HomeMy WebLinkAbout5/26/2026 Item 5a, Gruman
From:slogalen@icloud.com
Sent: 34 PM
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Comments on fraternity/sorority agenda item for May 26 council meeting
Dear mayor and council members.
It is good to see you discussing how to better manage the misbehavior by fraternities and sororities within the
city, whether registered or informal ones. I read the staff report on the issue, and in it I learned a lot about the
issues, limitations, and concepts to explore.
However, that report has caused concern throughout the community in two related areas: the potential for an
overlay district to apply special rules on sororities and fraternities in an unknown area of the city, and the
potential of “alternative framework” of policies and rules. The concern for both is that these would be backdoor
ways to loosen the regulations around and penalties for misbehaving sororities and fraternities, enabling more
presence in the neighborhoods. I did not read the staff report that way, but many people did, so it might be
good to affirm that making it easier for such organizations to establish themselves in residential areas and/or to
have lower standards and penalties imposed on them for misbehavior is NOT the intent of the council. That
may be obvious to the council and staff, but it was not to many community members.
As to the report, it felt as if the staff was lukewarm about the notion of an overlay, which apparently had been
suggested by other parties, so they did their job and looked into it. Fair enough. I was struck by how complex
and difficult the investigation and enforcement efforts are, and I agree with a notion in the report that
simplifying the rules, process, and “journey to conclusion” should be simplified for all parties’ sake. We should
have due process, but not to the extent that it ends up being ineffective because it takes so long or that
addressing issues is skipped due to the cost of effort. We want effective governance that can be sustained and
concluded.
I was also stuck by the issue of informal fraternities and sororities. They seem to be the most problematic area
because there is no ability to rescind conditional use as they have no permits to begin with because they are
not formal organizations, so there is less the city can actually do. I am surprised that misbehavior around
noise, parking, crowd capacity, and the like — whether or not they stem from fraternities and sororities of any
sort — are so difficult. Is it really that difficult to document? I would think that a fine structure would have a
quick acceleration as infractions at a given address increase, and that the property owner would bear the cost
so as to have a reason to cancel leases, check histories of applicants to weed out repeat offenders, and other
mitigations. (How about a city directory of people involved in such infractions for landlords to check? Sort of
like a Megan’s Law. Is that possible for those who have completed the process of penalties?) Whatever is legal
and reasonable, it seems penalizing the bad behavior is the shortest connection to changed behavior and one
that doesn’t give informal organizations an advantage in being scofflaws.
It is too bad that Cal Poly doesn’t find a way to absorb the sorority and fraternity behavior, whether by
establishing a Greek row (if they are allowed; I did see that zoning for or against students as a class can
violate nondiscrimination laws, at least for cities) or having facilities on campus away from the neighborhoods
for large events and parties that student-related groups could book. Building more dorms on campus did help
reduce the housing pressure off campus, especially from the rowdier freshmen and sophomore students who
are now compelled to live on campus. Is the city being too accommodating of Cal Poly? Many citizens seem to
think so, but it was unclear what the staff view was.
I do want to be clear that dealing with the misbehavior of students in groups such as fraternities and sororities
should not become an excuse to punish students. I rented to students 15 years ago, and there are many
students living in my neighborhood. Nearly all of them are nice, respectful people. What seems to happen is
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when they get in large groups the dynamics change and they get loud and rowdy in a way they would never do
alone or in small groups. It’s the mob mania that sets in, and we see that happen as well with adults such as at
sports events. And it’s the mob behavior we want to target. It just so happens the high number of fraternities
and sororities, combined with the foibles of youth, is where we see it occur the most.
I am thankful the council and city staff are trying to figure out how to less the problems that the misbehavior
causes for residents. Please keep on it.
Thank you.
Cordinally,
Galen Gruman
196 Craig Way
San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
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