HomeMy WebLinkAbout5/26/2026 Item 5a, Gilmore
Taylor Gilmore <
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Regarding the Upcoming Code Enforcement Session on May 26
Council,
I'm writing in hopes that my perspective is considered ahead of the upcoming Code Enforcement Special
Meeting on May 26th. I was born in San Luis Obispo and feel very lucky to live here and raise my children
here. My husband and our children lived in the Alta Vista neighborhood for over 2 years while we were
remodeling our home in the Johnson / Sinsheimer neighborhood, which we recently moved back to.
While we were living near Cal Poly, it was not possible for us to sleep during most weekends because of
the noise from many large fraternity parties and people yelling as they walked past our home late at
night. I work from home and could hear parties from a nearby frat house on weekdays when the weather
was nice, even while wearing noise-canceling headphones. I want to emphasize that these are not just
typical parties or get togethers, but full fledged frat parties like something you might see in a movie.
I graduated from Cal Poly and while I was a student I certainly attended fraternity parties myself. Back
then, they were not held throughout residential neighborhoods and they were nowhere near the scale of
what I have seen over the past several years. Additionally, there was actual enforcement happening.
Police were patrolling the neighborhoods to make sure no one was walking around with open containers
as well as making sure nothing was too crazy. Today, it seems that the situation has grown truly out of
control. There appears to be zero enforcement. It is not fair to the people who live in these
neighborhoods, not just long-term residents like myself, but also other students.
It seems that part of the reason the City has struggled with enforcement is because Cal Poly has not
cooperated with the City in verifying fraternity addresses while the City has been attempting to enforce
its laws. The City should not reward that lack of cooperation by limiting enforcement or revising zoning
laws to accommodate a use that has repeatedly been found detrimental to residential neighborhoods.
Instead, the City should be holding Cal Poly responsible for its fraternities. Cal Poly should develop a
Greek Row on campus and take responsibility for its own organizations.
I read the Editorial written more than a year ago calling on the City to hold Cal Poly accountable. The
Planning Commission eventually did that by revoking permits after determining that fraternity use was
incompatible with the neighborhoods. The Editorial suggested stronger enforcement measures,
including abatement, yet the City still has not taken those steps even while unlawful fraternity operations
continue harming residential neighborhoods.
If the issue continues to be ignored, it will only get worse. Cal Poly will continue to increase enrollment,
which will increase Greek Life participation, which will push fraternities and their events into more
neighborhoods. Just this weekend, my husband and I had flashbacks to living in Alta Vista when we heard
loud parties happening at a house on Helena which is located right behind us. Our neighbors told us that
they believe a fraternity has moved in. We chose this neighborhood intentionally, thinking we were far
enough away from Cal Poly to not be impacted, but here we are. My dad lives in a neighborhood near the
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base of Cerro San Luis off of Foothill and he is now surrounded by fraternities and loud parties every
weekend as well. No neighborhood seems to be "safe" from the issue anymore.
I want to reiterate that the issue is very specific to frat houses and their parties, not the general student
population or standard house parties. We have several houses in our neighborhood that are student
rentals and our student neighbors are kind and respectful. This is really specific to fraternities and their
events. The scale and impact of a fraternity party is so much larger than typical. It is more akin to a
nightclub. My interactions with fraternity members when asking them to please keep it down have not
been met with kindness or respect. You really can't understand the impact unless you have lived near the
issue yourself.
I urge the council to make enforcement a priority. These are residential neighborhoods, not event venues
for fraternities. Every neighborhood deserves equal protection, livability, and quiet enjoyment. This issue
will only compound if it isn't addressed.
Thank you,
Taylor Gilmore
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