Spring / Summer 2016 W ith the thermometer continuing to climb, Phoenix’s Neighborhood Services Department (NSD) wants to remind landlords that they must supply reasonable cooling to rental housing units as stated in the city’s Neighborhood Preservation ordinance. Phoenix City Code, Chapter 39 was amended in the Spring of 2015 to include minimum temperature requirements for heating, cooling and ventilation systems in rental housing units. In summary, the ordinance states every rental housing unit shall have cooling capable of safely cooling all habitable rooms to a temperature of no greater than 86 degrees Fahrenheit if cooled by evaporative cooling; and no greater than 82 degrees Fahrenheit if cooled by air conditioning. The city’s ordinance also states that heating, cooling and ventilation systems in any building are to be maintained hazard-free, operational and in a state of good repair. “This means residential rental landlords need to monitor their HVAC systems in their properties for adequate equipment performance and safe electrical connections,” explains Bob Lozier, N SD recently celebrated National Community Development Week in recognition of the importance of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME programs to our communities. Each year, NSD administers approximately $15 million in CDBG funds. For more than 40 years, Congress has funded the CBDG program that provides grants to states, cities and counties to create jobs, develop affordable housing, improve existing housing stock, deliver vital services and make infrastructure improvements. The city of Phoenix has used CDBG and HOME funds to revitalize neighborhoods, help businesses expand and create jobs, eliminate graffiti, build domestic violence shelters, support child care and enrichment programs and serve seniors and people with disabilities. Money also has been used to feed the homeless, improve infrastructure and park facilities, and for many other projects that Code Compliance Manager in the Neighborhood Preservation Division. “Too often we see window air conditioning units installed as substitutes for maintaining required, permanently installed cooling systems. The use of window air conditioning units in habitable rooms often create barriers to required fire exit from a dwelling in emergency situations,” Lozier explains. NSD is also home to the Phoenix Landlord Tenant program. This group can help tenants and landlords understand their rights and responsibilities. They show tenants the steps necessary to hold their landlords responsible. Landlord Tenant staff remind tenants to bring any problems with their housing unit’s cooling or heating systems to the landlord’s attention first. However, if the issue isn’t fixed in a timely manner, reporting the issue to the NSD Landlord Tenant office will allow the city to begin investigating and enforcing the code requirements if the ordinance has been violated. For more information call Phoenix’s Neighborhood Services Department at 602-534-4444. Landlords reminded of cooling ordinance standards as outside temperatures rise National Community Development Week Continued on page 2 The CDBG team is responsible for the administration of an annual allocation of more than $14 million in federal funds from HUD. The team works closely with each NSD division, other city departments and community partners as we strive to provide programs and services to low- and moderate-income residents of Phoenix.
Transcript
Spring / Summer 2016
With the thermometer continuing to climb,Phoenix’s Neighborhood Services
Department (NSD) wants to remind landlordsthat they must supply reasonable cooling torental housing units as stated in the city’sNeighborhood Preservation ordinance.
Phoenix City Code, Chapter 39 wasamended in the Spring of 2015 to includeminimum temperature requirements forheating, cooling and ventilation systems inrental housing units. In summary, the ordinancestates every rental housing unit shall havecooling capable of safely cooling all habitablerooms to a temperature of no greater than 86degrees Fahrenheit if cooled by evaporativecooling; and no greater than 82 degreesFahrenheit if cooled by air conditioning.
The city’s ordinance also states that heating,cooling and ventilation systems in any buildingare to be maintained hazard-free, operationaland in a state of good repair. “This meansresidential rental landlords need to monitortheir HVAC systems in their properties foradequate equipment performance and safeelectrical connections,” explains Bob Lozier,
NSD recently celebrated National CommunityDevelopment Week in recognition of the
importance of the Community DevelopmentBlock Grant (CDBG) and HOME programs toour communities.
Each year, NSD administers approximately$15 million in CDBG funds. For more than 40years, Congress has funded the CBDG programthat provides grants to states, cities andcounties to create jobs, develop affordablehousing, improve existing housing stock, delivervital services and make infrastructureimprovements.
The city of Phoenix has used CDBG andHOME funds to revitalize neighborhoods, helpbusinesses expand and create jobs, eliminategraffiti, build domestic violence shelters,support child care and enrichment programsand serve seniors and people with disabilities.Money also has been used to feed thehomeless, improve infrastructure and parkfacilities, and for many other projects that
Code Compliance Manager in the NeighborhoodPreservation Division.
“Too often we see window air conditioningunits installed as substitutes for maintainingrequired, permanently installed cooling systems.The use of window air conditioning units inhabitable rooms often create barriers to requiredfire exit from a dwelling in emergencysituations,” Lozier explains.
NSD is also home to the Phoenix LandlordTenant program. This group can help tenants andlandlords understand their rights andresponsibilities. They show tenants the stepsnecessary to hold their landlords responsible.Landlord Tenant staff remind tenants to bring anyproblems with their housing unit’s cooling orheating systems to the landlord’s attention first.However, if the issue isn’t fixed in a timelymanner, reporting the issue to the NSD LandlordTenant office will allow the city to begininvestigating and enforcing the coderequirements if the ordinance has been violated.For more information call Phoenix’sNeighborhood Services Department at 602-534-4444.
Landlords reminded of cooling ordinancestandards as outside temperatures rise
National Community Development Week
Continued on page 2
The CDBG team is responsible for theadministration of an annual allocation ofmore than $14 million in federal funds fromHUD. The team works closely with each NSDdivision, other city departments andcommunity partners as we strive to provideprograms and services to low- andmoderate-income residents of Phoenix.
City of Phoenix - Neighborhood Services DepartmentBelieving in Neighborhoods, Believing in People
Page 2
National Community Development Week –Continued from page 1
Spring cleaning thearea outside your home
Code Compliance 101
Time to spruce up your yard? Spring is notonly the time to start planting; it's also the
time for pruning - especially for removing deadvegetation, which can be a fire and healthhazard. Vegetation grows at a faster rate duringthe spring time after the “April showers.”
The city’s preservation ordinance requiresproperty owners to keep all exterior propertyareas free from dry, dead or over-heightvegetation. That includes tumbleweeds, treeswith dead branches or palm fronds, bushes,and weeds and grass higher than six inches.Properties, alleys and easements must also bekept free from litter, garbage or any othercondition that presents a health, fire or safetyhazard. Any neighborhood group or BlockWatch listed with NSD may receive paint, andborrow supplies and clean-up tools to improvetheir neighborhood. To borrow equipment, getpaint or reserve a paint sprayer, sign up for thenext training class or reserve tools for your nextneighborhood clean-up, call 602-534-4444 oremail [email protected].
Are you concerned about trash, highweeds, dead trees, graffiti, deteriorated
fences or open/vacant properties in yourneighborhood?
NSD is hosting free classes on how thecode compliance process works to addressviolations in your community. “CodeCompliance 101” workshops will be from 6to 7:30 p.m., at the following dates andlocations:• Pecos Community Center, 17010 South 48
Street, August 3, 2016• John F. Long Family Services Center, 3454
North 51st Avenue, October 5, 2016Residents can learn how to identify and
report common violations, and otherimportant ways to get involved in theprocess. Attendees will learn: • The step-by-step code compliance process
and timeline• How to use free mobile phone applications
to report blight• How to address code violations at vacant
properties• What happens if a case goes to court• How to use NSD’s Tool Lending Program for
a neighborhood cleanup• Maintenance tips and resources to prevent
code violations• Volunteer assistance: how to get it and
how to sign up to helpThe class is open to all Phoenix residents.
To register, call 602-534-4444 or visitphoenix.gov/nsd/neighborhoodcollege.
strengthen Phoenix neighborhoods and improvethe quality of life for our residents.
Here is how it works. Below are somebasic activities that may be eligible for CDBGProgram funding.
• Housing Rehabilitation.• Homeownership down payment and
closing cost assistance.• Providing or improving public services and
facilities including those concerned withemployment, crime prevention, child care,health, drug abuse, welfare, education,and recreational needs.
• Acquisition of real property which isdeteriorated, underdeveloped orinappropriately developed. Acquisition ofreal property appropriate to the purposesof the CDBG Program or needed for otherpublic purposes.
• Providing public facilities andimprovements such as: community andsenior centers, parks, centers for thedisabled, temporary housing for thehomeless, and other public facilities andimprovements for neighborhoodrevitalization.
• Removal of architectural barriers whichrestrict the accessibility to elderly and/ordisabled persons.
• Rehabilitating public residential facilitiesincluding group homes, halfway houses,and emergency shelters.
• Promoting economic development activitiesincluding acquisition of real property,acquisition, construction and improvementof public facilities or commercial andindustrial facilities.
• Assistance to microenterprises and smallbusinesses.
• Support of appropriate activities of non-profit organizations.
• New housing construction through eligiblesubrecipients.
City of Phoenix - Neighborhood Services DepartmentBelieving in Neighborhoods, Believing in People
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Spencer Self is NSD’s new AdministrativeServices Acting Deputy Director. Spencer comesfrom the Public Works Department where hehas been responsible for overseeing theirCustomer Support and Finance Section, a multi-disciplinary team of administrative,accounting/billing, and call center staff.Previous to that Spencer was a ManagementIntern where he worked in the City Manager’sOffice, Water Services, and AviationDepartments. Prior to that Spencer had workedin the Aviation, Public Works and the CityAuditor Departments.
Darcy Kober is NSD’s new NeighborhoodPreservation Acting Deputy Director. Darcy hasspent the last four years as a ManagementAssistant II for both the Housing and Planningand Development Departments in the Director’sOffice where she was responsible for overseeing
various high profile projects. Darcy began hercareer with the City of Phoenix as an AreaSupervisor here in NSD. Prior to that, she workedas a Special Projects Coordinator and anEnvironmental Health Specialist (health inspector)for the Maricopa County Environmental ServicesDepartment.
Aubrey Gonzalez joined NSD in 2010. In hernew role as Acting Deputy Director, Aubrey leadsthe Revitalization Division which managesprograms addressing housing rehabilitation,community development and neighborhoodeconomic development. Throughout her 10-yearcareer with the City of Phoenix, she has workedfor the Parks and Recreation, Planning andDevelopment and Aviation departments. She hasexperience in city planning, grants administration,community engagement and programmanagement. Aubrey is a native Phoenician.
Update your neighborhood notification information
Looking to stay connected about neighborhoodcleanups, free Neighborhood College
workshops, zoning notifications and othercommunity news? NSD is updating its listing ofneighborhood organizations. The NeighborhoodNotification listing is the official list ofneighborhood organizations throughout the city.It's a vital tool utilized by city departments tocommunicate with neighborhood organizationsabout city-sponsored events and workshops,grant opportunities, public meetings andinitiatives, as well as requests for public input onvarious projects that may impact their community.
NSD also uses this list to notify neighborhoodleaders and organizations about free classes, todistribute the quarterly NSD newsletters, and as atool to enhance communication between yourneighborhood and the city. Besides being informedabout city issues, organizations listed with the cityare eligible to borrow cleanup tools for freethrough the department's tool lending program.
Existing organizations may update informationby emailing new contact information [email protected] or by calling 602-534-4444.To list a neighborhood organization, download thedirectory form online at phoenix.gov/nsdsite/Documents/nnodirectorypacket.pdf and return thecompleted form via email to [email protected] send it by U.S. mail to Phoenix City Hall,Neighborhood Services Department, Attention:Neighborhood Notification, 200 W. WashingtonSt., 4th Floor, Phoenix, AZ 85003. Forms can bemailed upon request.
New Deputy Directors
Spencer Self Darcy Kober Aubrey Gonzales
NSD is on Twitter – follow us@PHXNeighborhood
You also can receive NSD news and updates through Facebook: “Like” the City of
Phoenix at Facebook.com/cityofphoenix.
City of Phoenix - Neighborhood Services DepartmentBelieving in Neighborhoods, Believing in People
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Neighborhood Volunteer Opportunities Abound
With the New Year well underway,Neighborhood Services Department (NSD)
wants to remind and help residents learn how tomake neighborhoods cleaner, safer and strongerand the resources available to help accomplishthese goals.
Leading the charge is Lee Staten, NSD’s newVolunteer Coordinator within the NeighborhoodEngagement Division. Lee has worked for thecity of Phoenix for 10 years and has served as aPreservation Inspector in the NeighborhoodPreservation Division for the past three years. Leewill oversee and coordinate several of the NSDprograms available to help neighborhoods andresidents like the Blight Buster Volunteer Programalong with other educational outreach andpartnership development opportunities.
Check the NSD webpage for upcoming BlightBuster meetings open to residents 18 years orolder interested in becoming Blight Bustervolunteers. This session covers the rewardingwork volunteers can do and the trainingprovided. Blight Buster volunteers remove illegalsigns in the public right-of way, assess sites forcommunity cleanup projects, use airless paintsprayers to remove graffiti, and more. BlightBuster graduates receive a city identification card,uniform, and resources to help carry out theirvolunteer assignments. For more information, visitmyvolunteerphoenix.org/opportunities/1367, call602-534-4444 or email
physically or financially able to complete propertyrepairs needed to comply with city code, NSDcreated the Code Compliance VolunteerAssistance Program. For homeowners wholiterally need some helping hands, NSD works tomatch them with volunteer groups to assist withproperty repairs or maintenance necessary tocorrect code violations. If you know of a groupof people who would enjoy volunteering time toclean up yards, remove trees, paint and repairfences and remove litter and trash to help elderly,disabled or financially strapped residents bringtheir properties into code compliance, let usknow. We will try to match your volunteer groupwith a Phoenix resident who needs you! Formore information, visit phoenix.gov/nsd/programs/volunteer or call 602-534-4444.
The Neighborhood Services and Public Worksdepartments collaborate with private-sectorpartners to provide resources to neighborhoodgroups and other community organizations whowant to sponsor Neighborhood Cleanups. Theseevents help eliminate neighborhood blight andincrease volunteerism in Phoenix communities –and get results. This past year, these volunteerssaved the city $268,978. To become part of thiseffort or learn more, visit phoenix.gov/nsd/programs/volunteer or call 602-534-4444.
Lee Stanten
City of Phoenix - Neighborhood Services DepartmentBelieving in Neighborhoods, Believing in People
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National Healthy Homes Month
C A L E N D A RTo RSVP, view class descriptions or for moreinformation on the Neighborhood College
workshops offered below, call 602-534-4444 ext. 4 or visit
phoenix.gov/nsd/neighborhoodcollege.June marks the first
annual National HealthyHomes Month, anoutreach campaigndesigned to createawareness about andaction around homehealth and safety hazards and to empowerfamilies to learn how to create the healthiesthome possible for their family. The U.S.Department of Housing and UrbanDevelopment’s (HUD’s) and Phoenix’sNeighborhood Services Lead Hazard Control andHealthy Homes Division has eight basic steps thatcan help keep homes healthy.
1. Keep your home Dry: Mold and Moistureincrease allergens and asthma triggers and cancause deterioration of your home.
2. Keep your home Clean: Clean homes helpreduce pest infestations and exposure tocontaminants.
3. Keep your home Pest-Free: Many pesttreatments that pose risks for families withhealth problems or expose young children andpets to poisonous residue. Non-pesticidetreatments are best for a first line of defense.
4. Keep your home Safe: A majority of injuriesamong children occur in the home. Falls arethe most frequent cause of residential injuriesto children, followed by injuries from objects inthe home, burns, and poisonings.
5. Keep your home Contaminant-Free: Chemicalexposures include lead, radon, pesticides, andenvironmental tobacco smoke. Exposures toradon gas, carbon monoxide, and second-handtobacco smoke are far higher indoors thanoutside.
6. Keep your home Ventilated: Studies show thatincreasing the fresh air supply in a homeimproves respiratory health. Air filters in HVACunits collect and protect families from manyparticulates found in the air.
7. Keep your home Maintained: Poorly-maintained homes increase the risk fordeteriorated lead-based paint in older housingwhich is the primary cause of lead poisoning inchildren less than 6 years of age.
8. Keep your home Temperature Controlled:Houses that do not maintain adequatetemperatures may place the safety of residentsat increased risk from exposure to extremecold or heat.
JULY8 - 13 Community Emergency
Response Team (CERT) Training July 8 from 6 to 10 p.m.; July 9 and 10 from8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Phoenix Fire Admin. Building, 150 S. 12th St.
11- 13 Community EmergencyResponse Team (CERT) Training July 11 and 12 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. andJuly 13 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, 3300 East SkyHarbor Blvd.
21 Landlord/Tenant Workshop 5 to 8 p.m.St. Mary's Food Bank, 3030 W. Thomas Road
AUGUST3 Code Compliance 101 Class
6 to 7:30 p.m. Pecos Community Center, 17010 S. 48th St.
11 Talking Trash Tour and Class 9 to 11 a.m.North Gateway Transfer Station, 30205 N.Black Canyon Hwy.
25 Neighborhood Block Watch GrantApplication Training 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.Burton Barr Library, 1221 N Central Ave., 4th Floor Lecture Room
SEPTEMBER9 - 11 Community Emergency
Response Team (CERT) Training Sept. 9 from 6 to 10 p.m.; Sept. 10 and 11 from8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Phoenix Fire Admin Building, 150 S. 12th St.
10 Paint Sprayer Training 8:00 to 10:00 a.m.Neighborhood Services Department WestFacility at 3325 W. Flower St.
14 3R's of Volunteering Management 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.Heritage Neighborhood Resource Center, 2405E. Broadway
NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES DEPARTMENT200 W. Washington St., fourth floor
To receive this information in alternative print/audio formats, contact the Neighborhood Services Department, 200 W. Washington St., fourth floor, Phoenix AZ 85003.
Voice number 602-534-4444 | TTY 602-495-0685
Contact NSD Phoenix City CouncilNeighborhood Services Department . . 602-534-4444
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