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An influx of new staff means Tempe
businesses will have a much harder time
skirting city ordinances.
Tempe recently beefed up its commercial
code-compliance team, turning the
previous one-man band into a five-person
team.
In the past two months, the city has all
but eliminated a longtime backlog of
code violation complaints, said Jeff
Tamulevich, the city’s commercial
code-compliance supervisor.
Previously, the backlog made it nearly
impossible for the lone code inspector
to make proactive assessments,
Tamulevich said.
“We were receiving a lot of complaints
that couldn’t be responded to,” he said.
Now, officials make proactive
inspections “on a daily basis,”
Tamulevich added.
The newly enhanced inspection compliance
team is also boosting its education and
outreach efforts through a partnership
with Tempe’s Chamber of Commerce.
Through the partnership, Tamulevich
said, the chamber has a “point person”
who can help member businesses
“understand what our codes are, what our
enforcement officers are going to be
doing in the field.”
Many commercial code violations in Tempe
come from paint and landscape changes
without proper city permits, Tamulevich
said. Permits are required for most
exterior building modifications, and can
be obtained from the city’s Deve
Advertising signs blocking city-owned
sidewalks are also common code
violations, Tamulevich added.
The extra hands also allow city
officials the time to make violation and
citation notices friendlier and more
helpful, Tamulevich said.
When they witness a violation,
inspectors now go out and speak with the
owner or manager to explain the city
code requirements.
“We’re sort of taking a different stance
than we ever have before with commercial
code compliance,” Tamulevich said.
“We’re actually going in and explaining
why we’re there instead of simply
sending a violation notice in the mail.
The business owners in Tempe seem to
really like the approach we’re taking at
this point.”
The commercial code compliance team
inspects properties zoned for
commercial, industrial and multi-family
residential use.
Tempe also recently hired 10 part-time
inspectors for single-family
neighborhoods after a recommendation
from the city’s ad hoc Rental Housing
Task Force.
“(Businesses) understand the ordinance
now,” Tamulevich said. “They’ve got a
better grasp of what the ordinance is
all about.” |
