St. Patrick’s Day weekend is here and San Luis Obispo police tell KSBY there are many parties happening in the area Saturday morning near Cal Poly but say it’s “nothing out of the ordinary.”
Cal Poly’s Mustang On the Green event takes place until 9 a.m.
The five-hour music festival quickly sold out when tickets became available.
It’s happening on the lower fields of the CalPoly Sports Complex and includes music, student DJs and a beer garden for people 21 and older.
A Safety Enhancement Zone is also in effect, which doubles fines for things like noise, public urination, unruly gatherings and open containers until Tuesday morning.
“We will have everyone's safety at the forefront and do the necessary enforcement to keep laws from being violated. If they're violated, folks will be arrested or cited,” said Christine Wallace, San Luis Obispo Police Department public affairs manager.
She says the department is teaming up with other agencies in the area for the next few days and described some of the fines that could be handed out.
“Those start right now at $700 and top out at $1,000. We also will be most likely enforcing public intoxication and minor in possession. Those are actually misdemeanor arrests.”
The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office has also announced it will not be offering "pre-filing misdemeanor diversion" to anyone charged during the weekend celebrations in San Luis Obispo.
A mass casualty declaration went into effect at 3 a.m. Saturday, according to Wallace, which allows public safety officials to know which local hospital have beds available should they be needed.
A DUI checkpoint held Friday night into Saturday along California Boulevard in San Luis Obispo resulted in one arrest, according to the California Highway Patrol. Four hundred and seventy-one people were contacted during the operation.
