ORDINANCE 2026XX; ORDINANCE AMENDING NUISANCE CODE MARCH 2026.DOCX

Ordinance No. O2026.20
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ORDINANCE NO. O2026.20
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY 
OF TEMPE, ARIZONA, AMENDING THE TEMPE CITY 
CODE, CHAPTER 21, RELATING TO NUISANCES BY 
ADDING A NEW SUBSECTION 21-3(b)(22) RELATED TO 
ENUMERATED VIOLATIONS.
WHEREAS, under the Arizona Constitution, a city with a population of more than 3,500 
people is entitled to establish a charter for its government and that a charter city is granted 
autonomy over matters of local interests; and 
WHEREAS, the voters of the City of Tempe established the Tempe City Charter in 1964, 
and the Tempe City Charter Section 2.04 vests the City Council with policymaking powers; and 
WHEREAS, Tempe City Charter Section 2.11 requires the passing of an ordinance to 
adopt or amend a City Code; and 
WHEREAS, after careful consideration, the City Council finds certain activities occurring 
in the City can lead to deterioration of neighborhoods and the health and safety of the community; 
and
WHEREAS, it is necessary to amend the Tempe City Code relating to nuisances for the 
proper administration of the City; and 
WHEREAS, deleted City Code text is shown in strikethrough and added text is shown in 
CAPITAL LETTERS.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY 
OF TEMPE, ARIZONA, as follows:
Section 1.  That Chapter 21, Section 21-3 Enumerated Violations, of the Tempe City Code 
is hereby amended by adding a new subsection 21-3(b)(22) as set forth in Exhibit A hereto.
Section 2.  If any section, subsection, sentence clause, phrase, or portion of this ordinance 
or any part of the code adopted herein is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by 
the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of 
the remaining portions thereof.  
Section 3.  All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict with the provisions of the 
Code adopted herein are hereby repealed. 
Section 4.  The City Clerk is hereby authorized to correct clerical and grammatical errors, 
if any, related to this ordinance, and to make formatting changes appropriate for purposes of clarity, 
form, or consistency with the Tempe City Code. 
Section 5.  The various City officers and employees are hereby authorized and directed to 
perform all acts necessary to give effect to this ordinance.

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Section 6. Pursuant to City Charter, Section 2.12, ordinances are effective thirty (30) days 
after adoption. 
PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TEMPE, 
ARIZONA, this 14th day of May, 2026.
Corey D. Woods, Mayor
ATTEST:
Kara A. DeArrastia, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Eric C. Anderson, City Attorney

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EXHIBIT A to ORDINANCE NO. O2026.20
Sec. 21-3 – Enumerated violations.
(a) It shall be unlawful and a violation of this Code for any person to commit a nuisance or 
willfully omit to perform any legal duty relating to the removal of a nuisance.
(b) A nuisance includes any one (1) or more of the following conditions:
(1) Filthy, littered, debris or trash-covered exterior areas, including exterior areas under 
any roof not enclosed by the walls, doors or windows of any building; including, but not limited 
to, areas that contain items such as cans, bottles, wood, metal, plastic, rags, boxes, paper, tires, 
auto parts; unused, inoperable, worn out or discarded appliances or other household items; lumber, 
scrap iron, tin and other metal not neatly piled, or anything whatsoever that is or may become a 
hazard to public health and safety, or that may harbor insect, rodent or vermin infestation. This 
subsection shall not be deemed to include items kept in covered bins or metal receptacles approved 
by the County Health Officer or this Code or any other ordinance of the City;
(2) Exterior areas used or maintained as junkyards or dumping grounds, except:
a. Any automobile wrecking yard or other junkyard where the same are permitted by the 
City zoning regulations; or
b. The disassembling, repair, rebuilding, storage or keeping of vehicles, machinery or any 
of the parts thereof on any farm or ranch where such disassembling, repair, rebuilding, storage or 
keeping are customary and incidental to such farming or ranching activities;
(3) Any inoperable or unregistered vehicle, or parts thereof, outside of or under a roof area 
not enclosed by walls, doors or windows of any building on any lot, except the safe and neat 
keeping of:
a. Substantially complete inoperable or unregistered vehicles with inflated tires under the 
roof area of any building;
b. A vehicle undergoing repair, titled to the owner or resident of the property, provided that 
the repair is complete within fourteen (14) days after the repair was begun, provided that not more 
than three (3) such fourteen (14) day repairs will be permitted in any twelve (12) month period;
c. Not more than two (2) ongoing restoration projects or inoperable or unregistered vehicles 
in a backyard area, screened by a substantially opaque fence at a minimum height of five (5) feet 
or the height of the vehicles, whichever is more, provided that any fence constructed or modified 
pursuant to this subsection must meet any and all other requirements of the City Code;
d. Lawful commercial activities involving vehicles as allowed by the Zoning and 
Development Code; or

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e. Operable, off-road vehicles, under the roof area of any building, or in a backyard area, 
screened by a substantially opaque fence at a minimum height of five (5) feet or the height of the 
vehicles, whichever is more, provided that any fence constructed or modified pursuant to this 
subsection must meet any and all other requirements of the City Code;
(4) To leave or permit to remain outside of any single-family or multifamily dwelling or 
accessory building any camper, vehicle, or part thereof in any portion of the front or side area of 
the building visible from the street that is not on an improved area designed or intended for such 
use. An improved area shall:
a. Be contiguous to, parallel with, and share an access point with, the required driveway;
b. Have a consistent length and width, but not necessarily the same dimensions of the 
parking area or required driveway;
c. Be no greater than thirty-five percent (35%) of the front and side areas visible from the 
street;
d. Be a minimum of three (3) inches in depth if gravel, crushed rock or other aggregate. If 
using materials other than asphalt or concrete, an improved surface containing material such as 
gravel or crushed rock must be contained within a permanent border, imbedded in the ground, 
delineating the improved area from the remainder of the yard; and
e. Be maintained free of all vegetation, including, but not limited to grasses, trees and 
bushes.
Note(s)—Zoning and Development Code reference—Section 4-602(B)(7), recreational 
vehicle parking.
(5) The storing or leaving of any machinery or equipment designed for or used by 
contractors or builders for commercial purposes, except where permitted by the City zoning 
regulations;
(6) Excessive animal waste that is not securely protected from insects and the elements, or 
that is kept or handled in violation of this Code or any other ordinance of the City or the county; 
provided, that nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to prohibit the use of such animal waste 
on any farm or ranch in such a manner and for such purposes as are compatible with customary 
methods of good husbandry or cultivation;
(7) Any object, building, tree, bush or vehicle that interferes with, obstructs, tends to 
obstruct, or renders dangerous the free passage, use or vision in the customary manner of any 
sidewalk, street or highway in the City;
(8) Any landscaping, visible from public property, that is substantially dead, damaged, or 
characterized by uncontrolled growth, or presents a deteriorated appearance; uncultivated plants, 
weeds, tall grass, uncultivated shrubs or growth (whether growing or otherwise) higher than twelve

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(12) inches; or any dead trees, bushes, shrubs or portions thereof, including stumps; or any palm 
or similar type tree having dead or dry fronds descending downward from the base of the lowest 
living frond more than eight (8) feet or dry fronds longer than five (5) feet and closer than eight 
(8) feet to the ground;
(9) Any dangerous, deteriorated, abandoned, partially destroyed or unfinished building, 
addition, appendage or other structure, or any building in violation of the Uniform Building Code 
as adopted by the City, and any vacated or abandoned building not securely closed at all times; 
any wood, metal or other material used for securing a vacated or abandoned building must be 
compatible with the color of the building;
(10) Any putrid, unsound or unwholesome bones, meat, hides, skins or the whole or any 
part of any dead animal, butcher's trimmings and offal, or any waste vegetable or animal matter in 
any quantity, garbage, human excreta, sewage or other offensive substances; provided, that nothing 
contained in this subsection shall prevent the temporary retention of waste in receptacles in the 
manner approved by the Health Officer of the County or this Code or any other ordinance of the 
City;
(11) The erection, continuance or use of any building, room or other place in the City that, 
by noxious exhalations, including but not limited to smoke, soot, dust, fumes or other gases, 
offensive odors or other annoyances, is discomforting or offensive or detrimental to the health of 
individuals or of the public;
(12) Burning or disposal of refuse, sawdust or other material in such a manner as to cause 
or permit ashes, sawdust, soot or cinders to be cast upon the sidewalk, streets, alleys or highways 
of the City, or to cause or permit the smoke, ashes, soot or gasses arising from such burning to 
constitute a potential hazard to public health, safety and welfare; provided, that this subsection 
shall not apply where the person responsible for the action has properly obtained a fire permit from 
the City Fire Medical Rescue Department or the County Health Officer;
(13) Any unguarded or abandoned excavation, pit, well or hole that may constitute a threat 
to public health, safety and welfare; or any well, cellar, pit or other excavation of more than two 
(2) feet in depth, on any unenclosed lot, without substantial curbing, covering or protection;
(14) To leave or permit to remain exposed outside on any property, or within any 
unoccupied or abandoned building, dwelling or other structure or in a place accessible to children, 
any abandoned, unattended or discarded ice box, refrigerator or other container that has an airtight 
door or lid, snaplock or other locking device that may not be released from the inside, without first 
removing such door or lid, snaplock or other locking device from such ice box, refrigerator or 
container;
(15) Any wall or fence that is missing blocks, boards or other material, or is otherwise 
deteriorated so as to constitute a hazard to persons or property. This includes but is not limited to, 
leaning or damaged fences, fences missing slats or blocks or any other materials that are otherwise 
broken or damaged in such amounts as to present a deteriorated appearance. All replacement 
materials shall be uniform, compatible and consistent with the design thereof;

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(16) Any swimming pool areas that are not enclosed by a fence of at least five (5) feet in 
height and equipped with self-closing, self-latching gate(s), or padlocked at all times. Any 
openings in the fencing shall be of a size to prohibit a spherical object four (4) inches in diameter 
from passing through or under the fence or gate; or any swimming pool, architectural pool or spa 
that creates a health hazard, harbors insect infestation or presents a deteriorated appearance;
(17) Making, causing or permitting to be made any vibration or artificial illumination of 
such intensity as to interfere substantially and unnecessarily with the use and enjoyment of public 
or private property by the public, or as to constitute a hazard or threat to the public health, safety 
or welfare of the people of the City;
Zoning and Development Code reference—Part 4, Chapter 8, Lighting
(18) Willfully or negligently permitting or causing the escape or flow of water into the 
public right-of-way in such quantity as to cause flooding, to impede vehicular or pedestrian traffic, 
to create a hazardous condition for such traffic, or to cause damage to the public streets or alleys 
of the City through the failure or neglect to operate or maintain properly any water facility or 
device, including, but not limited to, swimming pools, architectural pools, spas, sprinklers, hoses, 
pipes, ditches, standpipes, berms, valves and gates;
(19) The keeping or harboring of any dog or other animal that by frequent or habitual 
howling, yelping, barking, crowing or the making of other noises, annoys or disturbs a 
neighborhood or any number of persons; provided, that an action for a violation of this subsection 
shall not be initiated, unless a petition is received signed by at least two (2) witnesses in separate 
households with independent knowledge of the nuisance. The petition requirements may be waived 
if the circumstances and evidence otherwise support grounds for enforcement; or
(20) To leave or permit to remain on any property, areas infested with insects or rodents 
including, but not limited to: bees, wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, mice, rats, or roaches, in an 
amount that may become a hazard to public health or safety;
(21) The keeping or feeding of outdoor birds that by frequent public defecation on private 
or public property, annoys or disturbs a neighborhood or any number of persons; provided, that an 
action for a violation of this subsection shall not be initiated, unless a petition is received signed 
by at least three (3) witnesses in separate households with independent knowledge of the nuisance. 
The petition requirements may be waived if the circumstances and evidence otherwise support 
grounds for enforcement;
(22) THE MAINTAINING ON PRIVATE PROPERTY OF ANY REGULARLY 
SCHEDULED OR FREQUENTLY OCCURRING SALE, VENDING, GIVING AWAY OR 
OTHER DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD, BEVERAGES, MERCHANDISE, GOODS, OR WARES 
WHICH ACTIVITY PREDICTABLY OR REGULARLY LEADS TO THE PATRONS OR 
BENEFICIARIES THEREOF ENGAGING IN PUBLIC URINATION OR DEFECATION, 
ILLEGAL DRUG USE, URBAN CAMPING, TRESPASSING, DISORDERLY CONDUCT, 
ASSAULT, OR OTHER SIMILAR VIOLATIONS OF LAW THAT SUBSTANTIALLY

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INTERFERES WITH THE USE OR ENJOYMENT OF ADJACENT PUBLIC PROPERTY, 
PRIVATE PROPERTY, OR NEIGHBORHOOD(S).
(c) Nothing in subsections (1) through (5) of this section shall be deemed to apply to safe 
and neat outdoor accessory storage, use or repair of items customarily associated with the lawful 
use of such property in the City, screened by a substantially opaque fence at a minimum height of 
five (5) feet or the height of the storage, use or repair, whichever is more, provided that any fence 
constructed or modified pursuant to this subsection must meet any and all other requirements of 
the City Code.