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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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All of a sudden Grand Juries have no power?…. they had ultimate power when used against Trump and his people…


7

“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.”


What a load of fetid dingo kidneys! In the 80’s, there was hardly any on-campus housing. We went to parties every single Wed, Thru, Fri and Saturday, and sometimes Sundays. Poly Royal was a huge party. Week of Welcome was a non-stop party. Students were everywhere, far more visible than students are now.


-28

1983 saw less than 16,000 enrolled. Today it’s well over 22,000. The dorms of the 80’s could easily hold the entire freshman class. The large majority of off campus housing, was within 1 mile of campus. Today, it’s nearly 5 miles.


Since then, Poly can currently house nearly 9000 students, first year, and many 2nd and 3rd. 1200+/- new beds are being built right now.


WOW week hasn’t changed at all, except for the 7000 new bodies in town.


16

^^^ THIS!!!! ^^^


1

Back in the ’80s the mindset of the students was different, they’re respectful of their neighbors and neighborhoods that they lived in. Fast forward to now you have a bunch of entitled children,I guess you could call them adults ruining neighborhoods with their large loud gatherings.


17

@Obispan. The problems with homelessness and crime is also an issue that also needs to be solved. But the people who live in the neighborhoods in the north of the city are not able to have peace on weekends when Cal Poly is in session from Thursday to Sunday. It’s not just a few rowdy parties. It’s many parties every weekend and lots of loud people going and leaving those parties.


The problem has grown in recent years and there are something like 50 fraternity houses in those neighborhoods because the 19-20 Cal Poly fraternities have multiple fraternity houses that hold fraternity events on weekends. It’s not a small problem if you live there.


The city’s laws don’t allow fraternities in residential neighborhoods. Cal Poly is hiding the addresses from the city to protect the fraternity members. People who live in the neighborhood have reported the fraternity houses but the city does not respond to the complaints. And SLOPD isn’t enforcing the noise laws so that adds to the problem.


The city does not want to push back against Cal Poly. There are so many layers and the grand jury exposed the problems but I guess the city can deny the grand jury’s results and things carry on or get worse for the people who pay taxes and live in those neighborhoods.


29

Define “fraternity”. A fraternity is owned by a fraternal organization. Some dudes (or girls, or combination thereof) sharing a house is not a fraternity. The neighborhood has not changed, except fot the yuppies moving in and complaining about the students who have been there forever.


-10

What “addresses” is Cal Poly hiding? The only addresses Cal Poly knows are those of students and that information is, and should be, confidential. Cal Poly has no role or standing regulating land use off campus.


-8

I have lived with students, and been a student, for 60 years. You are not the first person I have advised to move to Santa Maria if they do not like living in a college town.


-10

I enjoy the noise of the kids having fun as I drift off to sleep. The kids behind me have great parties and sometimes really good live bands. They charge $5 when they have a band. I can enjoy the music from my yard or walk up the hill and get in for free.


-11

Cal Poly enrollment needs to be curtailed.


31

Until the Grand Jury is given legal powers instead of just making suggestions it will be pointless, but of course those responsible for giving the Jury that power are the one who won’t so the Jury won’t expose all their questionable activities.


31

They are adults. Adults that happen to go to Cal Poly. Hold them to the Laws that the rest of us adults have to live by. If they are off campus Cal Poly has nothing to do with it. Send police, make arrests, levy fines or incarcerate them. They will learn right? After all, they is college students right?


59

What a joke. San Luis Obispo “already implemented the suggestion” is like a teenager saying they brushed their teeth… The toothbrush remains dry and this lack of willingness on the cities part is disturbing.


47

Not concerned about a few loud party weekends a year. Been that way for decades. The rampant property crime by illegals and the homeless is relatively new. My car was broken into today, less than an hour after I got back from the Sierras before I had a chance to unpack. The guy was cruising around on a bicycle. My neighbor intervened before he got much of value.


24

Well, if one of your neighbors would have called SLO PD they would of possibly detained/arrested the homeless person and that is more than there willing to do with a loud drunk Poly party.


11

No they wouldn’t. Calling SLOPD regarding the homeless is a waste of your and their time, and they make that very clear. The police cannot prove anything and they know it. I can deal and reason with the students. They are generally not drug-addicted and mentally ill and do not check every car door every night I’ll swap out the homeless for students any day.


1

Maybe someday soon the residents- I mean the homeowners and others that are raising families or retired in this town, will organize and push back. That’s what it’s going to take. City staff and SLOPD aren’t going to move the ball without the proper pressure to change and respond. San Luis would be a paradise if the students had a little more social awareness , but sadly things continue to deteriorate.

Just like fighting 5 story buildings in Grover neighborhoods, it’s going to take the formation of organized residents to push past big special interests like developers and Cal Poly that currently hold sway. Love how the city just tosses the Grand Jury findings and recommendations. Why would anybody serve in the furture?

No, … residents need to make your voices heard!


67

It’s an uphill battle SLO homeowners and residents, the city government is stacked against them.When you have Stewart,Shoresman,Boswell,Marx all of these people have been or still are affiliated with Cal Poly one way or the other faculty, staff, alumni or spouse.The residence’s voices are falling on deaf ears,the mayor and her council don’t care about what’s going on in the neighborhoods, I think because it’s not happening in their neighborhood. Hopefully someday karma will bite them all on their butts and put a satellite frat house in their neighborhood and then they can see what everyone else is going through. Or this is a long shot,they get voted out of their positions but that too is an uphill battle because when you have the student government on Cal Poly campus holding these meet and greets to introduce

people running for city government which helps them get voted in.


20

You are so right! But wait – there’s more! Cal Poly is building modular 12-story dorms on campus to accommodate the increase to 25,000 students. No additional classrooms, just more bodies. And while they may live on campus, with the proliferation of frat houses and bars downtown (thanks to city planners), don’t expect this to remedy any of the problems. Their loyalty to students, big developers, and the homeless is destroying the quality of life here for permanent residents. All these council people need to go.


16

Where is this “proliferation” of downtown bars? More are closing than opening. And city councilpersons have long been associated with Poly; Ken Schwartz, Keith Gurnee, Allen Settle, as would be expected in a COLLEGE TOWN.


-8

Yes I’m familiar with Schwartz,Gurnee and Settle but the big difference between the past Cal Poly associated people and the present ones is night and day in my opinion. Those three men didn’t let Cal Poly ruin neighborhoods as they are now,as the current mayor and her counsel.And yes I realize that there is a college in this town,actually there’s two colleges but San Luis doesn’t draw people here because it’s a college town to live,raise a family, its a great area to live. I don’t think it’s too much to ask that your neighbors to try be respectful of others.


8
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