Good afternoon.

Today is Tuesday, August 19th, 2025.

This is the hearing for the hearing officer of the City of Tempe.

My name's Vanessa McDonald, so I'm calling this meeting to order.

I'm gonna read something into the record and then go ahead and jump into our agenda this afternoon.

The City of Tempe Hearing Officer is authorized by Arizona revised statutes and the City of Tempe Zoning and Development Code.

The hearing officer is granted the authority to conduct public hearings to decide upon the abatement of code violations occurring on properties within the city.

These violations include deteriorated pools, structures or landscaping, storage of junk or refuse, and storage of inoperable or unregistered vehicles.

Abatement actions are brought before the hearing officer by the city's code compliance division, typically after numerous attempts at contacting the property owner to obtain voluntary compliance with the code.

The hearing officer may issue an order directing the owner, occupant, property manager, or other responsible person to remediate a code violation or may authorize the city to abate the property.

The cost of the abatement is the responsibility of the owner of the property where the violation occurs and will be collected as an assessment against the property in violation.

On today's agenda, we have four items.

We have a set of minutes from August 5th, 2025, and we have three property abatements.

Agenda item number two has been continued to an undetermined date in the future, so that will come back within probably the next month or two.

And agenda item number three has been brought into compliance with the code, so we won't be hearing that item today.

Appeals are heard by the Board of Adjustment, after which they may also be appealed to Superior Court.

A property owner has 14 days after the hearing officer's decision to either file an appeal or bring their property into compliance.

If an appeal isn't filed or the property isn't brought into compliance within this required 14 days, the property will be abated by the city.

Joining me this afternoon from community development to my left are Cassidy McFarren and Sean DeFara.

Thanks for being here, you guys.

The first item on our agenda this afternoon is a set of minutes from August 5th, 2025.

Um Cassidy sent those to me after that hearing, and I believe that they accurately reflect what took place at that hearing.

So I'm gonna go ahead and approve the minutes from August 5th, 2025.

As I mentioned previously, items two and three are no longer on the agenda, so we're gonna now move to agenda item number four.

This is a request for approval to abate public nuisance items at the Grafis property.

This is located at 210 East Bond Drive.

The applicant is the City of Tempe Code Compliance, represented this afternoon by Inspector Melissa Ensing.

Welcome Thank you, Madame Hearing Officer.

My name is Melissa Nsing, and I'm a code compliance inspector with the City of Tempe Code Compliance Division.

I am here this evening to request a 180-day open abatement for the property located at 210 East Bond Drive.

Tempe, Arizona 85283.

This case was initiated on December 9th, 2020 for deteriorated roof, deteriorated landscaping, an operable vehicle and junk trash and debris.

This case has been since reassigned to me.

On June 9th, 2025, I mailed an email the property owner and updated final notice.

Or deteriorated landscape with dead bushes, dead palm fronds, and tree obstruction of the sidewalk and street.

Anoperable vehicle and trash and debris.

And this time I'd like to present photos taken today of the existing violations.

Thank you.

This is the overview of the property on the front of it.

As you can see, the landscaping is taking over most of the front yard as well as obstructing onto the sidewalk and street.

In this picture, you can see the inoperable vehicle in the driveway.

There's a big rock that's holding the car in place as well as the cardboard under it, and then the jack in front.

This is the front yard leading to the front door.

As you can see, all the dead plants, the dead portions of the tree.

There's miscellaneous trash and items covering the front porch.

You can't even see the front door.

They're well overgrown.

In this picture, you can see the dead portions of the tree as well as it obstructing the sidewalk.

It's going into the street right here.

And then here's another tree that is growing even further out to the street.

So any vehicles, trucks that are driving are getting hit by the tree.

The trash trucks must love that.

Right?

Yes.

As stated before, I'm seeking a 180-day open abatement for the deteriorated landscape, tree obstruction, inoperable vehicle, and trash and debris located at 210 East Bond Drive, Tempe, Arizona, 85283.

Thank you.

And you did say 180 days.

Yes, ma'am.

Yes.

Okay.

And you left a message for the property owner, but did you have any communication with him?

Um I had emailed him and didn't get response back, but when I dropped off the notice to abate, he was outside and he came and spoke with me about it.

So I sat with him for like 30 minutes talking to about the violations.

He said he was going to correct them, get his son to help him correct them, and that was back in July.

And as of right now, it's nothing.

Nothing's been improved.

Okay.

And the case does go back to December, so it's been a while.

Correct.

Um, 2020, so it's been open for a while.

Oh, yikes.

Okay, I thought it was this past December.

Okay.

Thank you.

Um, Mr.

Defar, is there anyone on the line wanting to talk about this item?

Yeah, I'm hearing I'm sure no one on.

Thank you.

No one online.

Sorry.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um, I'll make a note for the record.

The only people here in the chamber are City of Tempe staff, so there's no one here wanting to speak on this agenda item.

Well, yeah, even more so.

I thought this case was only eight or nine months old, and but it goes way beyond that.

So given the fact that the property owner has not been responsive at all, even though he said he was going to take care of things, he hasn't, and the photographs speak for themselves.

So I'm gonna go ahead and approve the 180-day open abatement for the property at 210 East Fawn here in the City of Tempe, contained in case CE 2074.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That takes us to agenda item number five.

This is a request for approval to abate public nuisance items at the Cohen property located at 3511 South Cutler Drive.

The applicant is the City of Tempe, represented this afternoon by Code Compliance Inspector Michael Moreno.

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon.

Thank you, Madam Hearing Officer.

My name is Michael Moreno, and I am a code compliance inspector with the City of Tempe Code Compliance Division.

I'm here this evening to request a 180-day open abatement for the property located at 3511 South Cutler Drive, Tempe, Arizona 85282.

This case was initiated on February 12, 2025 for the violations of excessive animal feces, junk, trash, and debris, overheight grass and weeds, and a dead tree.

After code compliance received an anonymous complaint about excessive animal feces in the rear yard.

On February 13th, 2025, an initial inspection was conducted and the violations were confirmed at that time.

The first notice was mailed to the owner, Robert Cohen.

On March 17th, 2025, a follow-up inspection was conducted at the property.

The violations had not been corrected, and a final notice was mailed out to the owner, Robert Cohen.

On April 16th through April 25th, I had left two separate contact slips on the front door of the property and multiple voicemails regarding the violations on the property.

An extension was then granted at this time.

On May 16th, 2025, a citation was issued to Mr.

Cohen.

The fine for the citation has been paid.

On June 2nd, a follow-up inspection was conducted and the violations were still present on the property.

I attempted to contact Mr.

Cohen at the property and left another contact slip on the door of the property.

On June 10th, 2025 through June 25th, 2025, another extension had been granted, and Mr.

Cohen was given the information for care 7.

Mr.

Cohn was informed that enforcement actions would be taken if he failed to bring the property into compliance.

On July 9th, the notice of intent to abate was mailed to the pro mailed and posted to the property.

Thank you.

So here we have a photo of the front of the property where we can see here this tree is completely dead.

Here we also have dead branches on this tree, as well as some overheight grass and weeds in the dirt landscape here on the side.

As well.

Yeah things are excessive feces.

This is animal feces, they are not rocks.

You can kind of see they stretch throughout the entirety of the backyard all the way up to the back of the house and to the side of the fence over here, as well as some more overheight grass and weeds along the back patio area inside the house with some dilapidated chairs, junk trash, and debris.

As we can see, we have excessive animal feces here all throughout the backyard and up into the back patio, as well as some overheight grass and weeds here on the side by the fence, and junk trash and debris here up in the patio as well.

As stated before, I am seeking a 180 day open abatement for the violations of excessive animal feces 21 3B6, junk trash and debris 21 3B1, and over height grass and weeds and a dead tree 21-3B8, located at the 3511 South Cutler Drive property.

Thank you very much.

Yeah, the pictures I was given were dated at the end of June, and here it is, middle of August, and literally nothing has changed on this property.

The chairs are still tilted at the same angle.

So despite what the property owner has represented, no progress has been made on this property.

Mr.

DeFaris, anyone wanting to talk?

Madam Hearing, I'm sure no one online.

Thank you.

I'll make another note for the record.

No one is here other than City of Tempe staff.

So yeah, this really really needs to be abated, remediated, whatever.

Umise with the neighbors all around this home because that cannot be pleasant.

And I think you've given him extensions and shown a lot of patience with this guy, even giving him the Tempe Care 7 resource, and he clearly hasn't used any of it.

So I'm gonna go ahead and approve your 180 day open abatement request for the Cohen property at 3511 South Cutler, contained in case CE250951.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And you don't get to sit down yet.

Not yet.

Our next agenda item is agenda item number six.

This is a request to abate public nuisance items at the Faulkner property.

This is located at 725 East Papago Drive.

The applicant is the City of Tempe, again represented by Michael Code Inspector Michael Morano.

Thank you, Madam Hearing Officer.

My name is Michael Moreno, and I am a code compliance inspector with the City of Tempe Code Compliance Division.

I'm here this evening to request the approval for the emergency abatement conducted on May 8th, 2025 for the property located at 725 East Papago Drive, Tempe, Arizona, 85281.

This case was initiated on May 5th for the violations of junk, trash, and debris blocking the alley for City of Tempe police, fire, and Tempe solid waste vehicles after code compliance received an anonymous complaint.

On May 6th, 2025, an initial inspection was conducted and the violations were confirmed at this time.

The first notice was mailed to the homeowner Donald Faulkner.

On May 8th, 2025, Code Compliance conducted an emergency abatement for the junk trash and debris in the alley behind the property.

The junk trash and debris posed a safety risk as it blocked the alley for City of Tempe police, fire, and Tempe solid waste vehicles, and had the transient population rummaging through the items and spreading the items throughout the alley.

Thank you.

As you can see here, we have a lot of junk trash and debris piled up on the fence in the alley that spans all the way down multiple properties.

Here's a photo of the morning of the emergency abatement.

As you can see from the previous photo, the items have now shifted from one side to the other as well.

As we were going through the alley in the morning, we had to actually move items out of the way to get our vehicles through there.

Same kind of jump trash and abris boxes, clothing, furniture, miscellaneous items on both sides of the alley now.

Here we have another photo of that morning just to kind of show how far some of the junk trash and debris was stretching out in the alley.

And you can see we have it on both sides as well.

Here is the photo after the abatement was completed.

As you can see, all of the junk trash and abris that was up against this fence has since been removed and cleaned, as well as on this side of the alley.

Was the property owner present when the abatement was going on?

Yes, ma'am, he was.

And did he represent anything like those aren't my items or when we were there?

Oh, okay.

So this was his idea of bulk trash.

Yes, ma'am.

Okay.

Here we have another photo as well, uh, just to kind of show that this side had also been cleaned up after the abatement.

Okay.

As I stated before, I am seeking approval for the emergency abatement conducted on May 8th, 2025 for the junk trash and debris blocking the alley located at 725 East Papago Drive property.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Mr.

DeFara, anyone wanting to talk about this item?

Madam Hearing Officer, no one online.

Okay, thank you.

Again for the record, no one is here wanting to speak about this agenda item.

This is unusual in that I'm an approving an abatement after the fact, but it's because of the dire situation in the alley that some people don't understand that they're responsible for maintaining the condition of the alleyway.

But at this point, you know, solid waste or police couldn't even get through.

So it definitely was warranted, and therefore I'm gonna approve the abatement that took place on May 8th at the Faulkner property located at 725 East Apache Drive, contained in case CE 252719.

Thank you.

Madam Here's uh can you repeat the address?

I think the address was wrong.

725 East Papago.

Yeah.

Okay, sorry.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh that concludes our agenda.

Um, Mr.

DeFara, any announcements?

Madam Hearing Officer, one announcement.

Our next hearing officer is scheduled for Tuesday, September 2nd at 5 o'clock here in the council chambers and live on Tempe 11.

Great.

Thank you.

We're adjourned.