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PHOENIX — Several Phoenix business owners are suing the city regarding its efforts to allow a homeless encampment near downtown.
Lawyers representing local downtown business owners attended a hearing on Oct. 27 in The Maricopa County Superior Court for a what turned out to be a day long session.
During the hearing, attorneys made their case to Judge Alison Bachus. The attorneys testified about conditions of the nearly 1,000 homeless people centered between Ninth and 13th avenues along Jefferson Street, and stated the city has done nothing to fix the issue in the area.
According to court documents, lawyers contend the lawsuit has standing to sue the city on the claims of a “great humanitarian crisis” driven by regular deaths within the encampment, policies put in place by Phoenix officials neglecting and worsening the crisis, residents being subjected to violence and property damage, dropping property values and trash and human waste littering the area.
They are using multiple Phoenix municipal codes to support their argument as to show how the homeless in the area are committing unlawful acts. One states “It shall be unlawful for any person to use a public street, highway, alley, lane, parkway, sidewalk or other right of way, whether such right of way has been dedicated to the public in fee or by easement, for lying, sleeping or otherwise remaining in a sitting position thereon, except in the case of a physical emergency or the administration of medical assistance.”
This legal battle began Aug. 15 when 15 property and business owners in downtown filed a lawsuit against the city of Phoenix. They alleged that the area was a “public nuisance” between Ninth and 13th avenues south of Jefferson and north of Grant Street
This area of downtown for decades has been known to permit people to sleep on the streets, even though homelessness has increased in the area. There are multiple homeless service providers in the area, including the Human Services Campus, which operates a shelter, and Andre House, which provides meals and other services.
In September, lawyers representing the city filed a motion requesting the judge to dismiss the complaint stating that residents cannot use the courts to influence policy decisions regarding the homeless.
“They’re doing something. It’s something the plaintiffs don’t like that it’s not happening quickly enough. That doesn’t mean that nothing is happening and the city isn’t taking efforts to abate what is no doubt a terrible condition downtown.” said Aaron Arnson, attorney for the city.
The plantiffs contend the goal of their lawsuit is not to criminalize the behavior of the people just because they are homeless.
Ilan Wurman, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the case, said in court, “We unquestionably do not want the city of Phoenix to send these homeless individuals to jail.”
As representative for the plaintiffs, he said they don’t believe it should be okay for the homeless to be left out in the streets and the city should be doing something about it.
According to the lawsuit presented to the court, Freddy Brown, owner of PBF Manufacturing at 1209 W. Jefferson St., testified as a property owner as part of the hearing arguing the city needed to do something about the homeless encampment.
His testimony stated that within the past year, one of Brown’s employees was assaulted by a homeless individual with a pipe and police report was filed.
He also attested that his building’s windows have been broken, the homeless have defecated on his property, and that he has been wanting to do expansions and improvements to the building but contractors feel unsafe to show up.
The city is defending the delay of funding on new shelters as it takes months to find available spaces. The city is also working on a project “enhanced cleaning” in area that will include hazmat crews.
The judge has yet to make a decision on this case.
Frank Espinoza is a recent graduate of Northern Arizona University from the beginning of 2022. He prides himself on covering topics that give a spotlight to individuals or groups who give back to the community. He has covered local sports, community events, and important issues that impact the state. In his spare time, he loves to watch Street League Skateboarding and hang out at Cowtown Skateboards in Goodyear.
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