PLACENTIA : Fraternity Gets OK for a Nu Home

Members of Cal State Fullerton’s Sigma Nu fraternity didn’t want to be a part of the university’s infamous fraternity row, which has a history of run-ins with city officials and the Police Department.

So the year-old fraternity traveled more than a mile down the road to Placentia, where the members found a large, two-story house to call home.

Last week, the fraternity convinced a skeptical City Council that it would not cause problems in the city. The council granted the fraternity a special permit that allows it to hold official functions at the house, the only frat house in Placentia.

“With all of the problems on fraternity row and in Fullerton, we kind of wanted to get away from that,” said Neil Johnson, Sigma Nu vice president. “Not all of the fraternities at Cal State Fullerton are in trouble.”

The college Greek system has had a rocky history in neighboring Fullerton, where the city annually reviews fraternity houses. Last year, two fraternities were ordered to vacate their houses near campus after neighbors complained of frequent loud parties and problems with drunken behavior.

Sigma Nu members said it is those stereotypes that they have had to fight. They told the council that they are an academically oriented group with more on their minds than drinking beer and having loud parties.

“We are not drunken, irresponsible nuisances,” Johnson said. “We have a lot to offer and want to make a positive impact on the city.”

In an effort to combat the rowdy image associated with fraternities, Sigma Nu members have volunteered their time at the Placentia Boys’ Club and have put in more than 200 volunteer hours at Kraemer Junior High School, which nearly surrounds the house at 525 N. Angelina Drive.

“They are very nice and supportive young men,” Kraemer Principal Randi Trontz said. “They have made a continual effort since the beginning of the school year. If we ever need anything and call them, they are right here.”

In September, 12 of the fraternity’s 45 members moved into the five-bedroom house, which has a guest house over the garage, a swimming pool and hot tub, a lighted tennis court and a covered barbecue. They pay $2,800 a month in rent.

If the council hadn’t approved the permit, fraternity members would have been allowed to continue living in the house, but they would not have been able to hold official fraternity functions there.

Under the conditions of the permit, they will be able to hold about a dozen parties and fraternity functions at the house each year but cannot provide alcohol for guests.

“These young men are going to be living in the house anyway, and we need to have some way to control the situation,” said Councilwoman Maria Moreno. “In essence, what we’ve done is impose more regulations.”

Mayor Arthur G. Newton, one of two council members to vote against the permit, said the city could be opening up the door for other fraternities to come into the city, and he expressed concern about the liability.

“It’s not a vote against them as an organization or against any of these young men in particular,” Newton said. “I think one of the chief concerns is that there are some liability considerations. We have to worry about other fraternities coming into the city. Where do we draw the line?”