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Mohave County building division reports 965 certificates of occupancy, 37,000 scheduled inspections in 2024
Summary
At its Jan. 14 meeting the Mohave County Advisory Council heard a year‑end report from building division staff outlining staffing changes, a transition to new permit software, results from unsafe‑structure and unpermitted‑building programs, and inspection and permit totals for 2024.
Building division staff told the Mohave County Advisory Council on Jan. 14 that the division issued 965 certificates of occupancy in 2024, scheduled about 37,000 inspections and recorded an increase in total inspections of roughly 2,000 compared with 2023.
The division presented annual performance indicators, saying staff completed 10 new professional certifications for inspectors and plan examiners, hired two replacement inspectors and one plans examiner, and continue to recruit for one remaining plans‑examiner vacancy. Staff also said plan review volume dipped slightly (by 32 permits) while commercial projects have begun to increase.
The report summarized operational changes and program outcomes. The county implemented electronic plan review and submittal, renewed contracts for blight abatement and third‑party plan review services, and is transitioning to a new permit software system that the division expects to make inspection scheduling available through a mobile app by mid‑year. Staff said the state declined to renew an intergovernmental agreement for manufactured‑housing inspections, and the county therefore stopped providing that inspection service.
On code enforcement, staff described activity in the unsafe‑structure program and the “building without permits” program. For unsafe structures, staff said 87 cases were closed in 2024, the county abated 12 cases (about 18% of closures) at a county cost of $96,000, and 98 cases remained active at the time of the report. Staff said owner compliance rate after outreach was about 68%, producing an estimated cost savings to the county of roughly $205,000 compared with full abatement in all cases.
For building without permits, staff reported 47 closed cases and described a practice of recording a notice of noncompliance on property title records to discourage sales without remedial action. The county reported placing four new liens during the year, with a total outstanding lien value of about $338,000 across 34 active liens, and said some property owners have since paid liens as values change.
Board members asked where appeals of unsafe‑structure determinations were heard after a recent ordinance change; staff said the ordinance was amended so the board of supervisors now hears unsafe‑structure appeals, though some members stated they understood the advisory council still hears alternate methods/materials hearings and that appeal routes may vary depending on the specific code action. The transcript shows differing understandings among board members about whether every unsafe‑structure appeal goes directly to the board of supervisors or follows a different path; the county presented the ordinance change but did not read the full text at the meeting.
Staff said the new permitting software will eliminate the need to call the automated inspection line and instead allow permit holders to schedule inspections online or via a mobile interface. The division said the inspection‑request functionality in the current IVR remains unreliable and the new system should be operational by mid‑2025.
The presentation closed with board members thanking staff for the work and asking that the division continue to report back as the new software and remaining staffing hires are completed.
