By Staff Reporter |

The Phoenix City Council approved several ordinances that will hold the homeless accountable for crimes committed in public parks and spaces. 

The council approved ordinances prohibiting certain behaviors most often done by the homeless.

One ordinance puts more restrictions on public parks: no more entering areas closed to the public, drinking liquor, smoking, bathing, or obstructing guests or amenities. 

Park rangers or police officers will be allowed to issue a trespass notice lasting one year, and the court may impose community restitution, education, or treatment programs.

Council member Anna Hernandez was the sole “no” vote on the ordinance.

Hernandez said she “needed to take [the council] to church” on the issue. She called the ordinance “shameful, racist, ineffective policy.”

“This is a huge step in aligning our city in Trump’s war on homelessness. We need more beds [and support services], not more criminalization,” said Hernandez. 

Parks and Recreation Director Cynthia Aguilar clarified this ordinance was about aligning park code of conduct with city ordinances — not a new effort to criminalize behaviors, or target the homeless specifically. 

“The consequences or the penalties that exist already existed prior to this when it comes to the ordinances, but there were clarifications in where that language was placed,” said Aguilar. 

The council also approved, unanimously, an ordinance increasing the punishment for remaining on road medians and obstructing traffic. Rather than requiring law enforcement to give a warning for the first violation, law enforcement may issue a civil traffic offense amounting to a class one misdemeanor. 

By far the most controversial ordinance passed prohibits the public provision of medical care or treatment, sale or exchange of needles and syringes, and the sale or distribution of harm reduction, or drug usage, kits. First responders, family members, individuals rendering aid during an emergency, and administration or distribution of naloxone are exempt. 

Parks and Recreation Director Cynthia Aguilar cited the need for the ordinance to address “safety, potential harm, and [bio]hazard [concerns]” for park users.

Again, Hernandez was the sole “no” vote on the ordinance.

Opponents to the ordinances said they amounted to “criminalization” of poverty and “fascism.” They argued the city had a duty to address the underlying causes of unlawful behaviors by the homeless and provide alternatives, such as more public showers, rather than holding them accountable for their crimes. 

Supporters of the ordinances testified to the dangers posed by the transients, especially to the children: bathing publicly in the nude, open-air drug usage, discarding drug paraphernalia, dealing drugs, blocking traffic, and harboring dogs that roam unleashed in public spaces and roadways. 

State Senator Lauren Kuby (D-LD8), speaking on behalf of constituents and “mutual aid groups” claimed the behaviors that would be punished were actually constitutionally protected activities. Kuby also argued that it was “basic human behavior” for the homeless to bathe in public.

“Phoenix parks are not just recreational spaces. Under the Constitution, they are traditional public forums — places where people gather, speak, assemble, pray, protest, and exist in public life,” said Kuby. 

State Representative Mariana Sandoval (D-LD23) and Senator Analise Ortiz (R-LD24) issued a joint letter criticizing the ordinances as “criminalizing poverty” that would cost taxpayers more without reducing crime or overdoses. 

Council member Betty Guardado implied that families in affected neighborhoods should use their “means” to go elsewhere to enjoy public spaces and have their children play.

Council member Jim Waring criticized the opponents of the ordinances as supportive of preserving currently dangerous environments.  

“Some of you are clapping. You think you’re on the side of truth and justice. Well, I’ve got some bad news: you’re not. You’re wrecking it for the rest of these people who are also paying taxes. When do we start thinking about them?” asked Waring. 

Waring also criticized the hands-off approach to the homeless. He expressed a desire for the homeless to be made to accept services to get off the street and cease drug usage in public. 

“We spend a fortune on the homeless — way more than we used to,” said Waring. “You guys think the homeless should just take over the parks and do whatever they want.”

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