Phoenix asks federal judge to loosen restrictions around how it can clear ‘The Zone’

Phoenix has asked a federal judge for more leeway in how it can clear its largest homeless encampment — known as "The Zone" — as a November deadline to clear the area set by a state court judge rapidly approaches.

Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona sued the city in federal court after people living on the street said their belongings were destroyed in cleaning sweeps of homeless encampments. The case was brought on behalf of people who have experienced homelessness and the Fund for Empowerment, an advocacy group.

In a preliminary order issued in that case in December, Phoenix was prohibited from enforcing camping and sleeping bans if it is not practical for people to obtain shelter because there are more unsheltered people in the city than there are shelter beds available.

In a court filing Monday, the city asked U.S. District Court Judge G. Murray Snow to broaden his order so that camping and sleeping bans can be enforced in the downtown encampment as long as there is a shelter bed or "alternative public, outdoor space" available where people living there can be moved. The filing does not identify any particular "alternative public, outdoor space."

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney previously denied the city's request for a deadline extension to shut down "The Zone." As a result, Phoenix has less than a month to move about 500 people from the encampment, which city officials describe as a "Herculean and possibly unattainable task" in court documents.

In Monday's filing, attorneys for Phoenix said that while it would be preferable to offer shelter beds to everyone displaced from "The Zone," the city will not be able to do so given the deadline it's under. According to documents presented to the Phoenix City Council last week, the city recently estimated that only about 20 shelter beds are available at that given time.

The state court's deadline cannot be met under the current constraints of the federal court order, according to Phoenix's lawyers.

"The City may be forced to choose between violating one injunction or the other, with either outcome leading to sanctions," Monday's filing reads.

Elizabeth Venable, a Fund for Empowerment organizer, said she is worried about the implications a modification of the federal court order could have if it means more people could be exposed to extreme heat and severe weather.

"That can create a serious danger," Venable said.

Last month, Phoenix joined dozens of entities from across the country in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reevaluate a case the ACLU lawsuit is based on. The case, City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, reaffirmed a person's right to live on the street when no alternative shelter is available.

Multiple entities in Arizona, including Phoenix, argued the 9th Circuit's ruling in that case burdens local municipalities looking to address rising homelessness.

Representatives of the ACLU of Arizona and Phoenix's Office of Homeless Solutions did not respond to requests for comment Monday.

Helen Rummel covers housing insecurity and homelessness for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at hrummel@gannett.com.

Coverage of housing insecurity on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Arizona Community Foundation.