San Luis Obispo plans to reject Grand Jury findings

September 14, 2025

By KAREN VELIE

The City of San Luis Obispo plans to reject all of the SLO County Grand Jury’s findings regarding the city’s alleged failure to protect its residents from loud and ruckus parties hosted by Cal Poly students, according to a SLO City Council staff report.

The city’s 14-page response follows the release of the Grand Jury’s June 23 report.  The city disagrees with the Grand Jury’s six findings while implementing four of its recommendations.

While staffers admit the city has a “central role in responding to neighborhood concerns through enforcement, education, and public safety coordination,” city officials contend other issues such as illegal gatherings, disruptive behavior, and group housing are tied to campus culture and rental market conditions.

The city asserts that “many of these root causes fall outside its jurisdiction and require leadership from the university.” As Cal Poly is a state agency, the Grand Jury does not have oversight.

“By not addressing a key stakeholder, namely Cal Poly, the report creates the impression that the city alone is responsible for mitigating the negative impacts of student party culture,” according to the city’s response.

For years, SLO residents have voiced concerns over noise disturbances, large unauthorized street parties, and fraternity and sorority events hosted in residential areas. These issues have led to tensions between some long-term residents and the student community.

In response to multiple complaints filed by residents who contend San Luis Obispo and Cal Poly officials have failed to enforce existing rules and municipal ordinances, the Grand Jury launched its investigation.

In addition to failing to protect residents from loud parties, the Grand Jury found the city also failed to enforce permit requirements for rowdy fraternities. Meanwhile, the SLO City Council increased the cost for residents to appeal those permits.

Aside from one officer, San Luis Obispo Police Department staff refused the Grand Jury’s interview requests.

As a result of Cal Poly’s increased attendance, university students now comprise nearly 46% of San Luis Obispo’s total population. The changing dynamic has significantly influenced housing availability both on and off campus, infrastructure demands, and neighboring residential community dynamics.

Unsanctioned, illegal street parties have grown exponentially over the past several years with major impacts to neighborhoods near Cal Poly, including property damage, personal injury, and illegal and dangerous behavior.

Even though the city has an ordinance making it unlawful for any person to willfully or negligently make “any noise which disturbs the peace and quiet of any neighborhood or which causes any discomfort or annoyance to any reasonable person of normal sensitivity in the area,” the city has failed to fully enforce the law, according to the Grand Jury report.

The Grand Jury also looked into citizen complaints of “illegal fraternities” operating in residential zones and determined the city has failed to enforce codes that prohibit fraternity and sorority activity in those zones.

The city also failed to consistently enforce permit requirements that make fraternities provide an annual list of parties and events, notification to neighbors, and parking plans. “Strict enforcement of these conditions would contribute to a reduction of the disturbances in the neighborhoods,” according to the Grand Jury.

In its response, the city disagrees with all of the Grand Jury’s findings.

Grand Jury recommendations and the City of San Luis Obispo’s responses:

• Continue to work with Cal Poly to develop a multi-year plan to stop the illegal street parties. City response: It has already implemented the recommendation.
• Develop and implement an ongoing formal process to identify illegal fraternities and bring them into compliance. City response: It has already implemented the recommendation.
• Initiate a task force to explore the creation of a “Student Overlay Zone” near the campus that would allow for municipal code requirements to be introduced that would differentiate it from the rest of the city. City response: Will not implemented because it is not practical at this time.
• Adopt a tiered planning appeal fee structure to promote accessibility of community concerns by individual residents. City response: Will not implement because it is not warranted.
• Adopt more uniform conditions for conditional use permits and enforcement of existing requirements. City response:  It has already implemented the recommendation.
• Create formal guidelines and provide training outlining how the SLO City Police Department will respond to requests from the SLO County Grand Jury and other oversite bodies. City response: It will not implement because it is not warranted.

The San Luis Obispo City Council is slated to vote to approve or make revisions to the city’s response letter to the Grand Jury report on Tuesday.

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