ABC15 has reported in the past on the increasing homeless population and took a look at surging eviction rates recently.
In a 3-1 vote Wednesday morning the Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee advanced a proposal that would ban urban camping within 500 feet of a school, shelter or childcare facility.
“We don’t just start with enforcement. We always lead with services, education and information,” Subcommittee chair Ann O’Brien told ABC15. “It is not my desire to have everybody ticketed or put in jail. What we want is for them to accept help.”
The proposal is largely based on a similar ordinance already in effect in San Diego. San Diego representatives told ABC15 they’ve found the ordinance successful.
“If somebody has already created the wheel we shouldn’t recreate it,” O’Brien said. “San Diego saw some good results from some of the things they’ve done, and it just seemed like an easy option for the City of Phoenix.”
The proposal will now move to the full council for a discussion and vote.
The city of Phoenix spent the majority of last summer cleaning up the homeless encampment known as “The Zone” off the sidewalks in Phoenix near The Key Campus. Next week, the Phoenix City Council will consider an amendment to the camping ban.
“There are homeless criminalization laws across the country. And one of the things they have in common is that none of them work. A recent study looked at 100 cities that have no camping ordinances and on average in those cities homelessness on up by 2.2%,” said Jesse Rabinowitz, campaign and communications director with the National Center for Homelessness Law, “Stop moving them from place to place, stop giving people who have no money tickets.”
In Arizona, Prescott already has a similar camping ban but it’s San Diego’s policy that Phoenix leaders have publicly discussed the most.
“Regarding specifically San Diego, is there anything they're doing we’re not doing? And if not, why not,” questioned Councilmember Jim Waring in January.
It’s not clear yet how the ban would be enforced in Phoenix. In San Diego, those in violation are first warned and educated on the law, then cited and on the third instance there is potential for arrest.
Matt Hoffman with the City of San Diego provided the following statement to ABC15 regarding its ordinance:
“The Unsafe Camping Ordinance is a policy our organization advocated for because we heard and saw the need in our community. The data through our monthly unsheltered count demonstrated something needed to be done," said Josh Callery-Coyne, Downtown San Diego Partnership Vice President of Policy & Civic Engagement. "We've seen success in San Diego so far as a result of the ordinance being implemented alongside necessary shelter expansion, consistent enforcement, and additional outreach funding. A best practice other cities can take away from San Diego is the importance of having all three of these align with the ordinance to see impactful results."
