City and county officials said Jesse Hayes' death from heat exposure served as a reminder of the dangers of junked and abandoned vehicles and the importance of removing them.
"It's a tragedy," said Carmine DeBonis, director of Pima County Development Services, which handles complaints for junk and abandoned cars. "From our perspective, we want to do what we can to ensure safe communities through our building-code regulations and zoning-code regulations. … Clearly, we see we have a role of increasing the safety of our community."
For the city and Pima County, a vehicle is classified as junk when it no longer runs, and it has no registration or license plate.
Code violations can be enforced on private property if the vehicle is not covered or in a garage. For example, an uncovered junk car sitting in open view of the street would be a code violation.
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The county has issued 34 citations for junk vehicles this year, DeBonis said. It issued 71 in 2005.
Five inspectors handle junk and abandoned-vehicle complaints, although more inspectors may be added in the coming months, he said.
Inspectors don't scour the county in search of junk vehicles, but instead respond to filed complaints. Once a complaint is received, they will inspect the vehicle to ensure it meets junk criteria. They will then contact the owner, and set a deadline for it to be repaired or moved out of sight. The deadline varies depending on the vehicle's condition, but if the owner doesn't comply, fines are levied.
"If that fails, then we (can) file an action in Superior Court against the property owner," DeBonis said.
Rarely does that happen, but at times it can take a year to get a junk vehicle off the road.
The city handles junk cars in a similar way, said Rich Draves, code enforcement administrator for the Department of Neighborhood Services.
It has 25 inspectors who respond to complaints. Deadlines to repair or move the vehicles out of sight also vary depending on conditions. The Tucson Police Department handles abandoned vehicles.
Draves did not have citation statistics on hand, but said the city receives daily complaints about junk vehicles.
● Those who would like to file complaints about junk cars can learn how to do so by calling the following numbers:
Pima County: 740-6740
Tucson: 791-3171
