowing parades of people to walk down the center of streets. I've attached a PDF that
shows the calls to SLOPD dispatch on 3/16/2024, St. Fratty's Day, including complaints at local hotels
about noisy people partying between 5:30 a.m. and 6:15 a.m.
I've also attached a video posted on social media by an Uber driver who picked up a group of gals at 3:30
a.m. They were "going to Beta" (Beta Theta Pi fraternity) which held a party, as many fraternities did
that morning. Some property owners of illegal fraternity houses had received notification from Code
Enforcement before St. Fratty's Day, and it seems that message was passed along to the fraternities
because some did not host events that day. (I called the owner of 348 Hathway on 2/28/2024 and he
promised me the fraternity would not have a party that morning.)
Still, 6,000-7,000 people showed up to block neighborhood streets. While it was difficult for them to climb
utility poles because the rungs were removed, people trespassed into yards and climbed on parked cars
and rooftops. Cars were scratched and windows smashed, fences were torn down, landscapes and bushes
were trampled, gutters were torn off houses, etc. Electric and cable lines were pulled down from a house.
The weight of people in a front yard caused a sewer line to collapse.
The damage to the Cal Poly dorms is often highlighted, but the total damage in the neighborhood
was in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Numerous people accessed an electrical line from a house to the utility pole and climbed across the wire.
One did pull-ups and fell. I heard that he broke his arm and was not identified until days later. Based on
dozens of videos posted online, there was no law enforcement anywhere nearby to remove him or the
hundreds of people on the rooftops for an extended period.
A tenant in a different house documented her terrifying experience, attached to this email. She and her
roommates called SLOPD four times because trespassers were on their rooftop and they feared the roof
would collapse on them. The SLOPD dispatcher hung up on them. When SLOPD finally arrived, they did
not help her to get the people off her roof. Part of her account is below:
“The police watched me struggling to clear the roof for over 30 minutes and still refused to take
action. I am a young woman who was ill-equipped to stand alone against the drunk and aggressive
6
mob-mentality that prevailed, and I was extremely scared and disheartened by the lack of support
we received. If we had received assistance the first time (or two) that we called the police, they
would have been able to clear the small crowd of people in our yard and on our roof, before it
became a serious and dangerous situation. I understand that large crowds are difficult to control, but
my housemates and I were put in danger due to the police’s lack of action, and I urge you to
implement safer strategies moving forward.”
The ”street party” ended at about 9:30 a.m. Streets were still blocked by college-aged people, and many
were obviously intoxicated and it was difficult to get through in a car. There were also rideshare drivers
everywhere, blocking the streets with hazard lights on. An unruly gathering was cited at Delta Upsilon’s
illegal fraternity house at 281 Albert Drive at 10:30 a.m.
Sirens continued as emergency calls for intoxicated people continued until after 12:00 p.m., including an
unconscious male on a 2-story rooftop at 146 Stenner and an unconscious male on a rooftop at 1861 Hope.
Both are illegal fraternity houses for Kappa Sigma.
After St. Fratty’s 2024
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During his debrief to the City Council on 3/19/2024, Chief Scott noted that there were no problems at bars
or downtown core on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17 th. On St. Fratty’s Day, police presence was tripled with
assistance from Cal Poly, CSU CRU Team, California Men’s Colony, and California Alcohol and Beverage
Control. He said early enforcement led to citations and arrests but about two hours later (just after 6 a.m.)
the streets needed to be closed, as crowds swelled to 6,000 – 7,000 people.
He said he found the activities “extremely disappointing, dangerous and criminal. This is not in keeping with
Cal Poly’s reputation and certainly not that of our community. Looking ahead, these lawless activities
cannot and should not be allowed to occur in our communities .”
During the SCLC meeting on 4/18/2024, Chief Scott said, “the fact that we didn’t have any significant
injuries is, I think, by sheer luck. You saw what was going on inside the incident. We had over 30 calls for
service for EMS and nearly all of those were related to alcohol or consumption of alcohol. Any one of
those calls could turn fatal if we’re not able to get resources to those that need it. We really can’t. And so
the fact that we escaped without a significant injury is really not something to brag about. It’s sheer luck that
that happened.”
St. Fratty’s 2025
It is unknown what will happen in 2025.
Other than in 2015, the unlawful assembly/neighborhood takeover called "St. Fratty's Day" has only happened
in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Each of those three years, we were woken up before dawn, there were people on
rooftops, young people openly drinking alcohol, and damage to our neighborhood. It was unacceptable in
2022, with 2,000 people. In 2023 and 2024, SLOPD has said there would be proactive enforcement but the
mayhem has been allowed to continue.
The City Council and SLOPD were warned of the impending doom in 2023 based on it falling on Friday and
Saturday unless some action was taken to prevent it and no action was taken. Messages posted by Cal Poly
students on social media in 2022 and 2023 said that SLOPD was "just keeping us safe" and there was a
permissive message that the event was okay. So it's no surprise that it happened again in 2024.
It should not be allowed to happen again in 2025.
You have an opportunity to stop the event by implementing a curfew and not allowing people to gather in
the neighborhood. It is not “successful” if even 2,000 people show up for an unlawful assembly in our
neighborhood like they did for St. Fratty's in 2022. A plan is successful if you use all the tools available to
prevent the event from happening at all. Please do more this year, than just hiring more law enforcement to
cite people and stand by. Use the tools available to stop the event.
Sincerely,
Kathie Walker