PHOENIX — The Arizona Court of Appeals has affirmed an injunction issued last year that required the City of Phoenix to clear out a large encampment known as "The Zone."
Residents and property owners sued the city in 2022 for not addressing the issue of homelessness, which resulted in a Maricopa County Superior Court judge issuing an order for the city to clear tents and structures off of public property.
The city filed an appeal from the permanent injunction, arguing the city cannot be held liable for a nuisance caused by third-party actions beyond the city's control.
In an opinion filed this week, the appellate court ruled the lower court did not make a mistake by finding that the city
was responsible for abating a public nuisance on city-controlled property.
"The City has not shown how requiring a municipality to abate a public nuisance on property it owns and controls and prohibiting a municipality from maintaining a public nuisance on that property impermissibly intrudes on that municipality’s autonomy or will," the court opinion states.
The appellate court clarified that the injunction shall only apply to property owned by the city and not private property nor public property owned by other government entities.
"For more than 85 years, Arizona’s courts have recognized the authority of holding municipalities responsible for public nuisances on land they own and control under Arizona law," the opinion states.
The City of Phoenix issued the following statement in response to the ruling:
"The Court’s ruling does not change the City’s commitment to maintaining the area around the Key Campus. The area remains closed to camping after the City’s engagement efforts last year resulted in nearly 600 people accepting placement in an indoor shelter, treatment facility, or at the City’s Safe Outdoor Space.
The Key Campus is a walk-up campus and there are people who come to the Campus seeking services daily. The Office of Homeless Solutions (OHS) and its partners frequently conduct proactive outreach in the area to ensure that individuals are quickly connected with appropriate resources. Signs are also posted in the area alerting the community that camping is no longer permitted. OHS collaborates with Phoenix Police to enforce the closure when needed.
The City of Phoenix has prioritized creating more indoor shelter than ever before in the last several years. The City added 1,074 new beds in 2022 and 2023, and 200 new beds so far in 2024. 590 additional new indoor shelter beds are planned to open later this year and in 2025. The City will continue working diligently to create sustainable solutions for our community as a whole."
UP TO SPEED
What is the Valley?:
“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:
- Mesa
- Chandler
- Scottsdale
- Tempe
- Glendale
- Surprise
- Peoria
- Gilbert
- El Mirage
- Avondale
- Litchfield Park
- Goodyear
- Buckeye
Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.
The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.
How big is Maricopa County?
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.