Staff Report
City Council
Item No. 2.C
Meeting Date: January 14, 2026
From: Andrew Firestine, Community and Economic Development Director Title: 2025 Annual Code Compliance Review
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council receive and file the 2025 Code Compliance annual review and provide any feedback or direction as appropriate regarding ongoing and future Code Compliance programs and initiatives.
BACKGROUND:
In 2025, the Code Compliance Division continued implementation of operational strategies emphasizing education-based enforcement, timely response to complaints, and equitable case resolution. These strategies have resulted in higher voluntary compliance rates, improved community engagement, and significant reductions in open case totals citywide.
Key pillars of the program include:
Education-Based Enforcement - Officers, when applicable, prioritize direct communication and education regarding municipal code requirements prior to escalation. This promotes voluntary compliance and provides consistent expectations for property owners and residents.
Timely Case Response - Officers work to establish contact early in the complaint process, no later than five days after receiving a request, connecting property owners with resources and guidance to support compliance efforts. Fair and Reasonable Timeframes - Where appropriate, staff review and approve compliance extensions beyond minimum timelines to allow reasonable completion of corrective actions while maintaining accountability.
In addition, enhanced technology deployment, improved public outreach, and operational process improvements contributed to increased case closure activity and stronger community feedback during 2025.
DISCUSSION:
Case Trends
Open case totals declined significantly during 2025 as closure rates improved throughout the year. The most notable reductions occurred between June and October 2025. Overall, open case totals were reduced by approximately 72% during calendar year 2025.
Of the 1,523 cases closed in 2025:
Approximately 40% were resolved through voluntary compliance Most cases were resolved within 7–14 days
Long-term cases (over nine weeks) were reduced except in complex investigations Public Reporting Trends
Approximately 1,384 public requests for Code Compliance service were submitted in 2025, averaging 115 requests per month, compared to 160 per month in 2024.
The most frequently reported topics were:
General Code Compliance / Property Maintenance (32%)
Inoperable Vehicles (11%), with right-of-way reports exceeding private-property reports
Approximately 75% of all complaints were submitted through the MyCathedralCity mobile application, followed closely by website reporting.
Community Satisfaction Surveys
Survey invitations are automatically sent to reporting parties following case closure. More than 150 post-case surveys were returned in 2025. Ratings in courtesy, effectiveness, responsiveness, and expectations met trended strongly positive, with 75% of respondents reporting that Code Compliance met or exceeded expectations.
Illegal Street Vending
The rapid response and safety-focused enforcement protocol launched in 2024 continued in 2025.
2024 Activity: 40 violations
2025 Activity: 2 violations
This reflects a 95% decrease in illegal vending reports. The program also supported the launch of the Food Truck Pilot Program, resulting in the City’s first private property permitted truck operated by T.K.B.
Shopping Cart Retrieval Program
The abandoned shopping cart retrieval and notification program resulted in 220 cart retrievals in 2025, reducing visual blight and public nuisance impacts and collecting $6,343.50 in fines.
Proactive Inoperable Vehicle Patrol
Proactive patrols improved response rates and communication with vehicle owners, strengthening voluntary compliance related to one of the City’s highest complaint categories.
Pride-in-Ownership Program
Beginning in 2026, the Pride-in-Ownership recognition program will highlight residents who demonstrate exemplary property maintenance and neighborhood pride, encouraging voluntary compliance and civic engagement.
Cannabis Enforcement
Cannabis-related odor complaints continued in the Ramon Road and Perez Road corridors during 2025. To document reported conditions, both Code Compliance staff and the Cathedral City Police Department conducted more than 200 odor patrols in areas with higher reporting volume.
To ensure clear enforcement standards, the City engaged Hartman Environmental Geoscience and SCS Engineers to support development of revised odor-control requirements, including:
Odor Control Plans required for cannabis facilities
Improved inspection forms and checklists
Cannabis inspection training for staff
Clarified facility responsibility for odor mitigation
Updated enforcement mechanisms if facilities are out of compliance Code Compliance participates in an interdepartmental working group tasked with the oversight and coordination of cannabis permits and licenses. The role of Code Compliance within this group is to provide enforcement support and ensure businesses remain accountable to the City’s regulations. Cannabis odor complaints are currently managed and tracked through the EnviroSuite platform.
CityDetect Implementation
CityDetect utilizes AI-assisted image recognition to identify potential violations during routine patrols. All findings are human-reviewed and do not result in automated citations. In 2025:
8000+ parcels were reviewed
1,200+ private-property issues were recorded
2,700+ right-of-way issues were recorded
203 Courtesy Notices were issued
6 cases were referred to Public Works
31 notices resolved voluntarily
42 cases were escalated to enforcement
Remaining notices are pending re-inspection as evaluation continues.
Short Term Vacation Rental Enforcement
Short-term vacation rentals remain permitted only within Desert Princess and Canyon Shores, where 141 licensed units are active. In 2025:
20 reports of unpermitted STVR activity were received
8 resulted in active cases
12 were unfounded
These cases represented less than 1% of total Code Compliance activity.
Key Performance Indicators — FY 2025
As part of the City’s biennial budget development process, the Code Compliance Division established new performance indicators intended to measure complaint responsiveness, timely case closure, community satisfaction, public engagement, and staff training compliance.
Performance Measure Baseline FY2025 Goal
Complaint Response Within 5 Days 80–90% 73% 90%
Case Closure Within 90 Days 60–70% 82% 70%
Community Outreach Events 5 6 6
Officer Training Compliance 100% 100% 100%
Public Satisfaction — Met/Exceeded 30–50% 72% 50%
Staff continues refining internal processes to improve response-time performance while maintaining strong closure rates and service quality.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None
FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN:
E-10 – Keep the Council apprised of changes to the Code Compliance program ATTACHMENTS:
None