Tempe Code Compliance Hearing Officer Meeting - April 21, 2026
Tempe Code Compliance Hearing Officer Meeting - April 21, 2026
This hearing officer meeting, convened virtually on April 21, 2026, addressed six code violation abatement requests for properties in Tempe, Arizona. The hearing officer approved a 180-day open abatement for each property, authorizing the city to remediate nuisances including deteriorated landscapes, inoperable vehicles, junk, trash, debris, and green pools. One agenda item was withdrawn due to compliance. The hearing officer also approved the minutes from the March 17, 2026 hearing. Note: The transcript references the hearing date as April 24, 2026, but the official meeting date provided is April 21, 2026; this discrepancy is noted.
Consent Calendar
- The hearing officer approved the minutes from the March 17, 2026 hearing, stating they accurately reflected the proceedings.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public spoke or were present at the hearing. Only city staff attended.
Discussion Items
Item 1: 1208 West Malibu Drive – Brown Property
- Code Inspector Supervisor John Salazar presented the case, initiated December 11, 2025, by a public complaint for overhigh grass/weeds, an inoperable vehicle, and a deteriorated fence. The property owner, Kinton Brown, was reported to have passed away, and no family members were located. Multiple notices and a pink flyer went unanswered. The hearing officer approved a 180-day open abatement, noting the property’s uncertain ownership.
Item 2: 438 West Hermosa Drive – Moore Trust Property
- Inspector John Salazar described a case initiated October 28, 2025, for a deteriorated roof, broken window, carport ceiling, and landscape including a dead tree. No communication from the property owner. The hearing officer approved a 180-day open abatement, citing the photographs as self-evident.
Item 3: 1307 East Broadmoor Drive – Wynn Property
- Inspector Michael Zapolo presented a case from November 24, 2025, for a deteriorated landscape and green pool. The owner, Danny Newian, failed to appear for a citation. Minimal progress (grass cut but roots and debris remained) was insufficient. The hearing officer approved a 180-day open abatement, noting the owner did the bare minimum.
Item 4: 619 West 12th Street – New Capitulous LLC Property
- Inspector Kevin Kowalski summarized a case from December 2, 2025, for overgrown grass/weeds, later adding deteriorated roof, junk/trash/debris, and large tree stumps from an October 2025 storm. The owner, Tim Wright, failed to respond. The hearing officer approved a 180-day open abatement, remarking that the city might be doing the owner a favor by removing the stumps.
Item 5: 1702 East Drake Drive – Smith Property
- Inspector Melissa Ensing presented a case initiated October 20, 2025, for deteriorated landscape, trash/debris, and a deteriorated pool. The property appeared vacant. The owner failed to appear in court. The hearing officer approved a 180-day open abatement, noting the property has been unresponsive for six months.
Item 6: 1313 East Wesleyan Drive – Three Country Amigos LLC Property
- Inspector Michael Zapolo described a case from November 6, 2025, for a deteriorated landscape, junk/trash/debris (abated), and a green pool. A coyote was observed living on the property. The owner failed to respond. The hearing officer approved a 180-day open abatement, citing minimal progress.
Key Outcomes
- Approved 180-day open abatements for the following properties (allows the city to abate nuisances and bill the owner):
- 1208 West Malibu Drive (CE257574)
- 438 West Hermosa Drive (CE256732)
- 1307 East Broadmoor Drive (CE2573)
- 619 West 12th Street (KCE257503)
- 1702 East Drake Drive (CE256520)
- 1313 East Wesleyan Drive (CE256996)
- Item 4 withdrawn (property brought into compliance prior to hearing).
- Next hearing scheduled for Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in council chambers and on Tempe 11.
Meeting Transcript
Yes, I can. There we go. All right, we're in we're in business now, Vanessa. Yeah. Perfect. Um are you ready for me to call the meeting to order? Yes, go ahead, Vanessa. Just to remind you, uh item number four um has been withdrawn and the case is in compliance. Correct. Thank you for saying that. I'm gonna go ahead and read something into the record uh quickly, and then we can go ahead and jump into our agenda. Thank you to staff for setting up this virtual hearing for me today. Um 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 of the code. Um agenda item number four has been brought into code compliance, so that leaves six remaining property abatements. After which they may also be appealed to superior court. Um, I had a chance to look at the minutes at that meeting, and they were sent to me right after that hearing. So, and I believe that they accurately reflect what took place at that hearing. So I'm going to go ahead and approve the minutes for March 17th, 2026. Agenda item number two is a request for approval to abate public nuisance items at the Brown property. This property is located at 1208 West Malibu Drive. The applicant is the City of 10 P code compliance represented this afternoon by Code Inspector John Salazar. Thank you, Madam Harry Master. My name is John Salzer, and I'm code inspector supervisor with the City of Tempe Community Enhancement Division. I am here this evening to request a hundred and eighty-day open abatement for the property located at 1208 West Malibu Drive in the beautiful city of Tempe, Arizona, 85282. Uh, just FY, Madam Hearing Officer, this property has been previously abated multiple times. This current case was initiated by a public complaint on December 11th, 25 for overhigh grass and weeds and an inoperable vehicle. On December 11th, the property was inspected and found to be in violation of overhigh grass and weeds in the front and rear, an unoperable vehicle in the front driveway and rear yard, and a deteriorated fence in the rear yard. The first notice was mailed to the residents. On December 29th, the property was reinspected, and all the violations were still present. A final notice was sent to the property. We were advised by a Tempe Care 7 team member that the owner of the property, Kinton Brown, may have passed away several weeks ago. There was no other information or family members located on the utility bill. On January 14th of 26, the property was reinspected and all of it, and all the violations still exist. I received the final correction notice back as return mail labeled vacant and deceased. I left a pink flour. I'm sorry, yes, ma'am. I left a pink flyer with my contact information at the property in hopes of a family or friend would see it and reach out and make contact. On January 20th, 26th, we received an anonymous complaint via 311 for overheight grass and weeds at the property. On January 21st, 26 and January 23rd, the property was reinspected and still in violation. No contact was ever received from the pink flyer left at the residence. On March 20th, 26th, a notice of intent to abate was mailed and posted to the property for today's hearing for 2126. I would now like to excuse me. I would now like to present photos taken today of the existing violations. Thank you. As you can see in this first photo, this is a picture of the front of the house.
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