Extracted text (via pymupdf)
18314 characters
Effective Date: TBD
CODE ENFORCEMENT
POLICY
The Code Enforcement Policy, adopted by the Phoenix City Council,
provides guidelines for enforcement of the Neighborhood Preservation
Ordinance, Zoning Ordinance and portions of other codes and ordinances.
ATTACHMENT B - PROPOSED
Code Enforcement Policy
Neighborhood Services Department Mission
To Preserve, Enhance and Engage Phoenix Neighborhoods
Contact Us
Report a code violation:
phoenix.gov/myPHX311
(602) 534-4444
Check the status of a code enforcement case:
nsdonline.phoenix.gov/CodeEnforcement
(602) 534-4444
For information about the Neighborhood
Preservation Code Compliance program:
phoenix.gov/nsd/programs/compliance
For a copy of this publication in an alternate format or for reasonable accommodations, contact:
Neighborhood Services Department ADA Liaison,
200 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85003. Voice (602) 534-4444. TTY 711.
Esta información está disponible en español.
Code Enforcement Policy
3
Statement of Intent
The Code Enforcement Policy is to be used to guide the efforts of the Neighborhood Services
Department to address violations of the City Code. To achieve compliance, it is the intent of the
department to lead with education, provide resources when hardships exist, and enforce when
necessary. Code enforcement is intended to be used to foster partnership with residents to support the
overall health, safety, and welfare of the City, and to protect neighborhoods against hazardous,
blighting, and deteriorating influences or conditions. Neighborhood Preservation Inspectors provide
excellent customer service and will operate with fairness, integrity, transparency, and consistent
I.
Standard Code Enforcement
A. Purpose
It is the intent of the city of Phoenix to promote the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of
Phoenix, Arizona. Part of this responsibility includes protecting neighborhoods from blighting and
deteriorating conditions that have a negative impact on area property values and encourage social
disorder and crime. This is achieved through ordinances and by establishing a policy to guide
enforcement of the ordinances.
B. Standard Enforcement Policy
City of Phoenix residents are encouraged and supported in their efforts to maintain the physical
environment of their neighborhoods through standards set in local ordinances. To assist in this
endeavor, the following code enforcement policy has been established to guide the city in addressing
properties with code violations.
The following actions will be taken on properties where there has been no case history or history of
violations and/or previous enforcement action:
1. Inspection/Pre-notification
When a property complaint is received, the city will respond in the following manner:
a. Hazard Inspections
If the alleged violation concerns a potential health or safety hazard to the neighborhood or
neighbors, inclusive of open/vacant buildings, fire and/or health hazards, unsecured pools or
other health and safety hazards, the city will respond within 24 hours or one business day to
attempt an inspection.
b. Pre-Notification Letter
If the alleged violation is not a potential health or safety hazard, if the property is occupied and if
a mailing address is available, the city will issue a pre- notification letter to the
owner/responsible parties notifying them that specific complaints have been received and that
an inspection will be conducted within 11 days. Information on the most common blighting
violations will also be included with the pre-notification letter.
Code Enforcement Policy
4
2. Formal Notice of Ordinance Violation (NOV)
Except in cases involving health and safety violations, cases with previous history of code
violations, violations of a transient nature such as home occupation standards and violations
involving vendors, the responsible party or parties will be officially notified that a violation has been
discovered through an inspection and will be advised of specific corrective action required. They
will also be advised through this process of what further action will be taken by the city if they do
not comply. In addition, owners/responsible parties will be advised of available appropriate
assistance as enumerated in Section IV.B. of this policy.
a. Timelines for NOV Compliance
I.
Standard 15 days (minor violations)
II. Standard 35 days (significant cost to correct)
III. Abatement 35 days
IV. Hazard 0 to 24 hours
V. Graffiti 10 days
VI. Rental Registration 10 days
VII. Illegal Signs 5 days
VIII. Mobile Vending 0 to 15 days
The NOV will include an explanation that recidivists will receive only one official notice for a
violation and that future offenses of city ordinances may result in legal action without
issuance of further NOVs. Information on the most common blight violations will also be
included with the NOV.
Cases involving inspections post issuance of an NOV will be conducted within four days of
the scheduled compliance date.
3. Civil Citation
Owners/responsible parties who fail to comply will be subject to the issuance of a civil citation that
will be adjudicated by a hearing officer/judge. In the case of properties that are not owner occupied
the following general guidelines will apply:
In general, tenants/occupants will be held responsible for items concerning routine maintenance
and for personal property items.
In situations where tenants/occupants have failed to fulfill their responsibility for compliance with
city ordinances, owners/responsible parties may also be held accountable.
In cases involving unoccupied properties, owners/responsible parties will be held accountable
for all property conditions.
4. Criminal Complaint
Failure to comply with any of the preceding actions will be cause to proceed with a criminal
complaint.
5. City Abatement
The city, at its own discretion, may choose to directly abate and assess (lien) for any and all
violations that remain in non-compliance with city ordinances or regulations.
Code Enforcement Policy
5
6. Exceptions
Exceptions to the standard code enforcement policy are as follows:
Episodic Violations
a. An episodic violation is one that occurs intermittently. To effectively address episodic
violations in an expediated manner, the Neighborhood Services Department will deviate
from the standard enforcement process and proceed to an immediate citation.
Violations include, but are not limited to, non-permitted events where the owner has been
notified but activity continues, such as unauthorized parties that occur on commercial
properties and events with outdoor entertainment without the appropriate use permit.
II. Recidivists Persons/Properties and Egregious Violations
A. Purpose
The recidivist process is designed to provide relief via an expedited enforcement process for
neighborhoods experiencing problems with residents who repeatedly violate city ordinances and
who have demonstrated an inability or unwillingness to remain a good neighbor by maintaining their
property.
B. Definition
A recidivist case is a newly opened case on a property involving the same responsible party for the
same violation or any of the common blight violations as specified in Section III (C)(4)(a), where
within the last 12 months, the responsible party has been issued a NOV and/or civil citation, and/or
had criminal charges filed for, and/or contractual abatement initiated.
An egregious violation is when the condition or state of a property is in an extreme state of violation,
which could present health and safety issues, or is beyond the reasonable scenario where the
owner may not be aware there is a violation.
If unusual or mitigating circumstances warrant, the City Manager or designee exempt a responsible
party from the recidivist designation. In such cases, the City Manager or designee will seek input
from the complainant, neighborhood associations or block watches in the area, area residents or
other staff, as appropriate, to assist in making a determination.
C. Notification Policy
Cases with a violation observed at the initial inspection, which have been determined to be
recidivist, chronic recidivist, or are categorized as an egregious violation, will not be issued a pre-
notification letter or standard NOV, and an inspection will be conducted within three days. Cases will
proceed immediately to one of the following code enforcement actions based on the unique facts of
the case:
issue a NOV requiring the abatement of the violations
issue a civil citation
request a criminal summons
Code Enforcement Policy
6
D. Consecutive Citations
If a violation remains uncorrected, a case involves imminent hazards, or a case remains open for an
extended period of time, the inspector may issue a citation for each day the violation is observed.
Issuing daily citations requires Code Compliance Manager approval.
III. Inspection/Enforcement
A. Purpose
The Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance, Zoning Ordinance and other ordinances and codes
enforced by the Neighborhood Services Department are enforced on a complaint basis. This is
designed to encourage resident, neighborhood association, block watch or other city department
participation in the enforcement process. The graffiti supplies non-access regulations (Section 39-
10 D) of the Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance, mobile vending regulations, Vacant Property
Registry, Shopping Cart Certification, and common blight violations may be enforced proactively.
B. Confidentiality of Complaints
,
unless required by law. Once a violation is substantiated, the City of Phoenix serves as the official
complainant for the duration of the case.
A property may be reported anonymously, or residents may choose to leave their contact
information as part of the process for any additional inquiries for the inspector. Anonymous
complaints will be accepted with the following exceptions: home occupation complaints; portions of
the animal ordinance (Chapter 8); when past complaints for the same alleged violation on the same
property have been found to be invalid on three or more occasions; and in situations when a street
address is not provided. Complaints in these categories will require that the complainant provides a
name and contact phone number.
C. Exceptions
Exceptions to the complaint-based enforcement policy are as follows:
1. Neighborhood Action Plans
A Neighborhood Action Plan is a resident mobilization effort that provides a temporary increase in
city services to assist in community revitalization efforts. The increased services are targeted to
reduce crime, eliminate or prevent blight, and help restore or stabilize neighborhoods.
Deviation from the complaint-based enforcement process will take place at the request of, and with
the active support and cooperation of, area residents.
2. Strategic Code Enforcement Areas (Community Development Block Grant funded)
Strategic code enforcement activities are targeted to specific eligible regions determined to be
deteriorating or deteriorated, to protect public health, safety, and welfare, and to encourage
residents to maintain the appearance and value of their housing units, reduce crime in their
neighborhood, and to protect the health and safety of residents using public facilities, in accordance
with federal Department of Housing and Urban Development requirements. In order to be eligible,
Code Enforcement Policy
7
areas must be in low- and moderate-income census tracts and meet the requirements of being a
slum and blight area, with a significant portion of the slum and blighted properties meeting that
definition based on the built environment.
In addition to enforcement, other efforts may include, but are not limited to, conducting educational
outreach on code compliance issues, initiating area property condition surveys, and providing
technical and referral assistance to resolve city code violations.
3. Properties in the Immediate Area which are an Obvious Detriment or Blight
When an initial inspection is conducted, based on a complaint, the inspector may:
a. Expand upon a complaint on the same property and determine whether violations exist on the
following items identified by City Council or similar/related violations:
High weeds/grass or dead/dry bushes, trees, weeds and/or other vegetation
Inoperable vehicles
Junk, litter and/or debris
Open/vacant buildings and structures
Outside storage
Fences or walls in disrepair
Vehicles parked on a non-dust proofed surface or in non-permitted areas of residential front
or side yards
Graffiti
b. Inspect additional properties in the immediate area of the initial reported violation. The
immediate area is defined as the two adjacent properties plus the three across the street; may
expand to the entire street at
discretion. A supervisor may approve to expand
beyond the street if deemed appropriate.
c. Limit the inspection to those items, which appeared as violations on the initial property on which
the complaint was received; and the items listed in III (C)(4)(a).
d. Initiate appropriate enforcement action.
4. Environmental, Imminent Hazard and/or Fire Safety Conditions
In order to maintain and protect neighborhoods from imminent hazards, environmental hazards, fire
hazards and other types of similar conditions that may immediately endanger or place residents in
peril, the city will summarily inspect/abate any and all conditions which are discovered without
benefit of complaint.
5. Seamless Service Efforts
The Neighborhood Services Department may be called upon by other departments or governmental
dinated service in such
circumstances to facilitate the resolution of an identified community problem. In order to support and
complement these interagency/interdepartmental efforts, systematic and non-complaint-based code
enforcement may be implemented with the approval of the City Manager or designee.
Code Enforcement Policy
8
6. City-designated Slum Properties
In an effort to comprehensively and effectively address multiple violations at city- designated slum
properties, the Neighborhood Services Department may implement non-complaint-based code
enforcement.
7. Recidivist/Chronic Recidivist Properties
To address frequently recurring violations on recidivist properties, the Neighborhood Services
Department may initiate non-complaint-based inspections/code enforcement on recidivist properties
after case resolution to check for a recurrence of the same violation(s) and/or any of the common
blight violations as identified in Section III (C)(4)(a).
To assure lasting compliance on chronic recidivist properties, the Neighborhood Services
Department shall initiate non-complaint based exterior inspections/code enforcement on designated
chronic recidivist properties after case resolution, to check for a recurrence of the same violation(s)
and/or any of the common blight violations as identified in Section III (C)(4)(a).
8. Private Communities
Enforcement of violations within private communities with private roads and/or limited public access
are generally the responsibility of the owner(s), responsible party, property manager, and/or park
managers. NSD will enforce violations visible from the property boundaries and health and safety
violations reported by residents within the community.
9. Short Term Rental Properties
To ensure the appropriate permitting requirements are met, the Neighborhood Services Department
may proactively enforce non-permitted Short-Term Rentals. Additionally, the Director may adopt a
policy to regularly inspect properties for compliance with Section 10-205.
IV. Hardship Assistance
A. Purpose
It is the intent of the city to provide assistance to all low- and moderate- income households that are
eligible for financial assistance, and support for owners/responsible parties who are impacted by
homelessness. Assistance and support will be provided in the form of information, referral,
counseling, outreach, the provision of volunteer labor and/or the provision of direct financial
assistance. Additional time to achieve compliance may also be necessary due to the resources
offered.
B. Available Resources
Based upon funding availability and in some cases participant eligibility the Neighborhood Services
Department will provide or coordinate the following types of assistance:
Information
Housing, financial, landlord/tenant counseling
Code Enforcement Policy
9
Referral to public, private, or nonprofit sources of assistance
Tool lending
Volunteer labor assistance
Graffiti abatement supplies and assistance
Financial assistance to bring violations into compliance
Housing rehabilitation/reconstruction (limited geographic areas only)
V. Interdepartmental/Interagency Cooperation
A. Purpose
The Neighborhood Services Department will cooperate with other departments and agencies when
appropriate to further the mutual goals of nuisance abatement and neighborhood maintenance for
the benefit of the entire community.
B. Cooperation From Other Departments
Upon the request of the director or designee, the Police Department and any other department of
the city will assist and cooperate with the director in the performance of duties related to the
enforcement of ordinances. This cooperation may include assistance in enforcement or abatement
actions, including removal of persons from buildings or structures to be demolished.
C. Hazardous Conditions
The city manager or designee may order immediate abatement of a hazard without notice. The
Neighborhood Services Department may also request official concurrence from other departments
as to whether immediate abatement action is necessary. These departments or agencies include,
but are not limited to, Police, Fire, Public Works, Development Services, and the Maricopa County
Environmental Services departments.
VI. Annual Review by City Council
This Code Enforcement Policy will be reviewed and evaluated annually by the City Council.