SLO officials are crediting a recently adopted party registration program, as well as several other initiatives, for what they say is a historic decrease in the number of noise complaints in the city.

On Feb. 26, the city announced that it received fewer than 1,500 noise complaints in 2017, an overall reduction of 40 percent since 1998.

"Efforts made by the SLO Police Department and Cal Poly to improve relations between the student community and city residents are paying off," a statement from the city said.

Among the reasons for the drop in complaints, SLO cited the adoption of a noise and unruly gathering ordinances, creating a neighborhood wellness and community civility working group, and enacting enhanced safety zones in the city on holidays like Halloween and St. Patrick's Day.

The city also credited the SLO Police Department's event and party registration pilot program for playing a role in the decrease. The pilot program, initiated in January 2017, allows students and others to register their parties in advance. If someone calls in a noise complaint, registrants get a courtesy call to address the noise issue within 20 minutes, allowing them to avoid costly fines, which start at $350.

As the city worked to address issues of noise complaints, it also credited Cal Poly for its work in tamp down on complaints, including creating a "noise awareness campaign" and an "educated renter" certificate program, among other initiatives.

"The university remains in constant communication with the neighborhood wellness liaison to address incidents as they arise," the city's statement said. Δ