The San Luis Obispo City Council voted overwhelmingly in favor of the “unruly gathering” ordinance after meeting with little opposition from those present at Tuesday night’s meeting.
The ordinance would allow police who deem parties of 20 or more people too rowdy to fine the owner $700 on their first offense and $1,000 if they are cited again. Police would also be allowed to administer additional fines to underage drinkers.
San Luis Obispo Police Chief Deborah Linden said multiple complaints, interference with traffic flow and overflowing crowds are all factors police will take into account when deeming a party an “unruly gathering.” She also said attendees who are urinating in public, vandalizing property, littering, causing fights or are drunk in public are all subject to additional fines. Linden pointed out that the Student Neighborhood Assistance Program (SNAP) would not be allowed to issue fines, and noise violations would not be issued on top of an unruly gathering fine. She also said if the host calls the police when a party is becoming overcrowded, they could avoid fines.
“Noise violations are contended for smaller gatherings and the larger for substantial disturbances,” said police Lieutenant Tom DePriest, who presented with Linden.
Some differences between the “noise ordinance” and the “unruly gathering” ordinance are that no warnings will be given to the rowdy crowds of more than 20 people, the fines are twice the amount of those of the “noise ordinance” and a community service option will not be offered to those who violate the “unruly gathering ordinance.”
“After seeing a decline in citations, we want to encourage that behavior,” Linden said.
Property owners who rent to students will also be given a two-week grace period to deal with tenants and will be fined $500.
“We are trying to encourage good behavior so we don’t have to go through it a second time,” Linden said in regards to holding homeowners responsible for the actions of their tenants.
She said the motion was not an attack on the student population but on “unruly gatherings,” no matter the group’s age.
Only six students spoke during public comment, four of whom were members of Associated Students Inc. ASI president Kelly Griggs who spoke last, asked all audience members who were students to stand up. Only 11 students were present; nine were members of ASI. All of the comments by students commended the council staff, with whom they worked on the ordinance and applauded them for eliminating a policy that would allow homes that received a violation to be tagged.
“I think it’s hard because they switched around the time, but I think we have had an invested group of students looking into it and who spoke tonight,” Griggs said. “We tried to get them to look at the bigger picture of noise and unruly gatherings.”
When asked about working with ASI to find a solution to the party problems, Linden described them as fabulous.
“ASI under Kelly Griggs and the focus group they created were extremely helpful and provided great feedback, and their voices made a more effective product,” Linden said.
The council is also considering creating a curfew for those under the age of 18, increasing patrolling on occasions that officials expect may get out of hand, such as Mardi Gras or St. Patrick’s Day and punishing property owners whose properties continue to receive complaints, fines and incidents surrounding parties in the community.
The council will have a final vote on the “unruly gathering ordinance” on April 20, and if approved again, it is expected to go into effect at the end of May.
This is absurd. SLO is killing itself.
“After seeing a decline in citations, we want to encourage that behavior,” Linden said.
So let’s tax the students more for doing what we did 20 years ago
This is absolutely absurd, I received a DAC for being in my jacuzzi with four other people and the subsequent weekend got a noise violation automatically because “music” could be heard from outside of my house.
Bullshit slo, bullshit.
What would happen if everybody refused to pay?
This is fucking bullshit. I’m going to make a petition and make SLO a better place to live in. People will get along better and live in harmony… Making more rules is just making this place worse. I’m turning this place around.
Joke of the day.
What did the 5 SLO City Council members say to the students?
SLAP!!!!
This is typical slo, all the seniors want a quiet little town and we college students want to have a good time.
there is no “partying problem”
and stuff like this makes students feel even more resentment to the community than before. way to go idiots now youve really pissed us off.
whats next, are they going to make an ordinance to not allow the university to function? now the police can really be assholes and try to show us how powerful they are.these council members should be voted out and protests should happen. this is unacceptable, its too bad they are all so old now that they cant remember doing the exact thing they are fighting now, 30 years ago. this is bs.
The people from YOUR block are the ones that can hear you and are probably the ones who call the cops on you. The city sees us as a transient population that doesn’t care at all about how we treat this town. This is why laws like this pass. Prove them wrong. Get friendly with your neighbors and show some respect.
And Ryan, dude, there is totally a party problem. Denial is the first signal. Is it normal to be throwing up all night after playing countless drinking games or to smash bottles against cliffs on a beach day?
how is denial the first signal that there is a partying problem? How does people throwing up all night affect you at all? Smashing bottles is a problem because it is dangerous. Safe partying is harmless, for the few stray cases that drink too much, they learn to stop next time, big deal.
Respect for the neighborhood will come when we actually have an audience to care to listen to our opinions. If a group of students were to walk into the city council meeting and talk it wouldnt make a difference because they have already decided, and nothing will change their minds. They aren’t listening a good portion of the population (students), they only care about themselves and the other residents.
Give us a chance to be heard, then call for respect.
Just by students showing up at a meeting doesnt mean they are actually being heard.
furthermore,
i support the police increasing fines for minor in possession or extreme cases of drunk in public, those are reasonable fines. But a party with over 20 people, absurd
Should’ve shown respect in the first place. Bitching doesn’t get you anywhere by the way, and if you believe that attending meetings where you can speak your mind does not help, what are you going to do?
You have absolutely NO idea the work students have done collaborating with the council and the pd. instead of being reactionary, how about being proactive? maybe then instead of bitching on an online commentary section, you could make a real difference. and hey, did YOU show up? yeah, didn’t think so.
Regardless of how much work ASI contributed, it obviously failed and now we all have to suffer. It’s only going to get worse from here each year for current and future students.
And you obviously haven’t any idea as well Brandon. Who said anything about ASI? And do you even know what collaboration efforts went on, the history behind these ordinances, and what was changed from the original proposal? …”We all have to suffer”. So dramatic.
there shall be riots…
You all failed to state that this is a violation of the United States Constitution, specifically the First Amendment, the right to assemble. Last week Isla Vista police shut down the beach to ALL people for one week, including parents who were visiting the campus for open house, because they thought Floatopia was on one of those days. Local government does not have the authority to say you can’t have a party in excess of 20 people or block access to a PUBLIC beach. If there is underage drinking, damage to property, or excessive noise, I would have no problem if they gave a citation as these things are a violation of various laws. I strongly doubt this new “unruly gathering” law would be upheld in any US Court. So does this mean Bike Happening is going to be shut down? What about Farmers? SLO is heading down a slippery slope.
You guys who are pushing the constitution should look up what it actually means to assemble. You still can’t break the law, serving to people underage is illegal, having open alcohol containers in public is illegal. You have a right to assemble peacefully, the police have the right to shut something down if it is to protect people from getting hurt or injured (excessive drinking, drowning in the case of Floatopia). Learn the laws so you don’t appear so ignorant.
P.S. Just control your parties and talk with the local municipality about having a large event, problem solved and you can party away.
Amen, Nick.