Chandler City Code 29-1.3: violations, penalties and stop work orders

Subsection A defines the offense. It is unlawful "for any person to erect, construct, alter, extend, repair, move, remove, demolish, or occupy any building, structure or equipment regulated by any code amended and/or adopted by reference in this Chapter 29." Chandler adopts the 2024 International Plumbing Code in 29-4, so plumbing work falls inside that list. Subsection A also makes it unlawful to "violate any order or decision by the building official pursuant such code."

Subsection B sets the penalties:

• Criminal. A person who violates the adopted codes "shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) or twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00) if a legal entity, by imprisonment for a term not exceeding six (6) months." Probation of up to three years is also allowed, alone or in any combination.
• Daily count. "Each day that a violation continues after notice of violation, in accordance with Section 29-11, has been served shall be deemed a separate offense."
• Other sanctions survive. "The imposition of a criminal penalty does not prevent suspension or revocation of a license, permit or franchise or other administrative sanctions."
• Abatement. The building official can seek "injunctive or other equitable remedies" under Chapter 26 of the city code or state law, and if the responsible person does not comply with an abatement order, "the City may seek recovery of its expenses in abating the violation cited."

Section 29-11 is the companion: a person "convicted of a violation of a code adopted by reference in Chapter 29" is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

The stop work order is subsection C. The trigger is work "being performed in a manner contrary to the provisions of a code adopted by reference in this chapter or in a dangerous or unsafe manner." Then "the building official is authorized to issue a stop work order." In the code's own order:

1. 1Written, except in an emergency. "Where an emergency exists, the building official shall not be required to give a written notice prior to stopping the work."
2. 2Who gets it. It "shall be given to the owner of the property, or to the owner's agent, or to the person doing the work."
3. 3Immediate effect. "Upon issuance of a stop work order, the cited work shall immediately cease."
4. 4Reason and way back. "The stop work order shall state the reason for the order, and the conditions under which the cited work is authorized to resume."

Our reading: the section names no release form, re-inspection code or fee for lifting the order. The conditions written on the order are the roadmap, so read that paper before you call anyone.

• Building official: under 29-1.2, the City Development Services Department Building Official, or another official the adopted code names as the code official.
• Notice of violation: a written notice the building official "may prepare, at his or her sole discretion" before penalties start. Our reading: the code does not require one first, so a stop work order can come without it.
• Legal entity: a company. The $20,000 ceiling applies "if a legal entity."
• Abatement: forcing a violation to be corrected or removed, with costs charged to the responsible person.

Owners, contractors, subcontractors and anyone else doing regulated work, plus people who "occupy" a regulated building or have the work done. This does not apply to work no adopted code regulates, and the section does not decide permit exemptions: those sit in the codes themselves.

Unpermitted water heater swap. A homeowner replaces a water heater in a case the codes do not exempt, and an inspector sees it. The order goes to the owner, or to whoever is doing the work. Our page on what happens if you work without a permit in Chandler covers the fee doubling in the city's permit manual, a separate rule from this section.

Crew on site, owner out of town. The code allows service on "the person doing the work," so the order is valid even if the owner never sees it that day. The owner's appeal clock runs from when the owner "receives notice," which can be later.

The edge case: same violation, different ceiling. Two convictions for the same violation, one against an individual and one against the LLC that owns the rental. The individual faces a fine up to $2,500, the company up to $20,000. The jail and probation ceilings read the same for both.

1. 1Stop the cited work. The order takes effect when it is issued. Our reading: Chandler's section has no exception for work that removes the violation, the way Mesa writes one, so ask the building official before touching anything.
2. 2Read the order. It must state the reason and the conditions for resuming.
3. 3Call Chandler Development Services at 480-782-3000 (215 E. Buffalo St.) to ask what the conditions mean and how to schedule the inspection that clears them.
4. 4Decide about an appeal early. A written notice of appeal goes to the City Clerk within 30 days.
5. 5Close the permit gap. The inspection steps are on our Chandler plumbing inspections page.

The board of appeals hears appeals of "interpretations of Chapter 28 and this Chapter 29 made by the fire code official or building official."

• Who and when. "An appeal to the board may be initiated by 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." The notice "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."
• No self-made hardship. "Self-imposed hardships shall not be grounds for an appeal."
• The stay, with an exception. A timely notice "stays all proceedings against the appellant in the matter appealed, unless the building official certifies to the board that, in his opinion and by the facts stated, a stay would cause imminent peril to life or property."
• Speed. The board "shall decide on any matter within fifteen (15) days after the date of said hearing," and silence past that "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."

Our reading: 29-1.3(C) does not mention appeals, but a stop work order is a decision of the building official, so the 29-1.4 route looks open. Mesa's stop work section names its appeal route outright (see the comparison table above).

• A stop work order is a fine. It is an order to stop. The penalties sit in subsection B.
• Only the owner can be cited. The order can go to "the person doing the work."
• A licensed plumber is protected. The criminal penalty "does not prevent suspension or revocation of a license, permit or franchise or other administrative sanctions."
• I always get a warning first. The notice of violation is discretionary, and in an emergency the stop can come without written notice.

This page explains what Chandler's published code says. The official text governs, and only the building official can tell you what a specific order requires.