Good afternoon.

Today is Tuesday, October 21st, 2025.

This is the only hearing this month for the City of Tempe Hearing Officer.

My name's Vanessa McDonald, and I'll be conducting the hearing this afternoon.

We have a pretty brief agenda, but before we um go into our cases, I'm going to go ahead and read something into the record.

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

On today's agenda, we have three items.

We have a set of minutes from September 30th, 2025, and two property abatements.

Which was scheduled for abatement, the MARC property.

That property has been brought into compliance, so it's no longer on the agenda.

Any property owner who's agreed by a decision of the hearing officer may file an appeal within 14 calendar days after the hearing officer has made a decision.

The deadline for appealing any decision rendered today is 3 p.m.

on November 4th, 2025.

These 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 code compliance.

If an appeal isn't filed or the property is not brought into compliance within this 14-day time frame, the property will be abated by the city.

Joining me this afternoon from community development are Sean DeFara and Drew Yochim to my left.

Thank you guys for being here.

And now we can jump right into our agenda.

The first item on the agenda is a set of minutes from September 30th, 2025.

I had a chance to review the minutes when they were sent to me after that hearing, and I believe that they accurately reflect what took place at that hearing.

So I'm going to approve the minutes of September 30th, 2025.

As I mentioned previously, agenda item number two is now in compliance, so we'll be moving to agenda item number three.

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

This property is located at 315 East Broadway Road.

The applicant is the City of Tempe.

This is case CE251750.

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon.

Thank you, Madam Hearing Officer.

There is Lara Reyes Coin Inspector with the City of Tempe Community Enhancement Division.

I'm here this this evening to request 180 day open abatement for the property located at the 315 East Broadway Road.

Tempe Arizona Fi-282 owner, Dixie Felix.

2025 of this year for trash, lid and debris, the theory and landscape and in upper barn registered vehicles in the backyard.

The property was inspected on March 24th.

Stating that she was not going to have all vehicles removed by April 24th.

So I provided an extension with the agreement that improvements will be made.

I also met the owner of the property on April 24th, and another extension was requested and approved.

I went back to the property on May 8th.

There were no improvements made to bring the property into compliance.

There was some trash did and debris and some more high grass and wheats at this time.

Final notice to come to comply was mailed out.

I contacted the owner on May 22nd, and Miss Felix was still waiting for assistance from family members to remove the vehicles.

On June 5th, a citation was issued for inoperable and vehicles in the backyard.

Owner requested a civil hearing.

This is the front of the property.

Everything is green, but one of the vehicles that was in the backyard was moved to the front, but I'm unable to determine if he has been registered or not at this time, as of this morning.

Also, here's the uh condition of the backyard as of this morning.

Uh some vehicle tires.

Uh two of the three vehicles remain from the original complaint.

Uh the landscape is uh is fairly clean.

Uh there is you can see some trash and debris towards the back.

And the back patio has been covered, so I can't see in there.

There's more trash and debris, but that's a condition as of this morning.

So there's also some uh landscape debris against the backyard wall there.

I assume is for uh bulk pickup, which is scheduled soon.

So that's what I'm assuming.

Uh based on the improvements made uh by the owner to bring the property into compliance in the near future.

Uh they might she might she might bring the property into compliance, but I still need approval for future for the trash and debris, any landscape debris, and of course the vehicles as stated before on seeking 180 day open abatement for as of today the inoperable and registered vehicles at 315 is Broadway Road.

Okay, so this is just the vehicles then at this point.

Well, I would like to request for the landscape and the trash for future okay and the event that is not kept in the next six months.

So I would like to request an approval for that also at this time if possible.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um, I know that we have um another property owned by the same individual.

So um, and the individual is here this afternoon wanting to speak, but do you want to go ahead and present on both?

Can he one at a time?

Okay.

Then um, I'll have you take a seat, um Andres, and then Ms.

Felix, if you'd like to come up.

Um, you heard the presentation that was given.

I know, and I thank Andreas for telling me about this hearing because I never got a note of seven.

Excuse me, man.

I don't know why.

Just for the record, could you let us know your name and then city of residence?

Jixy Felix.

Thank you.

And city of residence.

Yeah, only for the last 50 or 60 years, yes.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And uh it hasn't been a good year.

A year ago, my husband was 60 years passed away.

And so it's been hard, you know, working with that.

I have a granddaughter who was trying to be sex trafficked in February of this year, and we were able to rescue her just in time, and she just got out of the behavioral health area.

The hospital around September 1st.

And I've been trying to help her to get in school and do the right things and get her life turned around.

And then my grand my nephew who lives with me is recently the last three or four weeks has had major health issues, and I had planned to go out and I had put stuff that I was going to pick up and I was going to do that this morning, but he was suicidal, so I couldn't leave him.

And uh I apologized for things not being done.

I when I talked to Andreas, I tried, I got people to come, and all the cars are accounted for, and the people were supposed to get them off of the properties by this past weekend.

Well, I don't know where you live, but where we live, we had a huge storm, and I had big branches of the trees.

We have old trees that covered like about a third of the backyard at one property and covered and fell in the front at the same property.

And so the people that were going to come to help me with the cars ended up helping me with all the trash.

And the trash that you're looking at, that's because we put some things out in the alley, but I didn't want it to spill over, so I said leave it there, and when they pick that up, then we piled it on the other side.

We're going to lift it over and put it there so it can be picked up.

They've cut down uh two palm trees, so that's taken a lot of space too.

And what we're trying.

And uh the people that came, the cars, I had them all accounted for.

I don't know which I can't tell you which ones are on which property, but I have two properties, and I had a lot of cars, and those cars gave my husband hope.

About 20 some years ago, he had cancer and a massive stroke, and he struggled and came back from that, and he wanted those cars so that he could fix them up and give them to people to help them out, and that was his purpose, and I couldn't tell him you're never going to get better, so you give up the cars.

No, because that gave him hope, and that kept him going until about a year ago when we both got COVID, and then it he had the type of Alzheimer's that affects your muscles.

And so the COVID made it worse, and within a couple of weeks, he died because he couldn't swallow or anything.

And so, yes, I should have worked a little harder at the time, but you know, it's just hard when you're grieving and sometimes you want to hold on to things, and I know I shouldn't have held on to them, but those they meant something to me, the things we did together in them, and that he wanted to do that.

So I've been giving them away and giving them to people and uh the last three.

I have someone that's coming to pick them up, and uh we're going to set up an education fund for a young man, and so we're really trying to do the right things with them, and uh, I didn't sell any of them because he didn't want them sold.

He wanted to give them to people that you could help to take it and take it and do something.

So that's what I did.

And the one car that was in the picture was picked up today.

Okay.

That he showed that was picked up this afternoon, and the others will be out within the week.

And I kept seven cars because my grandkids they wanted them for later.

And I went down and I spent two days at motor vehicles trying to get them registered, and of the seven, I could only get four registered because the others are archived or something, and they said I have to go through some kind of a procedure that takes several months to get them registered.

But the ones I could register, one of them I was able to get, it was old enough that I could get a historical.

And so then I could get a thing that I didn't have to have insurance or anything on it.

The others I had to get short registration because they need to be uh emission tested.

You if it isn't running, you can't get an emission test.

Right.

So I did that for uh the others there's one, two, three, and then one of the girls I gave the card to, she's battling liver cancer, and she wasn't able to come over and work on it, so I was able to get a temporary for hers too, a temporary uh registration.

So the ones that I'm keeping, the three that I can't get registered, they can't find them in the system.

Sure.

So I can't get them registered, but I'm going to work on it until I can because my grandkids, you know, want these because I'm remembrance of the grandfather.

Is there anywhere you can put them on the property that's not in the yard?

Um they're on the driveway.

There's only one in the yard.

Okay, and then you said one was picked up is one was picked up this morning.

Okay.

Or this afternoon.

And uh the one that's up front that he was showing.

Uh the guy who's taking that, he was there working on it today, and he's going to take it away.

Okay.

And so that will be gone.

And the others that there's let's see.

Three others.

The ones that we're going to take away and sell and then set up an education fund.

Uh they're going to get those out.

They had planned to do it last weekend, but when they came and there was all this debris, they decided to help me with that.

Yeah.

And I'm not as strong as I once was, you know, at 85.

I can't do it.

Oh my gosh.

But I try.

And uh I'm I'm blessed to have all these people who care.

But uh, and I'm trying to get it done.

And there is some dirt and dust up there, but I was waiting for them to pull the cars out so I could clean the whole thing.

And then I had little piles I was going to go out and work on this morning, but then when my nephew was so bad, just sure that he was going to couldn't live anymore, and thinking people are threatening him and doing all kinds of things and that he's going to prison and all this.

And yeah.

So I had to stay with him, and I didn't get it done.

So I'm just asking if you give me a week or two a week and get everything done.

Well, I I do, um, Ms.

Felix, uh, appreciate your efforts that you've been putting into the property.

Um, and first of all, let me extend my sympathy on your past year.

It sounds like you have had a rough year.

Um, and I appreciate first of all that you're here today, because some property owners don't show up.

I appreciate the effort that you put into the property, your continued communication with the code compliance inspector.

I had to talk to Andreas, I wouldn't know it was today, so I wouldn't have been here.

It would have been just Yeah, all of that means a lot, and it all adds up.

Um you were here when I read my little what I call my preamble to the hearing, and I read um the procedures that the hearing officer takes.

And the very last thing I read um indicated that any decision rendered today, there's a two-week window within which you can continue to make progress on your property.

So if is as you say, you have that momentum, you have people coming to pick up the different cars.

Those three cars that they can't find at motor vehicles that you know, what can I do?

Right.

And I don't know the answer to that, but I do know that I think you've been making good progress.

I think you'll continue to make good progress, but by the same token, I would like to give Inspector Reyes the tools that he needs to help you stay on track in that process.

So what that means today is I will um likely approve this abatement, and it won't happen immediately, it won't happen overnight.

Like I said, there's a two-week window, and I think that there's you have a good work in relationship with Inspector Reyes, and he can help you bring your property into compliance.

It sounds like what my neighbors have on their properties because they all have high fences.

Yeah.

But my husband didn't like that.

He liked the wide open spaces and he didn't want the window, the things, and I agreed with him.

And so that's why we, you know, we've lived there for over 50 years.

Yeah.

At 321, and we just bought 315 and and about 20 years ago, but uh but we didn't want it to be that way.

We liked it with a wide open spaces.

Yeah.

Well, thank you.

Well, I'm gonna go ahead and ask you to take a seat because we need to conclude the hearing on this item, and then we'll move into the other item.

First, I need to ask Mr.

Defara if there's anyone on the line wanting to speak on this agenda item.

Madam Harry Officer, no one online, just the one late we're still one homeowner present dark.

Okay.

Yeah, Madam Haring officer, we I would like to just have Jack Schofield Code Compliance Manager.

Oh, just to clarify something real quick, please.

Okay.

Thank you.

Mr.

Schofield.

Good afternoon, Madam Hearing Officer.

Jack Schofield Co-compliance Manager.

Um I I can sympathize with Miss Phillips.

Um, like you had said, we asked that the abatement be approved, that way we have the ability to do that.

Um, as long as Miss Felix is making progress, the abatement would not move forward.

We would continue to monitor and work with her to try and get the violations corrected at her property.

Okay.

Just to clarify, Mr.

Schofield, could you tell us what the request is?

Oh, yes, I'm sorry.

So the request is to remove the in-opera and registered vehicles in the rear yard.

The reason they're in violation is because there is no fence.

Uh code would allow her to have two in-opera and registered vehicles in the rear yard if there was an opaque screening, which means a fence uh that you cannot view the pro view the vehicles in the rear yard.

Uh, we're also asking that it'll be approved to remove the trash and debris and possible landscape debris as well, um, just in case it does not get picked up.

Okay.

So am I approving the 180-day open abatement?

But you're just gonna kind of skinny it down from the original thing that was put in the package.

Yes, ma'am.

So we're not worrying about the landscaping of the property.

The landscaping is in compliance at this time, therefore we will not be seeking that.

This is just for the debris, the trash and debris.

I'm sorry, the landscape debris, the trash and debris, and the removal of the in-operal and registered vehicles.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you for clarifying.

And I have an operable vehicle so if they're registered.

Yes.

Okay, where did you win?

Yeah, after the hearing, you guys can talk and you can go talk further about your plan.

But so no one's here in the chamber other than the property owner and city of Tempe staff.

So there's no one here who wants to speak on this agenda item.

So I as I indicated earlier, I'm gonna go ahead and approve the 180 day open abatement request, subject to Mr.

Schofield's modifications that he just um let us know about for the property located at 315 East Broadway Road, contained in KCU 251750.

So now we're going to the next Felix property.

This is a request for approval to abate public nuisance items at the property located at 321 East Broadway Road.

The applicant is the city of Tempe, represented again this afternoon by code compliance inspector Andres Lata Reyes.

Thank you, madam uh hearing officer.

There's Lara Reyes Go Inspector with the City of Tempe Community Enhancement Division.

I'm here this evening to request an 180-day open abatement for the property located at 321 East Broadway Road, Tempe, Arizona, A5282.

Uh owner uh Dick C.

Felix.

Uh this case was initiated by the public complaint on March 24th, 2025 for trash litter and debris, deteriorated landscape and inoperable and registered vehicles in the backyard.

Property was inspected on March 24th, and that was served uh trash, didn't debris.

The landscape, but that at that time was clean.

And also uh what appeared to be from the alley, at least nine inoperable unregistered vehicles in the backyard.

Noticed to comply with smell down for the trash and debris and the vehicles.

I received a call from the uh Miss Uh Felix on March 17, stating that she was not going to have all vehicles removed by April 24th.

So I provided an extension with the agreement that she will make improvements.

I met the owner of the property on April 24th, and I know the extension when requested and approved.

Went back to the property on May 8th, and there were no improvements made.

There was at least uh what appeared to be at least nine inoperable and registered vehicles park in the backyard uh that were visible from the alley.

Also, some trash in the rear, nor high grass and weeds.

Went ahead and sent a final notice to comply at that time.

Contacted the owner on May 22nd and Miss Felix uh was still waiting for some assistance from family members to remove the vehicles.

On June 5th, citation was issued for inoperable and registered vehicles in the backyard.

The owner requested a hearing and pretty responsible for the violation on July 11th, he will core hearing.

Would like to present photos uh taken us of this morning to show the condition of the property, and as you can see from the from the photos, this is the uh a view of the front yard.

Um it's fairly clean.

There's some debris, and I believe this is from uh the recent storm that we just had, so they're still working on it.

And this uh the following pictures are from the backyard moving uh towards the east.

There's the least uh three vehicles that I observed here.

So from the high of nine vehicles, it's down to no, this is just three.

I was I wasn't able to get all nine of them in one picture.

So there's still nine.

No.

There's eight.

Eight.

Okay.

There's the one, two, three, I believe, and then this one has the current tags.

And then as I moved uh towards the east, there's another one, two, one in the back there covered by a fence, some kind of fencing material.

So that's another four there.

So I believe it's like seven, at least seven that I count it as of this morning.

Yeah.

Uh none of it in the front.

There's some debris, like I said, in the uh in the alley, uh, possibly for bulk pickup or from the storm.

I think based on the improvements made by the owner also this morning.

Uh she does, she has made some progress, but I still needed approve for all the debris, the landscape and the in upper barnister vehicles as of this morning.

Stated before I'm seeking 180 a day open abatement for any trash, any landscape debris and the in upgrade wall vehicles at 321 East Broadway Road.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um, I'm gonna go ahead and ask right now.

Anyone on the line wanting to talk on this agenda item?

Madam Hearing Officer, no one online, just the one homeowner in attendance.

Okay, thank you.

You can go ahead and take a seat.

Miss Felix, did you want to add anything or okay?

The debris you saw in the front yard.

There were bees in that when they were going to take it down on Saturday.

And we didn't want them to get stung with the bees, so we put some stuff in there to kill the bees, and they're coming back.

And once the bees are dead, they're going to take it up.

That's why that was in the front yard.

I think we're all in agreement.

That is not the issue that we're all concerned with because there was so much storm down at the end.

Uh I will get them registered, but the three cars that I can't get registered that my grandkids want to keep that MVD said that we have to go through something, and it takes about three months.

So I may not get those done until you know the three months.

Well, that's I'll work on it.

Yeah, I think you will work on it.

I have faith that you will continue.

It's you know, it's in your efforts.

But also, you know, I know that I have to let go.

Yeah, and uh you know, I'll still have the memories, even though I don't have the cars there, just these are right.

And once again, you have a good relationship with code inspector and why is the phone call was from one of the guys that's coming to pick up the oh thank you.

Right when I my phone rang.

So it sounds like you, you know, you're progressing the way you need to be, and you're communicating, which is very important.

Um, and I truly believe Mr.

Schofield and Mr.

Reyes are going to help you along in that process.

Okay, but um as I did with the previous case for the previous address, I'm just I'm going to go ahead and approve this 180-day open abatement so that the inspect that long.

I don't think it will.

I think you'll get it done probably within the next couple of weeks.

I'm hopeful.

Thank you.

Okay, thank you.

So we've had our call to the public.

We've heard from our homeowner and our inspector.

Um, so I'm gonna, as I mentioned just a few minutes ago, I'm gonna go ahead and approve the 180-day open abatement for the property located at 321 East Broadway Road.

Did you have something else you wanted to add?

I just wanted to say thank you.

Oh, okay.

Good evening.

You're welcome.

Contained in case CE251749.

So good luck to you, Ms.

Felix.

Thank you for being here this afternoon.

That concludes our agenda.

Do we have any announcements from staff?

Madam Hearing Officer, our next hearing officer is scheduled for Tuesday, November 4th, here in the council chambers and live on temp 11.

Great, thank you.

Uh, we're adjourned.