A City Court judge took the unusual step of issuing a restraining order against a city code inspector who a Midtown couple said was harassing them and trespassing on their property.
But City Attorney Mike Rankin said Thursday that "the inspector in this case did not do anything illegal," and the city will file a motion to quash the restraining order.
After a neighbor complained, inspector Rick Mendoza issued a notice of violation for a semi tractor that James and Dawn Davis parked at their home on East Lester Street near North Swan Road. The couple had converted the rig into an RV.
The Davises say they sought a restraining order against Mendoza after Mendoza trespassed on their property and issued an additional violation notice in retaliation because the couple challenged his authority on the earlier issue.
Rankin and Neighborhood Services Director Eliseo Garza said inspectors have the authority to cite for violations that are visible from public property or from private property where the the inspectors have permission to be.
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Garza said Mendoza had permission from the neighbor behind the Davises' property to look into the backyard. He said Mendoza went to the house because the height of the converted semi constituted a zoning violation, and if inspectors "see other violations, they will cite for the other violations."
James Davis said he believes the converted RV can be legally parked on his property because it is registered as an RV in Montana, and the city code allows an RV to be parked on the property. He said Mendoza contended the converted RV looked like a semi tractor so he said it was a commercial vehicle, which is not allowed on residential property.
Davis said that after he contested Mendoza's commercial-vehicle designation, the inspector threatened to find every violation on the couple's property and issue a citation for each.
"I questioned his authority; I made him mad and he is punishing me," Davis said. "He's punishing me by snooping around my yard."
Davis said he was surprised that a City Court judge issued an injunction against a city inspector, but he said Judge Jay Cranshaw seemed convinced of his argument about halfway through the court proceedings. Tony Riojas, Tucson City Court presiding magistrate, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
"His job is not to come to my property and find any violation he can," Davis said, adding that some of the pictures Mendoza took could not have been taken without the inspector trespassing on his property.
Garza said it was very unusual for a judge to issue a restraining order against a city inspector, adding that the city needs to get the order quashed because it may have to go to court about violation notices issued for the Davis residence. Garza said that if there is a court case, Mendoza is the city's key witness.
Rankin said inspectors can't inspect areas where residents have a constitutional expectation of privacy, but a person's backyard — where the Davises' citations occurred — does not meet that standard. He said Mendoza didn't use extraordinary measures, such as a ladder, to look into the yard to find the violations.
"Things that are in plain sight; things in the public view. … Those are all fair game," Rankin said.
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