Chris Halsco, zoning enforcement officer for the City of Des Moines, told the council the zoning enforcement unit is a small team tasked with enforcing the city’s zoning ordinance and complementary codes.

Halsco said the unit has five field staff covering corridors and neighborhoods, one in-office inspector who issues permits and licenses, and a single administrative assistant. “Our workload is reactive and complaint based,” he said, adding that a few proactive tasks exist but complaints keep staff “hopping every day.”

Halsco listed the principal codes his team enforces, citing chapter 134 (uses and zoning districts), chapter 135 (site plan review and development standards), chapter 78 (transient merchants/mobile vendors) and chapter 42 (noise control). He said noise enforcement typically requires certified sound readings from police to produce an enforceable case. “If they don't get the readings, we really don't have a case,” Halsco said.

He described operational priorities: investigating illegal land uses (home occupations, vehicle repair, commercial storage on residential properties), liquor and tobacco license inspections, sign and fence permitting, certificates of zoning compliance, administrative approvals (AZON cases), and zoning determinations for pre-applications. Halsco gave totals for recent activity: 763 new zoning enforcement cases and 3,182 inspection entries from roughly September 2024 to September 2025, and about 70 abatements performed by the city’s contractor/public works crew.

On timelines, Halsco said the department aims to open cases within 24 hours and be on-site within 72 hours, but legal limits on entering private property and the need to build a sound, appeal-ready case can lengthen enforcement to many months or years. He recounted one case that took eight years and multiple court appeals before a permanent order and abatement were obtained.

Halsco described recent enforcement on signs and lighting: the city returned to stricter adherence to the sign code, distributed about 50 educational flyers to repeat violators and expects wider compliance on major corridors. He also noted adopted allowances for multi-vision electronic signage for some event centers.

Planned improvements include publishing zoning letters and determinations online (ZCOM), automating sound-permit notifications to police, improving EnerGov data collection, centralizing research and training materials on SharePoint, expanding counter backup coverage and continued field iPad use for photos and notes. Halsco said all staff are certified through the International Code Council (ICC).

Council members thanked staff for responsiveness during the public exchange. The presentation closed with staff asking council to route enforcement calls to the department so staff can address cases and not overburden council offices.