At the threshold

Cities look for sensible solutions … The Legislature does, too (kind of) ... And a final farewell.

The question for every local official in Arizona over the past few months has been “Where do we draw the line on homelessness?”

Until last June, that wasn’t a question they could do much about. A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling held back officials in Tucson, Phoenix and other cities in the West.

But a U.S. Supreme Court decision last summer opened the door for cities to crack down on homelessness. A few months later, Arizona voters pushed local officials right up to that door with Proposition 312.

The new voter-approved state law allows residents to sue local governments for damages as a result of unenforced public nuisance laws, which could cost cities and counties millions of dollars.

It’s a tough choice for the Tucson City Council. And not just for moral or financial reasons. Three seats are up for grabs in this year’s elections, at a time when there’s no clearly safe political route to take.

The candidates for the three seats, including incumbent Councilman Kevin Dahl, are facing Tucson voters who adamantly support a humanitarian approach to homelessness, alongside other voters who are just as adamant about a crackdown.

As we’ve watched the debate unfold at Tucson City Council meetings over the past few months, we’ve been curious to see how Tucson’s policies stacked up to policies in other cities, and how officials in those cities justified their decisions.

Apparently, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero has been watching other cities, too. As the Council debated an ordinance last week, she brought up the new, harsher rules passed by cities in Maricopa County.

It’s a mixed bag, to be sure. We found some local officials approved strict rules immediately after voters approved Prop 312, as the Goldwater Institute gleefully pointed out in December, while others are taking their time or trying both humanitarian policies and harsher enforcement.

To catch you up on what’s happening in Tucson, the City Council nearly voted on making it illegal to sleep in washes last fall.

They pulled back at the last minute, saying the ordinance wasn’t ready. Since then, they directed City Attorney Mike Rankin to clean up the city code to reduce their legal liability under Prop 312.

The Council brought back the ban on sleeping in washes last week, but they had some technical difficulties at the meeting so they have to do the vote again, very likely next week.

What everybody else is doing

In Phoenix, city officials ended their legal fight with downtown property owners over a massive homeless encampment known as “The Zone” late last year, clearing the area after two years of legal wrangling.

Even before the Supreme Court ruling and Prop 312, Phoenix officials banned homeless encampments within 500 feet of schools, parks, and child care facilities in May.

They also created a city-run campground for unsheltered people that Tucson officials are eyeing as a potential solution.

In the Phoenix suburb of Goodyear, the city council banned camping just days after voters approved Prop 312. The new law made it illegal to set up a camp on any public property or within 500 feet of a school, park, or childcare center.

“With the new ordinance, all it does is give us an extra tool in our toolbelt,” Goodyear Police Officer Scott Daniel said. “It doesn’t change the fact that we won’t educate first and attempt to provide resources.”

Similarly, Surprise banned homeless encampments, washing in a public fountain, and urinating in public within days of the election results.

"We are trying to create opportunities for people to come to Surprise and one of those things that people look for is they want a clean, safe city and streets, and they want people following the law," Surprise City Councilman Jack Hastings said.

Weeks later, Mesa started enforcing a camping ban on all city property in early December, which came after they already banned camping in parks. None of the Mesa council members made any comments when they passed the ordinance.

Tempe started strictly enforcing its longstanding ban on urban camping around the same time. Instead of giving unsheltered people a few days to clear out, city officials now only give them a few hours.

"We know as a community, as a local government, we need to balance the needs of all of our residents: our unhoused neighbors who are experiencing challenges but also our homeowners, property owners who are trying to avail themselves of our local amenities such as parks," Tim Burch, the city’s director of health services, said.

Back in Tucson

Romero said last week that the city has to protect itself from lawsuits now allowed by Prop 312, even as city officials try to stick with a humanitarian approach.

“We're not changing our minds in being able to find solutions that protect the dignity of human beings that are unhoused,” she said. “I recognize the concerns and feelings of various groups regarding this proposition. I shared those concerns. But the voters have spoken.”

As of Tuesday night, the City of Tucson has not received any Prop 312 claims - a precursor to formal legal action.

But Romero predicts the city will face Prop 312-related lawsuits in the near future, noting a majority of Tucson residents voted for it.

“I do know that Proposition 312 passed in Tucson with 54% of the vote. I think it was a misguided proposition. I took a position against it, a very public position, against this and other horrible initiatives that were put there by the Republicans in the state legislature,” she said.

We’ll know in a few days whether the Council will bring back the vote on whether to make it illegal to sleep in washes.

While Romero reluctantly supports the measure, other Councilmembers, including Dahl, remain opposed to what they see as punishing unhoused individuals to shield the city from Prop 312 lawsuits.

Vice Mayor Lane Santa Cruz acknowledged the risk of camp fires in washes, as well as flooding during the monsoons, but a ban on camping would ignore the day-to-day struggle for unhoused individuals.

“I think that the real danger isn't just during the monsoon or when there's a fire, it is every single day that one of our unhoused neighbors has to be outside,” Santa Cruz said.

For the moment, the Council is split 3 - 3 on the issue, with Councilman Richard Fimbres yet to cast the deciding vote. It’s still unclear how he intends to vote.

Fimbres is a 32-year veteran of the Pima County Sheriff's Department. He’s also the longest serving member of the Council and has actively tried to address homelessness issues, including helping to establish a day labor program for unhoused individuals.

While it’s not on the Council radar just yet, Councilwoman Karin Uhlich floated in her newsletter the idea of setting up a pilot program in 12 of the city’s parks.

The “help huts” program would allow nonprofits to offer resources out of city park ramadas. Potentially, six of these parks could run modest dusk-to-dawn/overnight programs on a temporary basis.

Uhlich has asked residents to weigh in by emailing her office directly.

No matter what happens with the ban on camping in washes, one thing is for certain: this is not the last piece of Prop 312 legislation that will go before the Council.

Rankin, the city attorney, told the Council weeks ago that his office will continue to review established city ordinances for potential Prop 312 vulnerabilities.

---

That means Joe will be spending a lot of time at City Hall this year, which is one of his favorite things to do. If you like reporters who like reporting, then smash that button!

While officials at cities and counties deal with homelessness, state lawmakers are pushing their own batch of solutions.

Democratic lawmakers haven’t had any success with their bills, such as giving grants for shelter services or making it legal to sleep in public spaces.

Republican lawmakers are in the majority, so more of their bills have a shot to make it to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs’ desk, although they’re also more likely to see their bills get vetoed.

Those bills include making hotels put up signs disclosing if unsheltered people are staying at the hotel or increasing penalties for using drugs in a shelter.

As you might imagine, there has been a lot of debate at the Capitol over these measures. Our sister newsletter, the Arizona Agenda, has all the details about the politics and pushback for each of them.

A mass at St. Augustine Cathedral in downtown Tucson celebrating the life of Congressman Raúl Grijalva will be live-streamed today at 10:00 AM. It is open to the public, but the family arranged for a live-stream so everyone can view the services.

Speakers at today’s ceremony include Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Gov. Katie Hobbs, former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Grijalva’s daughters Adelita, Raquel and Marisa.

The City of Tucson is advising drivers to avoid downtown this morning. Starting at 8 a.m., Stone Avenue and Church Avenue will be closed to traffic between McCormick Street and Ochoa Street, with the closures expected to last until 1 p.m.