San Luis Obispo renters, residents affected by college parties, and Cal Poly fraternity members believe city and university officials can do more to protect their interests.
Members of each group gathered at the SLO City Council study session on May 26 to learn how code enforcement works, especially when it comes to making neighborhoods safe and affordable.
“In 2026, it seems like some of the students are learning something else [from Cal Poly] and it’s bothersome,” SLO resident Laurel Smith said. “They’re learning entitlement. To be a Cal Poly student is to be special: laws, codes, and regulations don’t apply. … They’re learning that San Luis Obispo seems to be more of a city of apology instead of permission. Keep breaking the law, it’ll get changed.”
The city’s decision to hold the code enforcement study session came after heightened scrutiny on how the team tackles misbehaving fraternities and unruly parties, and increased complaints filed with engagement platform Ask SLO.
The six-person SLO code enforcement team handles neighborhood code compliance, zoning and land use enforcement, safe housing outreach, construction-related investigations, public education, and stormwater regulatory enforcement. The team works under the Community Development Department, and the code enforcement supervisor reports to the city’s chief building officer.
While longtime residents like Smith complained about the noise disturbances emerging from frat parties and demanded that Cal Poly move Greek life onto campus, fraternity members also aired their frustrations with the city.
Delta Upsilon Chapter President Alex Sanchez said the organization suffered a “severe financial attack” after being slapped with a $12,000 fine for violating land use regulations.
“When we go to appeal, the code’s lack of clarity creates operational paralysis,” he said. “Code enforcement is relying on Instagram posts and Doorlist to retroactively define what constitutes a fraternity event.”
Doorlist is a cellphone application that helps with party invitations, guest check-ins, and ticketing for social events.
Since 2023, SLO engaged in 90 formal enforcement cases across 66 fraternity and sorority properties. It revoked five conditional use permits for local fraternities, and four permits were found to be void.
‘They’re learning entitlement. To be a Cal Poly student is to be special: laws, codes, and regulations don’t apply. … They’re learning that San Luis Obispo seems to be more of a city of apology instead of permission.’
—Laurel Smith, SLO resident
Courtney Kienow, Cal Poly’s senior director of economic development, told the City Council that the university is reviewing proposals to change alcohol use policies on campus. Creating a Greek row is part of the university’s master plan, “although in the near term, we are not focused on that,” she said.
Cal Poly hasn’t taken a position on the conditional use permit process, Kienow added.
“What we are looking at is … our second-year Greek-affiliated students to have groups of housing where they can be on one floor or have a section that is specifically for their organizations,” she said. “We’re not going to be able to build a single-family [home] in the near term.”
Renters and tenants, several from the SLO Tenants Union, also urged the city to take stronger action. Code Enforcement Supervisor John Mezzapesa said that managing complaints about housing conditions are complex and resource-intensive especially because of ever-evolving state laws.
Complaints about sub-standard rental housing touch on problems like mold, structural and maintenance issues, and pest infestations.
Mezzapesa told council members that between 2023 and 2025, 43 percent of the 259 investigation requests resulted in confirmed violations. Fifty-five percent of requests were unfounded or unverifiable.
“Although safe housing complaints represent a smaller percentage of overall requests, they’ve remained fairly consistent at around 6 or 7 percent of all complaints,” he said.
SLO Tenants Union member Lisa Jouet told the City Council that she’s angry and that renters don’t feel heard.
“I really would like you to hire more code enforcement staff. A rental registry, … in the next six months, … we need to know where the rentals are, who owns them, what the rents are,” she said. “I really do specifically want to support the ban on smoking in multi-family housing. I don’t want people to be evicted for those reasons, but I would like to see some sort of enforcement.”
The City Council agreed that SLO needs to find tools that are more effective and enforceable than the current system used by code enforcement. With no vote required, members decided to discuss better strategies at future meetings.
“If we’re managing the fines and efficiencies with also more staff … because think about the amount of time we’re spending on this,” Mayor Erica Stewart told city staff. “Instead, do it in a more useful way with more staff. … I think you coming back to us and sharing what makes sense in the best way is logical.” ∆
This article appears in Summer Guide 2026.