PHOENIX — The City of Phoenix is worried about its deadline to clear tents from "The Zone," according to new federal court filings.
"The Zone" is Arizona’s largest homeless encampment, just a few blocks away from the State Capitol.
Last month, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge ordered the City to remove the tents there by Nov. 4, ruling that conditions there were a public nuisance.
But new filings in federal court show Phoenix attorneys believe the city is in a “ legal catch-22” and call efforts to clear the zone in less than a month now a “Herculean and possibly unattainable task.”
City attorneys are worried the order to clear "The Zone" could violate a federal court order that says the city can’t forcibly remove people if they don’t have a shelter beds available.
They’re asking a federal judge to modify that order, in part, to allow the city to enforce its camping ban.
Without a modification, the filing details that the city feels they'll be forced to violate either the state or federal court order and face possible penalties by either court.
The city attorney writes that Phoenix has been working to clear out "The Zone" with enhanced cleanings roughly every three weeks. Since May 2023, the city has been clearing one block at a time. Each cleaning they try to connect the people on the block to shelter space or services and once the cleaning is done, they close the block to camping. The concern, in part, is that there will not be enough available shelter space if Phoenix were to expedite the cleaning plans.
There will be an emergency hearing on this matter Wednesday morning in federal court.
At the same time, another deep cleaning in yet another block of "The Zone" is scheduled to be underway starting at 7 a.m. Wednesday morning.
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