Have overgrown weeds? Parking your car in the front yard? Glendale wants to fine you

Glendale wants to stiffen punishments for those who repeatedly create blight in their neighborhoods and break other city rules.

Those continually cited for violations such as parking on front yards or not removing overgrown weeds could face harsher penalties if Glendale leaders approve new regulations governing repeat offenders in the coming weeks.

A resident who fails to resolve a matter after two warnings is eventually hit with a civil citation for violating a city code. That carries a fine ranging from $20 to $300.

A person cited twice in a year is considered a repeat offender.

If the violation persists without the person fixing the issue, the city can go straight to issuing a third citation or it could file a criminal complaint.

Criminal charges carry a Class 1 misdemeanor, a fine of up to $2,500 and up to six months in jail. A Class 1 misdemeanor is the most serious crime without being a felony.

Under a proposed ordinance that Glendale leaders discussed Tuesday afternoon, repeat offenders slapped with the third civil citation would see increased fines, ranging from $100 to $1,000.

“There are people who are trying to game the system and outmaneuver the system, and those are the people we want to try to do something (about), penalize them more, and there'll be more consequences to bring them into compliance,” Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff said.

What's in store? With Coyotes gone, $40M makeover of Glendale's Desert Diamond Arena starts soon

How does Glendale handle city code violations?

In Glendale, code compliance officers are often tipped off to suspected code violations from residents. The officers could also launch investigations when they see a violation while driving around town.

The city inspectors give a person found violating a city rule three opportunities within a roughly 30-day timeframe to fix the issue.

The inspector will first issue two notices of violation.

Upon the third inspection, the city will cite the person if the violation hasn’t been corrected.

Glendale designates someone as a repeat offender when that person has been twice cited or ordered to comply with city code for the same offense and at the same property within 12 months.

After the second citation, that person is notified of the designation, which will stay in effect for a full year.

If the repeat offender is again found violating the same rule within the year, the city automatically cites them, or it can seek criminal charges through the city prosecutor.

In 2023, about 40 Glendale residents were given repeat offender status. The two most common violations were high vegetation and parking on front yards, according to the city.

More than 11,350 cases were resolved last year, the city said.

About 98% of the cases Glendale handles get resolved with residents voluntarily fixing the issues, Code Compliance administrator Tim Boling told councilmembers during their workshop meeting Tuesday afternoon.

Last year, Boling said, the city issued 25 criminal citations and 160 civil citations.

“It’s a small percentage of cases that we deal with that get to this,” he said.

While Glendale has its administrative policy for repeat offenders, nothing in city code outlines punishment for such individuals. That was also the case for most cities he reviewed when drafting the local ordinance.

Tolmachoff asked Boling whether the proposal would help the city curb citations and deter repeat offenses.

“This is trailblazing,” Boling responded. “Like I said, there's no other ordinance that we could find in the country that establishes minimum fines for property maintenance types of issues. It could help, it's hard to say.”

More Glendale news: Glendale mayoral candidate Jamie Aldama drops out after signatures disqualified

Punishing repeat offenders

An initial draft of the ordinance presented to the council Tuesday set the minimum civil fine for a repeat offender at $400 and the maximum at $1,000.

During the council’s discussion, Mayor Jerry Weiers was concerned that the $400 would be too harsh for certain residents experiencing hardships that posed difficulties in taking corrective actions.

“I've had numerous times where I've gotten calls to my office for somebody who’s been ill and sick, lost a family member, handicapped, you name it, with lots and lots of different issues, where I've been able to get churches and different groups to go out and literally bring their place back up to meet code,” Weiers said.

Setting the minimum penalty at $400, he said, doesn’t give a judge enough latitude when in recognizing a person’s financial and physical circumstances.

“I just think that somebody's gonna get bit one of these days that can't afford it,” Weiers said. “And it's only going to exacerbate the problem.”

Deputy City Manager Rick St. John stressed that the city works with residents as best it can in getting their properties up to code.

“The last resort is always to issue the citation,” St. John said.

Echoing the comment, Boling added that the city weighs its efforts in helping the residents while also recognizing the neighbors's concerns, as they were likely the ones who brought the complaint.

“We also try to balance what the conditions are, how they are affecting the neighborhood, and you know, the complainant,” he said. “If you live next door to that situation, how tolerant, how patient would you be, you know? We try to balance that.”

The $400 minimum, according to Boling, was an arbitrary number, as the council could determine a more appropriate figure.

“It's really up to the city council and where you want to establish that,” Boling said. “We're open to any dollar amount that you see fit.”

The councilmembers agreed to set the minimum at $100, leaving the maximum at $1,000.

St. John and Boling will come back to the council with a revised draft of the ordinance to consider.

Shawn Raymundo covers the West Valley cities of Glendale, Peoria and Surprise. Reach him at sraymundo@gannett.com or follow him on X @ShawnzyTsunami.

Take a peek: New Desert Diamond Casino near Glendale is on track to open this year

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Glendale to slap repeat code violators with stiffer fines, prosecution