Cal Poly fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi no longer holds a permit to operate its house as a fraternity after city council unanimously rejected their appeal Tuesday, May 19. San Luis Obispo’s planning commission initially revoked AEPi’s permit following several noise complaints.
Students in the house can still host religious or personal events, but those events can not be affiliated with fraternity. Otherwise, they could face a land use violation.
“There are some people that feel this is a college town and there are some people who feel this is a town with a university next to it,” Mayor Erica Stewart said. “So, I will say that right there we have a solid difference in opinion of where people are at.”
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In March, AEPi’s conditional use permit was revoked due to noise complaints. Conditional use permits allow organizations like fraternities to host large gatherings in their houses. AEPi received two noise complaints in 2024 and one in 2025 which triggered a re-review of their permit in 2026.
Joshua Pinsky, president of AEPi and business administration junior, presented reasons for modifications to the permit to city council. One of those reasons being AEPi’s requirement to request permission for gatherings of over 25 people for their organization with about 100 members.
“Many IFC [Interfraternity Council] members feel the relationship between fraternities and enforcement has been increasingly hostile rather than collaborative,” Pinsky said.
AEPi received 13 citations in the 2023-2024 academic year and has only received one citation in the current academic year, according to Pinsky. He argued that AEPi’s improvements and overall commitment to working with the city and their neighbors proved that they could continue operations with a modified permit.
However, some neighbors of AEPi noted that efforts the fraternity were making were not enough. Kathie Walker, an active advocate for liveable neighborhoods in San Luis Obispo, spoke at public comment.
“The records don’t necessarily reflect the actual noise in the neighborhood,” Walker said. “I heard the bass from our house, which is 500 feet away, and it was at their fraternity.”
Walker noted she has spoken to members of AEPi about the noise complaints before calling San Luis Obispo Police, and she has only called the police when she feels the situation has become unsafe.
Reevaluating Greek Life Spaces
The lack of on-campus space for Greek life organization has repeatedly been brought up when city council is talking to fraternities.
Council member Jan Marx and Stewart both noted that it should be Cal Poly’s job to help fraternities find ways to host large gatherings, not the city.
“Where we are at today is not a win for anyone quite honestly,” Stewart said. “There are not enough rooms for the larger clubs to meet on campus let alone if you are going to have an actual social gathering.”
AEPi’s permit being revoked is apart of a growing trend of Cal Poly fraternities losing their conditional use permits
In these last five years, the city has revoked four conditional use permits of fraternities. Six fraternities originally had conditional use permits. Not every permit revoked was due to noise complaints.
San Luis Obispo city council unanimously voted against upholding their permit because of the violations the fraternity has made, however, they acknowledge the flawed nature of conditional use permits. Council member Emily Francis noted Greek life participation at Cal Poly has increased heavily from when AEPi’s permit was written in 1983.
City council will be hosting a study session Tuesday to hear from the community and gain feedback on the current regulations around the Greek life presence in San Luis Obispo.
