Fullerton : $100 Fee for Greek Houses Dropped by City

Cal State Fullerton Greek houses--which have come under continual criticism by surrounding neighbors--will not have to pay a $100 fee when they apply for a new regulatory permit, the City Council has decided.

Dropping the fee was one of 11 amendments approved Tuesday night by the council to an ordinance that places controls on the operation of the Greek houses.

The changes do not weaken the ordinance originally adopted by the council last December, associate planner Ted J. Commerdinger said Wednesday. “It’s a change, basically, in wording and not intent,” he said.

And that intent is to regulate fraternity and sorority houses near the state university because of neighbors’ complaints that they generate litter, noise, traffic congestion and anti-social behavior.

To comply with the law as amended, all Greek houses must file for a conditional use permit by Jan. 2 of next year. In doing so, the house residents must abide by a number of conditions and be subject to annual city reviews for the first two years after receiving their permits. After two years, the city may decide the houses should be subject to further reviews.

Fraternities and sororities in the past have objected to the permit applications as the city’s method of eventually shutting them down.

The changes approved by the council Tuesday originated from suggestions by Bill Turpit, the faculty adviser to Kappa Sigma fraternity, which does not have a house but is looking for one, Commerdinger said.

The city agreed to eliminate a $100 permit application cost because historically Fullerton does not charge applicants for annual reviews of approved conditional-use permits, Commerdinger said. City staff also said it was “unfair to charge those sororities which already have conditional-use permits in force (and have posed no problems),” according to a staff report.