SLO revokes permits for 2 more Cal Poly fraternities over noise, partying
Another two Cal Poly fraternities lost their conditional use permits on Wednesday, due to repeat noise and unruly gathering citations.
The conditional use permits for fraternities Lambda Chi Alpha and Alpha Epsilon Pi were re-reviewed by the San Luis Obispo Planning Commission at a meeting Wednesday night — the latest in the ongoing town-and-gown tension between the city, Cal Poly and non-student neighborhood residents disturbed by noisy parties.
The commission previously revoked a handful of fraternity use permits after similar circumstances involving repeat violations. Two permits were revoked in May 2025, and a third fraternity lost its permit in June.
Conditional use permits are city-issued licenses that allow certain locations in city limits to be used for certain purposes. The permits carry conditions that place limits on how many people can attend events at the location, noise and other factors.
Losing a conditional use permit means fraternities cannot use their houses for sanctioned fraternal operations, but residents can continue to live on the premises. Fraternities can also typically reapply for use permits.
The city’s management of the neighborhood disturbances caused by both sanctioned and unsanctioned fraternity activity was the topic of a Grand Jury investigation, which found that the city wasn’t making enough of an effort to enforce its municipal regulations — claims that the city pushed back on.
One of the revocations that occurred Wednesday night received no pushback, since no one from the fraternity showed up to present or speak on the topic.
However, fraternity members and community supporters did show up to advocate for Alpha Epsilon Pi, the second fraternity whose use permit was on the chopping block.
Alpha Epsilon Pi is Cal Poly’s Jewish fraternity and was recently the victim of a reported hate crime in which a group of men were alleged to have yelled antisemitic slurs at fraternity members after an event and engaged in a physical assault on one member, hitting him in the head.
This incident was brought up during Wednesday’s hearing, with speakers pointing out the value of the organization as a gathering space for Jewish students.
While commissioners were sympathetic to the claims and decried the violence, they ultimately agreed to revoke the fraternity’s permit, citing past revocations for similar violations.
“We have to apply these rules with a pretty even hand to all the fraternities, whatever their religious or non-religious affiliations may be,” commissioner David Houghton said during the hearing.
Why were fraternity permits revoked?
According to a staff presentation, Lambda Chi Alpha, located at 1264 and 1264½ East Foothill Blvd. and 1241, 1243, 1249 and 1251 Monte Vista Place, received 10 citations since October 2024 — nine for noise violations and one for an unruly gathering.
The fraternity first received its use permit in June 2024, community development staffer Mallory Patino said during the presentation. The application was appealed in October 2024, but the appeal was denied.
According to Patino, the fraternity also had about $7,750 in outstanding, unpaid fees related to its conditional use permit.
The organization had not applied for special event permitting or submitted transportation plans for events, according to Patino.
There was no fraternity representative at Wednesday’s meeting to provide any additional information or argue for continuing the permit.
The commission voted unanimously to revoke the permit, meaning residents of the fraternity will be allowed to remain tenants, but the location can no longer legally operate as an official fraternity house.
Meanwhile, Alpha Epsilon Pi, located at 280 California Blvd., received a total of three citations between April and October 2025, Patino said. All three citations involved events including more than 100 people, Patino said.
The fraternity previously came before the commission for a re-review in November 2024, during which commissioners voted to continue the use permit with more stringent conditions, rather than revoke it entirely.
The organization also had about $2,800 in outstanding fees owed to the city and had not been issued a special event permit or submitted transportation plans, Patino said.
Cal Poly student Joshua Pinsky spoke at the meeting as a representative of the fraternity.
While the members recognized the severity of the issue, Pinsky said he wanted to focus on the progress that had been made in recent years to improve neighborhood conditions.
According to Pinsky, the fraternity two years ago had received 13 citations in one year. Last school year, the fraternity only received the two citations in April, with another violation occurring in October 2025.
He said the fraternity had strengthened internal and external communications, and he also pointed out that revoking fraternity permits could push parties into less secure locations and into the residential areas of the neighborhoods, where residents have also complained about unsanctioned fraternity activity.
Pinsky also zeroed in on the fact that the fraternity was recently the victim of an antisemitic hate crime, which is under investigation by SLO police.
“We mention this not to dwell on it, but to emphasize why having a Jewish fraternity house in San Luis Obispo is important,” he said.
The incident was also mentioned by three Jewish community leaders who spoke in support of the fraternity.
Steve Walker, a former Alta Vista neighborhood resident and critic of the city’s handling of student-related disturbances, spoke in favor of revoking the permit due to the noise he has experienced and previously reported to police.
While commissioners were sympathetic with the fraternity’s recent struggles and discussed options to continue the permit with new restrictions, they ultimately voted unanimously to revoke the permit in line with their past decisions for other fraternities.
Fraternity members will be able to remain residents of the house, but fraternal operations can no longer occur on the premises to align with city regulations.
Commissioners once again expressed frustration with SLO’s system for regulating fraternal operations and expressed the desire to meet with Cal Poly and Greek Life organizations to workshop their ongoing struggles.
