The first public hearing for Tempe’s proposed amendments to its nuisance ordinance will take place during Tempe City Council’s April 10 meeting.
If approved by council, the updated nuisance ordinance would increase police service or special security assignment fines for nuisance parties and unlawful gatherings, as a way to support public health, safety and wellbeing.
Proposed fee changes are:
An increase from $250 to $500 for the first response;
An increase from $1,000 to $1,500 for the second response;
An increase from up to $1,000 to up to $4,000 for the third and any subsequent response.
Parrish Spisz, council assistant, wrote in a city staff report that the initiative to update Tempe’s nuisance ordinance came from the former Human Services and Community Safety Committee and the City Task Force on Unlawful Sober Living Homes.
In developing the proposed amendments, staff from the Community Health and Human Services department collaborated with the Tempe Police Department, Tempe Fire Medical Rescue and from the Code Enforcement department.
Residents were also engaged during the process to address concerns with properties that generate a high volume of service calls to safety agencies and have frequent code violations.
“Based on these discussions, the task force recommended updating the nuisance ordinance to address community impact properties that contribute to excessive service calls and strain public safety resources,” Spisz stated.
It was ultimately determined that including provisions from the loud party and unlawful gathering ordinance would help to strengthen Tempe’s ability to manage properties prone to nuisance reports and limit the impact on neighborhoods.
Spisz also wrote in the report that the subcommittee has completed its work in developing the fee increase amendments to the city code to help “enhance neighborhood safety and quality of life.”
Tempe City Council granted consensus to the subcommittee at its April 3 work study to move forward with the adoption of the revisions to Tempe’s nuisance ordinance.
Vice Mayor Doreen Garlid, who was one of the council members on the committee, said at the meeting that the community has been in support of these proposed amendments given the amount of community feedback that they’ve received about nuisance parties.
“With this ordinance and the way that we have written some of these amendments, we have the tools now for the city to hold our tenants and our property owners responsible for the community impact on those properties that disrupt our neighborhoods and our quality of life,” Garlid said.
The first public hearing on these amendments will take place at council’s April 10 meeting at 6 p.m. at Tempe City Hall, 31 E. Fifth St. The second, final hearing and council vote is scheduled for May 1.
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Meet Caroline Caroline Yu joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2020 as a summer intern covering Scottsdale. As an intern, she continued her coverage of Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Tempe. After graduating in 2022, Caroline became a full-time reporter for Scottsdale and Paradise Valley. She is currently reporting for the Tempe market.
Community: She is a supporter of the environment and tries to get involved with related community events.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications, with a minor in French.
Random Fact: She used to be a ballet dancer for 10 years.
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