HomeMy WebLinkAbout8_27_2025 Item 4b, Walker, S.Steven Walker <stevewalkerslo@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, August
To:Advisory Bodies
Subject:Planning Commission, Grand Jury Recommendation
Dear Planning Commissioners,
Iam unable to attend themeeting because Iamintheprocess of clearing outmy home and moving my
family toanother neighborhood across town. Ithought wemight beable toattend themeeting, butthe
move istaking more time than we anticipated. Iamwriting toask you tofullyimplement the
recommendations oftheGrand Jury.
In itsdraft response totheGrand Jury’sreport, theCity states therecommendation has been
implemented totheextent practicable and appropriate.
The Cityclaims cannot fully implement theGrand Jury'srecommendation because itdoes nothave the
resources to proactively enforce thelaw. Itsays theCity does nothave themoney to provide additional
code enforcement staffing tohandle the matter and/ortowork alternative hours, including evenings and
weekends when thefraternity-related events happen.
The most critical recommendation bytheGrand Jury isfortheCity toactively enforce zoning and
municipal codes forfraternities. The Grand Jury found thattheCity’scurrent reactive approach is
ineffective, and this inaction has allowed illegal fraternity operations tocontinue unabated.
The lack of enforcement isgravely affecting neighborhoods. That isafact that can nolonger bedenied.
Numerous fraternities operate without CUPs, yettheCity'scurrent enforcement actions have not
shut them down.
Example: Beta Theta Piat1327 Foothill continues toadvertise its address asits fraternity
locations, hosts large parties, andaccumulates citations including unruly gatherings, without
consequence.
In2023, Notices ofViolation and Advisory Letters wereissued based onCalPoly’sAB524 Report,
but these properties remain active fraternity houses.
Complaints submitted ahead oftime aredismissed because Code Enforcement doesnotwork
evenings orweekends, allowing illegal activity toescalate.
The Grand Jury concluded theaffected neighborhoods areunlivable, and itistrue.
Many residents have already had tomove away because they could no longer tolerate thedisruptive
noise which isprimarily from fraternity parties. Believe me, Ihave lived in theneighborhood for many
years and theexponential growth offraternity activity inthepastseveral years isoutofcontrol. Mywife
and Ihoped that thepublicity through news investigations, suchas theonepublished by The Tribune,
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would prompt action. Butitdidnot. We hoped theGrand Jury investigation would uncover thetruth,
which itdid. Andwe thought theCitywould then take action tosolve theproblem, which itisnot.
After seeing theCity'sresponse totheGrand Jury report, my wife and Irealized wehad nochoice butto
leave. We arecurrently intheprocess ofmoving because theconstant fraternity-related noise has made
itimpossible torest, harmed ourhealth, and disrupted ourlives. The move has strained our finances,
which has made ourfuture plans uncertain. Itisanunplanned, unwelcome, and difficult change atthis
stage ofourlives as “older” adults. Imagine being forced outofyour home because yourCity refuses to
enforce its own laws.
Itshould never have come to this point. The City should have done something when theproblem was
brought totheir attention years ago. Now, with theGrand Jury’sinvestigation and report, there is no
question that theCity must beproactive initssolution.
Misleading Complaint Statistics
The City cites astatistic that fraternity-related complaints represent 6.5% ofallcode enforcement
complaints. This figure ismisleading because noise complaints to SLOPD areexcluded from that figure.
A large percentage ofnoise complaints arefromfraternity-related events atfraternity houses. They are
the most disruptive events inthe neighborhoods, week after week while CalPoly isinsession. Those
noise complaints and citations arenotreported tocode enforcement.
There isnoaccurate database ofillegal fraternity addresses, somost calls toSLOPD arenotlogged as
fraternity-related and codeenforcement isnever aware ofthem. Code enforcement takes action ifa
resident proactively makes acomplaint. Then, thecomplaints areusually dismissed even though there
arevideo and social media posts that show they happened because theyarenotworking
evenings/weekends towitness theevent firsthand.
This underreporting ofviolations ofthezoning and municipal codeminimizes the severity oftheproblem
and undermines therecommendation for stronger enforcement.
Misaligned Budget Priorities
The City has claimed itcannot fund additional enforcement staff, yetthebudget includes numerous
nonessential items, such as $100,000 annually forCity artprojects. While artand other initiatives are
valuable, they should not come attheexpense of residents’ health, safety, andability tosleep intheir
own homes. The Citycould find themoney topay forsomeone toproactively start tohandle theproblem,
even ifit'son acontract-basis fortheshort-term, tostart toget ahold oftheproblem.
The Case foraDedicated Code Enforcement Officer
Hiring someone toproactively handle thefraternity problem isessential. That person should:
Work Thursday through Saturday evenings when most major fraternity parties occur.
Respond topre-reported events onweekends.
Coordinate with SLOPD toenforce zoning and municipal code violations effectively.
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Focus on fraternity enforcement for1–2years torestore stability and livability intheaffected
neighborhoods.
There areafew fraternities with CUPs and they violate theconditions withlarge noisy parties, but
continue tooperate. There arealso atleast 40 illegal fraternity houses operating openly inour
neighborhoods. Their unchecked behavior has turned partsof San Luis Obispo into chaotic andcrazy
environments that make itimpossible tolivepeacefully.
Please fully implement theGrand Jury'srecommendation. Insist theCity hire acode enforcement officer
toaddress fraternity-related violations. Prioritize thehealth, safety and welfare oftheneighborhoods by
funding proactive enforcement rather than continuing totheineffective reactive approach.
Our neighborhoods cannot withstand another year ofinaction. The Grand Jury’sfindings are clear, and
residents aresuffering asaresult ofthe City’sfailure to enforce itslaws. Proactive enforcement isthe
only way torestore order and protect thelivability of ourcommunity.
Thank you foryour timeand service toourcity.
Sincerely,
Steve Walker
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