FULLERTON : 2 Frat Homes Denied Operating Permits

The Greek letters must come off the front of two fraternity houses in Fullerton as the result of a city decision to deny operating permits for both houses near Cal State Fullerton.

After three hours of public hearings Tuesday, the City Council ordered Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Sigma Pi to vacate their fraternity houses on Teri Place north of the campus. Neighbors and police said the houses are sites of frequent loud parties, including a “house-emptying brawl” in December between members of the two fraternities.

Although the unanimous decision means both houses must revert to their original use as apartments, City Atty. R.K. Fox said, the council’s vote does not prevent fraternity members from moving back into the houses once modifications are finished.

Members of both fraternities said they plan to stay.

The council’s decision requires that the apartments may not be used for fraternity functions, but both fraternities may reapply to the city in six months for permits to reopen the apartments as fraternity houses.

Along with denying permits for the two fraternities, the council also voted Tuesday to send letters to the university and to the fraternities’ national charters asking them to disband the groups.

Revocation of the permits does not mean the death of the two fraternities, said Charles Buck, vice president of student services at Cal State Fullerton.

The university will decide on the fate of the fraternities after the Greek judicial council completes its review of the two houses, Buck said. The council will hold hearings on the matter in the next few days.

For years, fraternities living in Greek houses in residential neighborhoods near the campus have resulted in complaints from neighbors of loud noise, fights, trash left in yards and parking problems.

In an attempt to solve the problem, the city began requiring fraternity and sorority houses to apply for operating permits beginning in 1988. The permits require the residents to limit noise, the numbers of cars parked in the street, and abide by other restrictions.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Sigma Pi sued the city over the regulations, claiming that Fullerton didn’t have the right to regulate those actions. But a Superior Court judge upheld the city’s permit process in August and told the fraternities to seek a permit or close.

During Tuesday’s public hearing, Melinda Cater, who has lived half a block from the fraternity houses for 10 years, said the fraternities create noise and parking problems late at night.

“They have individually and collectively tried the patience of our neighborhood,” Cater said. “I beg of you to stand firm and remove these two from our neighborhood and send a message to the other fraternities.”

Sigma Alpha Epsilon member Greg Simonian, 20, said his fraternity has done its best to be a better neighbor, including banning all parties at the house and adopting a formal quiet period beginning at 9 p.m. every night.

“All we’re asking for is a chance to officially abide by your rules,” said Simonian, a sophomore at the university. “SAE has cleaned up our act substantially.”

Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Sigma Pi are the only two Cal State Fullerton fraternities denied permits for their houses along fraternity row. Five other fraternities and six sorority houses have received city permits.