San Luis Obispo’s City Community Development Program presented a report to a special code enforcement study session to the City Council, titled “Code Enforcement Priorities - Safe and Livable Neighborhoods and Housing," on Tuesday, May 26.
City council meetings are always broadcast live and available for replay on the City's YouTube channel. The City normally meets every other week, and recently convened on May 19. Tuesday night's special meeting is expected to focus entirely on zoning. Public comment is a key part of the session.
Residents in the Cal Poly area repeatedly report code violations by Greek Life at Cal Poly University to the city's Code Enforcement team via AskSLO and, on weekends, call the police directly.
“We have trash cans lining the alley behind our house and they never get put away and then the seagulls and the birds get in them and then it’s trash everywhere. Do the students pick it up? No,” said Laurel Smith, who has lived near campus for several decades. "I call it 'Polyville, the million-dollar slum.' I think the only solution is to move them onto campus."
Reporter Jessica Roe reached out to Cal Poly University, and spokesperson Matt Lazier provided the following statement: "Cal Poly values its relationship with the City of San Luis Obispo and our nearby neighbors, and the university remains committed to working collaboratively with local authorities, residents, and our campus community to address any issues or concerns that arise. As an active member of the community in which Cal Poly students, staff, and faculty live and learn, the university is committed to being a good neighbor."
The report presented to Council on Tuesday states, “Fraternity and sorority enforcement has become one of the fastest and most resource-intensive categories, with 169 investigation requests and 90 formal cases between 2024 and April 2026."
City staff is asking whether the City Council concurs with the staff recommendations regarding enrichment priorities, response time, the fine structure, a potential new regulatory arm for fraternity and sorority houses, land-use violations, and more.
“We really want to look at - are these regulations we have on the books now, helpful? Are they enforceable?" said Timmi Tway, in her role as the city's Community Development Director. "Are they creating the type of neighborhoods we’d like to have, or are there things we need to do, potentially learning from other communities that have universities or colleges in them or nearby? Are there things we can do to have more effective regulations so that everyone can live in the neighborhood together?”
“I do think the standards are pretty standard for a college town, right now. I feel like the cops come down the street all the time, give tickets out all the time,” said Charlie Rehm, a senior at Cal Poly who lives in a house he says is in between two fraternity houses, causing spillover of parties into his residence, which boasts a bright "Club House" sign on the front. “The cops come, they tell us to shut it down, or give us a warning, then we go pay it, downtown at the courthouse.”
Tuesday's agenda documents stated the City will, “Receive a presentation on the City’s Code Enforcement program, take public testimony, and consider providing direction to staff…”
Matters being considered include the following:
1. Concurrence on the existing Enforcement Priorities & Response Time Standards that are currently in place for code enforcement matters
2. Adding a work plan item to the 2027-29 Financial Plan to explore and implement adjustments and simplifications to the Administrative Fine Structure for code enforcement violations
3. Adding a work plan item to the 2027-29 Financial Plan to analyze and develop an alternative regulatory framework for Fraternity and Sorority Houses
4. Continuing enforcement of fraternity and sorority land use violations consistent with the existing Enforcement Priorities & Response Time Standards, prioritizing violations that result in disturbance to others
5. Undertaking an effort to analyze time-intensive code enforcement areas to identify and implement operational efficiencies to address the rising case load of the team
6. Whether there are any neighborhood wellness, property maintenance, or nuisance standards the council wishes to update in light of current operational challenges and evolving community needs
7. Whether there are any future, topic-specific study sessions needed to support more in-depth policy development
San Luis Obispo Community Reporter Jessica Roe will have more on this story on KSBY News at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
If you have something you would like Jessica to look into, you can reach her directly via email at jessica.roe@ksby.com.
