The City Had the Fraternity Addresses. Code Enforcement Did Not.
February 2022 – June 2026 · Public Interest File No. 2
February 2022
Cal Poly begins sending weekly lists of the addresses of approved fraternity parties to SLOPD
Cal Poly Police begins regularly providing San Luis Obispo Police Department with weekly lists from Cal Poly’s Fraternity & Sorority Life office, identifying approved fraternity and sorority events. The lists include the address, date, time, and Chapter name of the fraternity / sorority holding each party. The practice would continue for more than two years.
📄 Document 7June 9, 2023
After receiving one of the event lists, Lieutenant Aaron Schafer asks that Lieutenant Dickel be added to future distributions.
SLOPD Lieutenant asks for information to be distributed operationally within the Police Department so that patrol teams are aware of the addresses:
“That way he can let his teams know.”
October 20, 2023
Fraternity event list identifies 1350 Stafford Street
A weekly event list provided to SLOPD identifies a Theta Chi fraternity party at 1350 Stafford Street. The property would later become the subject of resident complaints and Code Enforcement inquiries involving 496 Kentucky Street / 1350 Stafford Street located on the same lot.
📄 Document 9December 8, 2023
Code Enforcement begins coordination effort
Code Enforcement Supervisor John Mezzapesa responds to concerns regarding fraternity activity at 496 Kentucky Street / 1350 Stafford Street. He writes that he has spoken with Cal Poly and SLOPD:
“I have spoken with Elizabeth at Cal Poly and Christine Wallace with PD to make them aware and advise them I will be coordinating a larger effort to address these issues.”
At the time, SLOPD had already been receiving weekly fraternity event address lists for nearly two years.
📄 Document 10February 2, 2024
SLOPD discusses approved fraternity events and Community Development Department issues
After reviewing another weekly list, Lieutenant Aaron Schafer writes:
“We need to have some conversations about these events they approve.”
Christine Wallace replies:
“I can catch you up on what’s happening with CDD.”
March 11, 2024
Wallace cross-references fraternity event list with SLOPD’s weekend dispatch log
Christine Wallace contacts Elizabeth at Cal Poly’s Fraternity & Sorority Life (FSL) office regarding an unruly gathering citation issued to 299 Albert Drive which is a documented fraternity house in the residential neighborhood.
She writes:
“I saw the list of approved FSL events for the weekend and this one wasn’t on it.”
When Cal Poly confirms the address was on its list, Wallace responds:
“Okay that’s weird because it wasn’t on the list that CPPD sent to the lieutenant. What the H.”
July 2024
Public fraternity addresses disappear from Cal Poly’s online report
Cal Poly removes addresses for the 2022-2023 academic year from its AB 524 fraternity reports and replace them with “San Luis Obispo” rather than specific address locations. The change eliminates a source of location information previously available to the public.
📄 AB 524 Report Before & AfterOctober 25 – November 4, 2025
Cal Poly refuses to confirm addresses after request by Code Enforcement Supervisor John Mezzapesa
Mezzapesa submits a Public Records Act request asking Cal Poly to confirm whether fraternity or sorority events had been registered at eighteen specific addresses over the past year. Some had just begun operating in fall 2023 for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Several of the addresses were unknown to Code Enforcement but had previously appeared on event lists already provided to SLOPD.
Cal Poly refuses to provide the requested address confirmations.
“Cal Poly…has determined that the records you seek are not public records and therefore are not subject to the California Public Records Act.”
Code Enforcement is unable to obtain the address information that had previously been supplied by Cal Poly to another City department.
📄 Document 13June 23, 2025
Grand Jury cites the City’s difficulty identifying fraternity locations
“The Grand Jury concludes that enforcement efforts were hindered by difficulties identifying fraternity locations and notes the City’s challenges obtaining address information.”
May 23, 2026
Resident asks whether Code Enforcement knew about the lists
A resident asks Mezzapesa whether the existence of the weekly fraternity event lists had been disclosed during coordination efforts with SLOPD. The inquiry is copied to the City Council.
📄 Document 14June 1, 2026
Code Enforcement says it did not know the lists existed
Mezzapesa responds that Code Enforcement was unaware of the weekly event lists until residents brought them to his attention in 2026.
He states that Christine Wallace advised him she was also unaware of the lists.
He attributes the situation to:
“the disconnect in communication between the Patrol Division and Code Enforcement.”