Cal Poly fraternity loses SLO permit over noise violations. Now what?
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- City Council denied Delta Chi’s appeal and revoked its conditional use permit.
- Fraternity must cease operations but residents may remain; modify permit option $3,000.
- City cited multiple noise and unruly gathering violations, including 10 citations.
A Cal Poly fraternity just officially lost its conditional use permit due to repeat noise and permit violations — but it was also offered a less expensive path to getting a new one.
Delta Chi, located at 1236 Monte Vista Place in San Luis Obispo, originally got its permit revoked by the SLO Planning Commission on May 28 — but less than a month later, the fraternity filed an appeal to reverse the commission’s decision.
That appeal brought the issue before the SLO City Council on Tuesday night.
In its appeal, the fraternity argued the Planning Commission’s decision was “premature” and said it could work with the city to address the issues at hand, rather than go through the expensive process of applying for a new use permit — something that costs more than $11,000, city staff said during the meeting.
But the community development department urged the City Council to uphold the revocation Tuesday night, citing multiple noise and use violations at the property — the most recent being in October, four months after the property filed its appeal.
After about three hours of presentations and deliberation, the City Council voted to deny the fraternity’s appeal, officially revoking its permit. That means fraternity operations at the property must stop, director of community development Timmi Tway told The Tribune in an email after the meeting.
But the council’s decision also carved out a less expensive path for the fraternity to get a new permit.
Instead of applying for a new permit entirely, Delta Chi can apply to modify its now-revoked permit, which costs about $3,000, according to Tway.
If the fraternity doesn’t submit an application to modify its use permit within 60 days — or if it receives a noise or unruly gathering citation before a new permit is approved — it would lose that chance and would need to reapply for a new permit costing about $11,260.
For now, the fraternity is not allowed to operate, but residents can continue to live at the property.
Fraternities are required to hold a conditional use permit in order to operate in SLO.
The issue of fraternities operating in the city without permits — and in residential areas were fraternity activity isn’t permitted — has sparked outcry in the community over the past year and led to a Grand Jury investigation that found the city at fault for not enforcing municipal regulations.
The city denied the investigation findings.
Why did the city revoke Delta Chi’s conditional use permit?
Delta Chi’s permit was revoked by the Planning Commission after the fraternity received 10 noise citations between January 2022 and May, The Tribune previously reported.
According to a staff report from the city’s community development department, those reprimands included one unruly gathering citation on March 15 — the date of St. Fratty’s Day — where police spotted around 100 people in the courtyard of the property at around 4 a.m., with music was booming from the residence and alcohol visible.
St. Fratty’s Day has been a sore spot for locals who have reported disturbances during the annual party, which has in the past drawn thousands to the streets. This year, the city and university took a different approach, hosting a music festival on campus, while a heavy law enforcement presence prevented students from gathering in the streets.
After the St. Fratty’s Day citation, Delta Chi was notified that it had violated the terms of its conditional use permit and would be referred to the Planning Commission for a re-review hearing. About a month later, police issued another noise citation on April 18 for a gathering of at least 50 people with alcohol, the report said.
The fraternity ultimately appeared before the Planning Commission on May 28, and then filed its appeal on June 20.
On Oct. 10, about four months after the fraternity filed its appeal, it received another noise citation, the report said. This time, police reported that music and voices could be heard from the property at around 2:30 a.m, and alcohol was also present at that time.
Fraternity members at Tuesday’s meeting said the recent citation was not a fraternity event, but rather a few members acting on their own time. They told the council that they have appealed the citation.
Fraternity’s appeal describes revocation as ‘premature’
Delta Chi gave several reasons in its appeal why the decision to revoke its permit, it argued, should be reversed.
Fraternity members also appeared at Tuesday’s meeting to plead their case before the council.
The fraternity said it had worked with the city to rectify past issues and aims to be a constructive organization in the community. The appeal also said the city first recommended modifying the fraternity’s use permit instead of revoking it, “indicating a belief that continued operation under improved conditions is both possible and reasonable.”
The fraternity described revocation as a “disproportionate penalty.”
“Delta Chi acted in good faith based on the city’s past positions and now face significant hardship due to a sudden change in course,” the appeal said.
During Tuesday’s meeting, fraternity members echoed these points and emphasized the financial toll of the appeal process and the prospect of applying for a new conditional use permit at over $11,000.
Fraternity treasurer Jack Werle told the City Council that Delta Chi members have already paid $8,000 toward the appeal and another $4,000 to revamp security and procedures.
“Every dollar would come directly from our undergraduate members, many of whom work directly ... on campus and with other part-time jobs to cover both their rent and their tuition,” Werle said.
City Council votes to deny appeal, revoke permit
The City Council discussed various options for how to handle Delta Chi’s appeal on Tuesday night, including continuing the appeal to a future date and revoking the permit and forcing the fraternity to apply for a new one.
Ultimately, it voted 4-1 to deny the appeal and conditionally revoke its permit — the conditions being that the fraternity can apply to modify its permit for a quarter of the cost of applying for a new one, as long as it doesn’t receive another citation before the modifications are approved.
For now, however, the fraternity can’t operate at its current location.
Tuesday’s conversation illuminated frustrations about the city’s ability to regulate fraternities and the lack of oversight from the university. That town-and-gown tension has also surfaced in previous city conversations about St. Fratty’s Day management, unsanctioned fraternity activity and noise levels near campus.
Councilmember Emily Francis, who cast the dissenting vote Tuesday night, suggested the city move beyond the conditional use permit process for fraternities entirely, in hopes that Cal Poly would take a more central role in regulating Greek Life.
“We’re left with the city managing fraternities versus Cal Poly managing fraternities,” she said, “and I really feel like if Cal Poly wants to support and encourage the existence of Greek organizations that aren’t compatible with residential zones, then they need to provide the space and structure for those events and meetings.”
This story was originally published October 23, 2025 at 2:28 PM.
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