Can you appeal a Chandler building official decision?

Section 29-1.4 sets up a board of appeals for four purposes. Two matter for plumbing. A person may "appeal interpretations of Chapter 28 and this Chapter 29 made by the fire code official or building official," or "seek a determination of the suitability of alternate materials and methods of construction." The other two are slum property designations and abatement orders under Chapter 26. The section says its procedures "shall supersede any previous rules and procedures."

The filing rule is the one to remember. "A written notice of appeal must be filed with the City Clerk within thirty (30) days after the property owner, or the authorized representative of such property owner, receives notice of such decision." The 30 days run from receipt of notice, not from the date of the decision.

The parts, in everyday words:

• Who sits on it. Five members "qualified by experience and training to pass upon matters pertaining to building construction and who are not employees of the City." The building official, or an authorized representative, is the board's secretary.
• When it meets. "The board shall meet monthly, unless otherwise rescheduled by a majority vote of the members when no appeals are pending." Meetings are open to the public.
• What it can rule on. Doubt about what a code section means, and a claim "that there is error in any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by the building official in the enforcement of this Chapter."
• What it can approve. Alternate materials, design or methods, if the board finds the alternate suitable, meets the intent of the chapter, and is "at least the equivalent of that prescribed in the International Building Code adopted by reference in this Chapter in quality, strength, effectiveness, fire resistance, durability, and safety."
• How many votes. "Three (3) members of the board shall constitute a quorum." A recommendation to approve an appeal or an alternate takes three affirmative votes.
• How fast. "The board shall decide on any matter within fifteen (15) days after the date of said hearing unless a specified extension of time for deliberation is agreed upon by the appellant." Silence counts against you: "The failure to issue a decision within fifteen (15) days after the date of the hearing shall be deemed to constitute a decision adverse to the appellant."
• After the board. "Appeal from the decision of the board of appeals shall be to a court having jurisdiction in the matter under consideration."

• Authorized representative: the code does not define it. Our reading: a contractor or agent the owner has authorized to act, and a written authorization from the owner is the safe way to show it.
• Alternate materials and methods: a pipe, fitting or installation method the adopted code does not list, offered as equal to what it does list. It is a request for approval, not for a break from the rules.
• Self-imposed hardship: undefined in the code. Our reading: a problem you created by buying or building before checking the rule.
• Stay: a pause. A timely notice "stays all proceedings against the appellant in the matter appealed," with one exception in the table.

The trigger is "any property owner, or an authorized representative of such property owner, who disputes a decision of the building official relating to that person's property." So an owner can file for their own property, and someone they authorize can file for them.

This does not apply if you are not the owner or an authorized representative. Our reading: a tenant, a neighbor or a contractor with no authority from the owner is not on the list.

Chandler deletes Chapter 1 of the 2024 IPC (29-4.1) and points to the building code's administration chapter (29-4.2). Section 29-2 amends that chapter, including the alternate-materials section 104.2.3 (29-2.7), but we found no 29-2 change to a board of appeals section. Our reading: 29-1.4 is the rulebook for plumbing appeals too.

A reading dispute. A remodeler's drain fails inspection on a cited code section, and he thinks the inspector misread it. That is what the board hears. He files in writing with the City Clerk inside 30 days.

A material the code does not list. A property owner wants to use a pipe product that is not named in the adopted plumbing code. The path is an alternate-materials request, with proof the product is equivalent.

The edge case: same fight, different answer. An owner asks the board to excuse an undersized grease interceptor because the fix is expensive. The board may refuse to hear a waiver request, and cost from a decision the owner made is a self-imposed hardship. If the same owner argues the inspector counted fixtures wrong, that is an interpretation error, and the board can hear it.

A stop work order. Our reading: a stop work order is a decision of the building official, so this route looks open. Our page on violations and stop work orders covers the order.

1. 1Note the date you received the decision. The 30 days start on receipt of notice.
2. 2Write the notice of appeal. Name the decision, the property and the ground: the building official misread a code section, or you are requesting an alternate. Our reading: the section names no form, so put it in a letter.
3. 3File it with the City Clerk within 30 days. If a contractor files for you, attach the owner's written authorization.
4. 4Ask about the fee. The Development Department Fee Schedule lists "Appeal to the Building Official $180.00." It does not say this is the board fee. Development Services is at 480-782-3000.
5. 5Watch for the agenda. The board holds a hearing at its next regular meeting, and notice must go out at least 10 days before it.
6. 6Track the 15 days. After the hearing, the board must decide inside 15 days, unless you agree to more time.

• The building official has the last word. Section 29-1.4 says a property owner who disputes the decision can appeal to the board.
• I can appeal any time. The notice must be filed "within thirty (30) days after the property owner, or the authorized representative of such property owner, receives notice of such decision."
• The board can excuse a rule. The powers listed are interpreting the codes and approving alternates. A waiver request may not even get a hearing.
• Losing ends it. Court review is open. The board may also refuse another appeal on the same subject under like circumstances "within one (1) year" of the earlier hearing.

For unsafe buildings the cost is direct. Chandler's amended building code says "Unless timely appealed to the board of appeals, a notice issued pursuant to subsection 116.3 shall constitute a final abatement order."

Chandler City Code 29-1.4 is on Municode under Chapter 29, Article I, linked in Sources.

This page explains what Chandler's published code says. The official text governs.