What happens if plumbing work in Mesa breaks the code? City Code 4-1-9 and 4-1-8(T)

Section 4-1-9 is the penalty section of Mesa's administrative code for buildings and the technical codes, which include the plumbing code. It has five parts.

1. 1(A) Unlawful acts. It is unlawful to erect, construct, alter, extend, repair, move, remove, demolish or operate any building, structure or equipment regulated by the chapter, or cause it to be done, in violation of the chapter and the technical codes. It is also unlawful to occupy, or let someone occupy, a building in violation, and to fail to comply with a lawful written notice of violation or order to abate.
2. 2(B) Notice of violation. The Building Safety Director may serve a notice or order on the person responsible, directing that the illegal action or condition stop and the violation be abated.
3. 3(C) Prosecution. If the notice is not complied with in the time stated in it, the city may start a legal or equitable proceeding to restrain, correct or abate the violation, or to end an unlawful occupancy.
4. 4(D) Remedies not exclusive. These violations are in addition to any other violation established by law, and the chapter does not limit penalties or abatement available to the city or others.
5. 5(E) Penalty clause. The quote above, with the full punishment: a fine not to exceed $2,500 or imprisonment in the city jail for up to six months, or both, and each day of violation continued is a separate offense.

The plumbing code's own penalty section, 4-5-3, says anyone who violates the Mesa Plumbing Code is subject to all penalties and provisions of 4-1-9.

Section 4-1-8(T) adds the fee. Anyone who starts work on a plumbing system, or on a building, gas, mechanical or other regulated system, before getting the necessary permit pays an unauthorized construction fee in addition to the permit fees. The code says the fee is collected whether or not a permit is then or later issued, and paying it does not excuse compliance with the chapter or the 4-1-9 penalties.

• Class one misdemeanor: the code's label for the offense in (E). The sections we read do not define it further.
• Notice of violation: a written order from the Building Safety Director to stop the action and fix the violation. The code ties prosecution to ignoring one.
• Unauthorized construction fee: a fee charged for starting work before the permit. It is a percentage of the permit fee set in the city's fee schedule, not a fine under 4-1-9.
• Each day a separate offense: every day the violation continues can be counted on its own.

Any owner, person, firm or corporation that does the work, allows it, occupies the building or ignores a notice. That includes a property owner who hires the work and a contractor who performs it.

It does not apply to work the code exempts from a permit under 4-1-4(B), because no required permit is missing. Mesa's exempt list is short and is covered on its own page. The fee percentages below also change for a non-licensed homeowner working on their own property.

These are the City of Mesa's published percentages, not HQ prices, from its Schedule of Fees and Charges, Development Services (page footers read "Updated for July 2026").

The fee schedule says the 100 and 50 percent figures apply to the appropriate Building or Civil Engineering permit fee. For a cooperative homeowner who resolves the violation within 30 days after receiving notice, a director may reduce the fee to 25 percent. The code names the Building Safety Director for that reduction, and the fee schedule names the Development and Sustainability Director. Ask which one signs off.

A tenant improvement that starts early. A restaurant tenant lets its plumber begin rough-in on Friday while the permit is still in review. The permit comes through the next week. The code still allows the fee, because it is collected whether or not a permit is later issued. For a licensed professional or a non-residential owner, the schedule puts it at 100 percent of the permit fee.

A homeowner who fixes it fast. An owner of a small rental replaces a section of the water line without a permit, gets a notice and applies within 30 days. The schedule's 50 percent figure can come down to 25 percent for a cooperative homeowner. A licensed contractor on the same job would be at 100 percent. That is where the answer flips.

The edge case: the notice is ignored. The fee is a counter matter. The criminal penalty comes into play when a lawful written notice is not complied with, or when the work violates the chapter. The sections we read do not say how a fine is set within the $2,500 limit or who decides to prosecute. Ask the city.

1. 1Check whether the work needs a permit. Start with 4-1-4(B), and call Development Services at 480-644-4273, the number printed on the fee schedule.
2. 2If work has already started, stop and apply for the permit. The fee is owed either way.
3. 3If you receive a notice of violation, read the deadline in the notice. Prosecution under 4-1-9(C) depends on missing it.
4. 4Ask the city whether the fee for your situation falls under the 100, 50 or 200 percent line, and whether a reduction applies.
5. 5Keep the notice, the permit and the inspection record together. They show the date you resolved the problem.
6. 6Before a sale or lease, confirm that every plumbing alteration has a permit on file.

• Paying the fee settles it. Section 4-1-8(T) says payment does not exempt you from the chapter or the 4-1-9 penalties.
• No permit is ever issued, so no fee is owed. The fee is collected whether or not a permit is then or later issued.
• The penalty is only for contractors. 4-1-9(A) reaches any owner, person, firm or corporation.
• A one-time violation is one offense. Each day of violation continued is a separate offense.

Mesa's own text governs; this page explains it.