County Supervisor listens to concerns in New River

MARC BUCKHOUT ~ MANAGING EDITOR ~7/13/2011

More than 40 New River and Desert Hills residents showed up at Daisy Mountain Fire Station #141 on July 6 to be heard by Maricopa County Supervisor Chairman Andy Kunasek, who represents District 3.
The standing-room only crowd turned out for a noon meeting to express their concerns and frustrations they’ve experienced in attempting to acquire building permits from Maricopa County and also what they deem a heavy handed approach from the County when it comes to dolling out code violations.
Multiple members of the audience intimated that in today’s financially challenged times the efforts were simply a cash grab by the County, with one woman saying she’d been given confirmation of that suspicion from a county employee, who served her with a violation, alleging the man told her that since nobody is building these days the County is stepping up its efforts to find violations to bring in funds.
Trig Johnston of New River said he has heard from a number of his neighbors about their drawn-out efforts in attempting to acquire permits.
“It took me seven months to get a permit to build a garage on my property,” he said. “It’s a flat piece of land with no flood concerns. I thought it was ridiculous, but in comparison to some of the issues these people have had I guess I should feel lucky.”
Paul Fussell, a New River resident, explained to Kunasek, the intent of the community reaching out to set up the meeting was to find a way to make dealing with County employees easier. He stated if not for the time of the meeting, in the middle of the day, there easily could have been double the numbers in attendance, all of whom have had their issues with the county.
“The horror stories don’t stop,” he said.
Fussell, a general contractor, said among his biggest issues is the lack of communication coming from county employees not only to applicants, but also with one and other. He added the limited feedback members of the public receive is often of an adversarial nature rather than the least bit helpful.
“I’ve never encountered problems like I’m encountering these days,” he said. “The violations are so ambiguous. You can’t find the codes when you try and look them up. You can’t get people to come out to talk to you and explain what the problems are. I don’t even think the County knows its own laws. The system is really set up for you to fail.”
Jan Vance said the issues make residents reticent to even attempt to build.
“Do you know how many horses out here go without shade because people don’t want to go through the hassle of getting a permit from the County?” Jan Vance asked.
Logan Johnston, of New River, asked about what he perceives as a laborious process.
“How many levels of bureaucratic nonsense do we have to go through to get something done?” he said.
In attempting to calm the crowd, Kunasek explained that while it would be difficult to address everyone’s case on the spot, he wants to work to help his constituents.
“I do hear what you’re all saying,” he said. “I want to assure you we’re not trying to shut down development. We need to address the codes. We should eliminate or reduce some things.”
Kunasek went on to ask for contact information for everyone in attendance, saying that they were welcome to provide input. He did caution that perhaps their view of the County’s regulatory influence wasn’t entirely consistent with the rest of the County areas around the state.
Joy Rich, the County’s Planning and Development Director, echoed that sentiment.
“It sounds like you’d all like to see less regulations, but we have others from around the state that don’t think we do enough in terms of enforcement,” she said.
Kunasek informed those attending the meeting that in the last four year the number of code violations has remained relatively static at approximately 2,030 annually and that for the previous four years the numbers were consistently in the neighborhood of 2,400 violations.
He also pointed out that a vast majority of the violations are reported by neighbors rather than from county inspectors.
That issue also sparked the ire of many attendees, who claimed a system in which anonymous complaints can be issued is terribly flawed, as more than one suggested meritless complaints brought on by vindictive neighbors shouldn’t lead to an extensive headache with the County, costing the accused both time and money.
Annette Gordon, who has worked in the pool building industry for the last 28 years, said that the community isn’t looking to have a complete building free-for-all in the area.
“We came out here because we want some elbow room from other people and government, but we don’t want people building crazy structures on their property that take away our enjoyment of the area’s natural beauty,” she said. “I’m pretty sure we’ll all happily comply with reasonable expectations.”
The county has brought in some new faces, hiring a new Drainage Engineering Supervisor in Michael Norris.
“What’s become more apparent is that the expectations in the current drainage code are unreachable,” Kunasek said.
Along with Norris, the County also has created a new position, filled by Valerie Beckett, who will be tasked with helping members of the public work their way through the process, whether it is submitting an application for a permit or in dealing with compliance issues regarding a violation.
The expectation is Beckett will be able to expedite the process for residents.
On Thursday morning, less than 24 hours following the meeting, Kunasek sent attendees an email in which he detailed a plan of action.
The email reads: “I have asked staff to prepare a list of specific action items for my review. These items will include changes both to internal processes and regulations adopted by the Board of Supervisors. Once this list has been prepared and reviewed, I will be seeking your input to ensure that we are on the right track. We will also lay out a specific schedule of when you can expect these improvements to take place. In addition, I have asked staff to organize a meeting with the four engineering professionals who attended the meeting yesterday to seek their specific advice and technical expertise, particularly related to potential code changes.”
The email concludes by offering contact information for the county employees who attended the meeting:

Joy Rich, Planning and Development Director,
joyrich@mail.maricopa.gov or 602- 506-6025

Darren Gerard, Deputy Planning and Development Director, darrengerard@mail.maricopa.gov or 602-506-7139

Michael Norris, Drainage Engineering Supervisor,
michaelnorris@mail.maricopa.gov or 602-372-4114

Valerie Beckett, Ombudsman
valeriebeckett@mail.maricopa.gov or 602-506-3702.

To contact Andy Kunasek email AKunasek@mail.maricopa.gov.