Tempe Board of Adjustment Meeting - May 22, 2024
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Tempe Board of Adjustment Meeting - May 22, 2024
The Tempe Board of Adjustment met on May 22, 2024, at 6:00 PM with a full board of seven members present. The meeting addressed an appeal of a hearing officer's abatement decision for the Robinson property and a request for reconsideration of a prior board decision regarding Dazey Aesthetic Collective.
Consent Calendar
- Meeting Minutes (April 17, 2024): Approved unanimously by voice vote.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Brittany Robinson (appellant, Robinson property owner): Presented a personal appeal against the hearing officer's March 19, 2024 decision to approve a 180-day open abatement for her property at 2215 South Sierra Vista Drive. She argued that city code enforcement provided inconsistent notices, misrepresented communications, and violated her rights by entering her property without consent. She expressed concerns about selective enforcement, retaliation, and the financial burden of compliance. She stated she had not attended the original hearing because she believed only the front yard was at issue and had already remedied it.
Discussion Items
- Appeal of Abatement for Robinson Property (Item 2): The board heard from appellant Brittany Robinson, staff planner Lily Drosos, and Deputy Community Development Director Drew Yochum. Robinson argued that the hearing officer lacked accurate information due to factual misstatements by code enforcement. Staff presented evidence of multiple code violations (junk, trash, debris, deteriorated landscaping) dating back to October 2023, with extensions granted but continued noncompliance. The initial violations focused on the front yard; the backyard violations were added after December 2023 complaints. The abatement cost was approximately $5,800. Board members questioned the timeline and notice, with some expressing sympathy for the homeowner but noting that the valid notice was given and she did not attend the original hearing.
- Request for Reconsideration of Dazey Aesthetic Collective Decision (Item 3): Attorney Darin Sender (representing the business) requested reconsideration of the board's April 17, 2024 decision which overturned the zoning administrator's opinion that Dazey Aesthetic Collective was not a tattoo establishment. Sender argued the board made a mistake of law by not properly applying the definition of
Meeting Transcript
Okay, we're going to call tonight's uh Board of Adjustment meeting to order. Welcome to the City of Tempe Board of Adjustment Meeting for May 22nd, 2024. The time is now 6 p.m. Uh the city of Tempe Board of Adjustment is authorized by the Arizona Revised Statutes and the City of Tempe zoning ordinance. Its function is to grant relief where literal enforcement of the zoning ordinance would result in an unnecessary property hardship. It's to interpret provisions of the zoning ordinance, which are variances and to hear appeals from any person or city official aggrieved the decision of a person responsible for the enforcement of the zoning ordinance, which are zoning administrator and hearing officer abatements. The board has the city of Tempe community development staff summary reports, and we also the second item is uh an appeal. We have that uh report, those were provided to us last week. We've had time to look through those, uh, and we'll use those in any oral argument uh that we hear testimony tonight. Um, if we can do a roll call, if we can start at the right side of the DS and work across, please. Mary Foy present. Kayleigh Palmer present. Kevin Morrow present. Jack Confur present. Ron Keggy present. Ricky Lynn Gans present. Sean McCarley present. Thank you, board. We have a full board tonight. Quorum is present. We can conduct our meeting. Um, and I'm just gonna go through some staff that are that are here. Um we have Jeff Tamolevich, director of community development in the audience. Um we have uh Drew Yochum, Deputy Director for Compute uh Community Enhancement also here. Um we have uh Matt Mansfield from the city attorney's office here to advise the board tonight. Um Lily Drosas, planner two from community development, and Bika at Akari. Okay, thank you. Uh principal planner here tonight, Jennifer Daniels, the Ministry of Assistant, and Jason Wolf is on the meeting uh on a media. Um anybody have any preliminary questions before we get into the minutes? Okay, hearing none. Can I have a motion to approve the minutes from the April 17th meeting, please? So moved, and I'll compliment Jennifer for doing a good job on a long meeting. Thank you. Second second we have a second. We'll give that one to board meeting member Kegy. That's who I heard. All in favor of approval of the minutes from April 17th, please by signify signified by saying aye, raising your right hand. Aye. Motion passes unanimously. Thank you. And the first item that we have on our agenda tonight is request to appeal the hearing officers March 19th, 2024 decision to approve the abatement request for the Robinson property. Uh, the property is located at 2215 South Sierra Vista Drive in Tempe. The appellant is Brittany Robinson. Um, and let's see here, the planner on this one is Lily Drosos. Um, typically we have the appellant person requesting the appeal. Uh, come on up and give us a presentation first. Is Brittany Robinson available? And while she's coming up, uh staff, did we get any uh cards to speak? Any cards coming in this one? Very good.
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