Tempe Code Compliance Hearing - January 6, 2026
Tempe Code Compliance Hearing - January 6, 2026
The City of Tempe Hearing Officer, Vanessa McDonald, presided over a hearing on January 6, 2026, to review public nuisance abatement requests brought forward by the Code Compliance Division. The meeting covered two specific properties where violations included junk, trash, debris, and inoperable items. Both cases involved a history of non-compliance by the respective property owners despite multiple inspections, notices, and extensions granted by the city. The Hearing Officer emphasized the importance of code enforcement for neighborhood safety and property values while explaining the abatement process, including potential costs and liens.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of the minutes from the November 18, 2025, hearing was implicitly confirmed as the Hearing Officer reviewed them and found them to accurately reflect the previous proceedings.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Mr. Keith Kelly (Property Owner, 321 East Beatrice Street): Mr. Kelly expressed gratitude toward the Code Compliance team, stating, "The code compliance people have done a great job working with me on this issue." He acknowledged that the violation of trash and debris was caused by squatters he had allowed to move into his backyard. He explained that the situation was exacerbated by his recent 70th birthday, noting, "I'm not quite as fast or as strong as I used to be." He expressed a strong desire to get into compliance, stating, "I want to get in compliance as quickly as possible" and pledged to use the two-week grace period to remove as much debris as possible to reduce the abatement cost.
Discussion Items
- Request for Abatement at 501 East Pegasus Drive (Jasinski Property): Code Inspector John Fido presented evidence of junk, trash, debris, and a deteriorated green pool. He detailed a timeline starting in May 2025 involving multiple inspections and extensions, noting that the owner, Jeffrey Jasinski, failed to appear for a court date and made only "minimal progress." The Hearing Officer noted the lack of communication and responsiveness. Inspector Fido described the current condition as strewn with carpet, garbage bags, wood, and plastic throughout the front, sides, and rear of the property.
- Request for Abatement at 321 East Beatrice Street (Kelly Property): Code Inspector Michael Moreno presented evidence of trash, debris, and makeshift shelters built by squatters in the rear yard. He described the accumulation of suitcases, scrap metal, and household items scattered throughout the rear yard and alleyways. Inspector Moreno confirmed that while the owner had rented a dumpster, a significant amount of debris remained. The Hearing Officer noted that the squatters issue was resolved, leaving only the debris to be addressed.
Key Outcomes
- Approval of Abatement for 501 East Pegasus Drive: The Hearing Officer approved a 180-day open abatement for case CE252852. This decision was based on the owner's lack of communication, failure to appear in court, and insufficient remediation of violations after eight months.
- Approval of Abatement for 321 East Beatrice Street: The Hearing Officer approved a 180-day open abatement for case KCE253490. The Hearing Officer explained that the abatement allows the city to hire a contractor to clean the property if compliance is not achieved within two weeks, with costs placed as a lien on the property upon sale if unpaid.
- Next Meeting: The next hearing is scheduled for January 20, 2026, at 5:00 PM, to be held live in the Tempe City Council Chambers and on Tempe 11.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. Today is Tuesday, January sixth, twenty twenty six. Um, happy new year to everyone uh here this afternoon. This is the first hearing of the month for the City of Tempe Hearing Officer. My name's Vanessa McDonald, and I'm gonna be conducting the hearing this afternoon. We have a brief agenda this afternoon, but I'm gonna go ahead and read something into the record before we hear our cases. 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. 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 the property into code compliance. As I mentioned previously, we have a set of minutes from November eighteenth, twenty twenty-five. Um I had a chance to review the minutes when uh I they were sent to me, and I believe that they accurately reflect what took place at that hearing. Agenda item number two is a request for approval to abate public nuisance items at the Jasinski property. This property is located at 501 East Pegasus Drive here in the city of Tempe. The applicant is the city of Tempe, represented this afternoon by Code Compliance Inspector John. Come on up. Thank you, Madam Hearing Officer. Okay. My name is John Fido. I'm a code inspector with the City of Tempe Code Compliance Division. I'm here this evening to request a hundred and eighty day, eighty-day open abatement for the property located at 501 East Pegasus Drive in Tempe. The case was initiated via public complaint May 9th, 2025 for a violation of junk trash and debris throughout the property and a green pool. On May 12, 2025, the property was inspected, and the previously mentioned violations were confirmed. First notice was mailed to the homeowner, Jeffrey Jasinski at 501 East Pegasus Drive. On May 29th, 2029, 2025, a follow-up inspection was conducted, and the violations were still present with no improvement. A final notice was well mailed to the homeowner. Between the dates of 616 and 623, 2025, the code enforcement unit attempted contact, attempted to contact Jasinski via phone and the listed residents. An occupant at the residence who identified herself as Melissa said Jasinski was out of town and provided a number for him. Jasinski was subsequently contacted by number and said he was addressing the violations. During this conversation, he was given an extension of until June 30th to address the violations. On June 30th, 2025, I conducted a follow-up inspection at the location and noticed minimal improvements. I contacted Jacinski in the front yard of the residence and had a conversation with him about coming into compliance with the violations. I advised him I'd be back in seven days. Between July 7th and August 8th, 2025, I conducted four separate inspections that revealed minimal progress and no contact with Jasinski. A male occupant at the home said he was unable to wake him, wake him up to answer the door. I let the occupant know Jasinski would be cited if he did not address the active violations. On September 7th, 2025, a second public complaint was received in reference to the junk trash and debris located in the yard. After several extensions to bring the property into compliance, Jasinski was issued a citation on September 10th, 2025 for junk trash and debris in a green pool violation. On September 24th, Jasinski failed to appear for the court court date. On December 4th, 2025, the notice of intent to abate was mailed to the property and posted to the front door of the property, advising the abatement hearing was scheduled for January 6, 2026 at 5 p.m. On today's date, I I conducted an inspection of the property, verifying the existing violations. I observed junk trash and debris located in the front and rear yard of the home. Thank you. The latest photos I have in the packet are um December 4th. So they were a month ago. So it's always nice to be able to compare what's taken place, if anything, over the past month. So if you're looking at the west side of the home. Right here. Talk to the mic joint. What's it?
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