Arizonans looking for more information about a ballot measure that addresses the state’s growing homelessness issues can access vital research from a local think tank organization.
Late last month, the Common Sense Institute Arizona (CSI) released a report “on the economic and fiscal impact of Proposition 312, finding that there is indeed a link between the increase in homelessness and declining property values.”
According to CSI, “Proposition 312 is aimed at tackling Arizona’s growing homelessness crisis, offering property owners the opportunity to receive tax relief for costs incurred due to unmitigated public nuisances, such as homelessness, vandalism, property crime, and drug use.”
The report from CSI found “that under the status quo, property owners in areas with unmitigated public nuisances are seeing their values decrease in real value [while] homelessness is on the rise.”
“The rising rates of crime, homelessness, and drug activity in key areas of Phoenix appear to have taken a toll on property values and overall economic activity,” said Glenn Farley, Director of Policy & Research for CSI. “In this kind of environment of declining relative property values and higher crime rates, there are ongoing problems requiring mitigation – like security and cleanup costs. In practice, though, the real impact is likely to be preventive: local governments may ultimately be more proactive about mitigating these nuisances if this proposal is enacted than they are today.”
The Arizona-based Goldwater Institute took a position in support of Proposition 312 ahead of the November General Election. On its website, the influential organization wrote, “We saw it in Phoenix’s homeless Zone when the city allowed lawlessness to run wild. We saw it in Tucson, too. Amid rampant homelessness, hardworking Arizona taxpayers are being forced to bear the burden of a city’s refusal to do its duty to protect public health and safety, paying out of pocket to install fences, hire security, clean up garbage, human waste, and other hazardous materials themselves. Prop 312 ensures that when government fails to enforce existing laws regarding illegal camping, loitering, pollution, and other nuisances, taxpayers will no longer be forced to foot the bill.”
Proposition 312 was made possible by the Arizona State Legislature earlier this year, when Republicans led the way to pass HCR 2023, which, if eventually passed by state voters in November, would “allow a property owner to apply for a primary property tax refund if the owner documents expenses caused by a city, town or county adopting a policy, pattern or practice which declines to enforce existing laws or the maintaining of a public nuisance” – according to the overview provided by the state House.
In a statement after the successful passage of the bill out of his chamber, Senate President Warren Petersen said, “There are instances where local governments routinely and repeatedly fail their citizens by not enforcing laws. An example of this would be the City of Phoenix’s handling of the former homeless encampment known as ‘The Zone.’ This area was not only a public safety and public health disaster for those who camped there, but it was also a detriment to the livelihoods of small business owners who set up their shops in the area.”
Petersen added, “Money talks, and as a way to encourage municipalities to enforce the law, Speaker Toma and I teamed up to sponsor HCR 2023/SCR 1006. This measure is a ballot referral that would protect law-abiding citizens. If approved by voters, property owners would be allowed to request a refund for expenses incurred to mitigate the problem, up to the amount of their property tax liability. The funds would be deducted from the local government’s state shared revenue.”
The chamber’s president also noted that “all Senate Democrats voted ‘no’” on the referral.
The key findings from CSI about Proposition 312 are as follows:
“Problem increasing: Crime, drug overdoses, unsheltered homelessness, and other public nuisances have risen dramatically in Arizona and the greater Phoenix area since 2019. But the impacts are disproportionate: the problem has become more visible in certain parts of the city. This creates a negative economic impact for those parts of the city where local officials have failed to enforce existing laws
“Property Value Loss: Commercial properties in Phoenix affected by unmitigated public nuisances have seen market rent appreciation fall to just 15.7% between 2019 and 2023, compared to the citywide rate of 30.2%. This represents up to $2.1 billion in lost property value due to slower appreciation in areas with high levels of homelessness, crime, and public nuisances.
“Increased Crime: In areas with high public nuisance activity, the average crime rates for drug offenses, burglaries, robberies, and arson were between 3 to 5 timeshigher than the Phoenix average, driving up costs for property owners due to increased security measures and property damage.
“Impact on Businesses: Businesses located in areas with elevated public nuisance levels experience significantly lower property appreciation and higher vacancy rates. The economic toll of unmitigated public nuisances has made it harder for businesses to thrive in these areas.”
During the legislative process this year, representatives from Barry Goldwater Institute for Public Policy Research, QuikTrip, Arizona Free Enterprise Club, Arizona Chamber of Commerce, Arizona Food Marketing Alliance, and the National Federation of Independent Business, indicated their support for the proposal on the Arizona Legislature’s Request to Speak system. Representatives from the League of Arizona Cities & Towns, Living United for Change in Arizona, Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence, Professional Fire Fighters of Arizona, Arizona Association of Counties, County Supervisors Association of Arizona, Arizona Housing Coalition, and several state cities and towns, signed in to oppose the measure.
Interested voters can read the full CSI report regarding Prop 312 here.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Over the last three years, the city of Phoenix spent over $180 million in its attempts to address its growing homeless population.
New research from The Goldwater Institute suggests that the millions had little impact, if any, in reducing the rates of homelessness. The population grew 92 percent in Phoenix from 2018 to 2023, and 72 percent in Maricopa County from 2017 to 2023. Homeless population totals for 2021 weren’t collected due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The growth became evident in certain areas, such as the downtown area unofficially ignored by police for most response calls known as “The Zone.”
The $180 million constitutes a low estimate of total expenditures; when adding in funds from the state, federal government, and private entities considered to be budget line items, that number grows to over $250 million, per their research.
About one-sixth of those city funds went to the Community Bridges organization — $30 million — which provided property and housing services as well as outreach for shelter support services.
The other major contracts put up by the city to address homelessness were $16 million for BRYCON, which provided shelter space and general contracting; $13 million for St. Vincent de Paul, which provided emergency shelter, transitional housing, and hotel operations; $9.4 million for Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS), which provided housing, shelter, and homeless support services; $9 million for Mercy Care, which provided behavioral health and mental health services; $7 million for Human Services Campus, which provided relief sprung structure for shelter; $6.2 million for Salvation Army, which provided shelter and street outreach; $4.6 million for A New Leaf, which provided rapid rehousing and homeless youth reunification; $4.5 million for UMOM Day Centers, which provided shelter and street outreach; $2.6 million for Steel & Spark, the provider of the X-Wing Shelter Units; $2.3 million for Homeward Bound, which provided homeless prevention efforts such as GED and job training; $2 million for St. Joseph the Worker, which provided workforce villages and paying housing costs; $1.2 million for Child Crisis Arizona, which provided shelter for homeless minors; and $1 million for Southwest Behavioral Health Services, which provided criminal justice for the homeless and outreach.
Four of the city’s contractors for homeless services — Southwest Behavioral Health, Chicanos Por La Causa, CASS, and Mercy Care — have seats on the city’s task force to address homelessness.
Per the Goldwater Institute, the city has yet to disburse $63 million for city-owned shelters, emergency rental assistance, property acquisition, hotel conversion, and affordable housing.
The city’s Office of Homeless Solutions (OHS) reports that it has committed $140 million since 2021 through the end of this year to address homelessness through shelter and heat relief, outreach, supportive and behavioral health services, homelessness prevention, and supportive housing.
According to the Goldwater Institute, OHS has only provided public accounting for 34 percent of that $140 million. Additionally, that 34 percent consisted of vague reporting, such as the absence of program start and end dates.
The unrelenting growth in the homeless population, despite expensive efforts to stymie, it has prompted alternative actions from city leaders. Earlier this month, the city council enacted an ordinance banning homeless encampments near parks and schools.
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A ballot referral to help protect Arizona business owners from degrading landscapes outside their front doors will be considered by state voters thanks to the efforts of legislators.
The Arizona Senate President, Warren Petersen, and Speaker of the House Ben Toma introduced HCR 2023 / SCR 1006, which would “allow a property owner to apply for a primary property tax refund if the owner documents expenses caused by a city, town or county adopting a policy, pattern or practice which declines to enforce existing laws or the maintaining of a public nuisance” – according to the overview provided by the state House.
In a statement after the successful passage of the bill out of his chamber, Petersen said, “There are instances where local governments routinely and repeatedly fail their citizens by not enforcing laws. An example of this would be the City of Phoenix’s handling of the former homeless encampment known as ‘The Zone.’ This area was not only a public safety and public health disaster for those who camped there, but it was also a detriment to the livelihoods of small business owners who set up their shops in the area.”
President Petersen added, “Money talks, and as a way to encourage municipalities to enforce the law, Speaker Toma and I teamed up to sponsor HCR 2023/SCR 1006. This measure is a ballot referral that would protect law-abiding citizens. If approved by voters, property owners would be allowed to request a refund for expenses incurred to mitigate the problem, up to the amount of their property tax liability. The funds would be deducted from the local government’s state shared revenue.”
The chamber’s president also noted that “all Senate Democrats voted ‘no’” on the referral.
At the end of February, the Arizona House approved the referral with a 31-28 vote (with one vacant seat). The Arizona Senate then passed the measure with a 16-12 vote (with two members not voting). The referral was then transmitted to the Arizona Secretary of State to be placed on the November General Election ballot.
Representatives from Barry Goldwater Institute for Public Policy Research, QuikTrip, Arizona Free Enterprise Club, Arizona Chamber of Commerce, Arizona Food Marketing Alliance, and the National Federation of Independent Business, indicated their support for the proposal on the Arizona Legislature’s Request to Speak system. Representatives from the League of Arizona Cities & Towns, Living United for Change in Arizona, Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence, Professional Fire Fighters of Arizona, Arizona Association of Counties, County Supervisors Association of Arizona, Arizona Housing Coalition, and several state cities and towns, signed in to oppose the measure.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
On Monday, the Arizona Senate approved HCR 2023 to be on the 2024 general election ballot. The ballot measure would compensate residents, businesses, and property owners whose livelihoods are harmed by lawlessness surrounding the homelessness crisis.
According to the Goldwater Institute, the first-in-the-nation reform allows property owners, who have had to deal with mitigation expenses as a result of a municipality’s purposeful failure to enforce nuisance regulations related to the homeless crisis, to receive a refund for damages up to the amount of their property tax liability.
The funds are then deducted from the offending municipality’s state shared revenue and sent to the property owner.
“Arizonans no longer trust that their tax dollars are being used by local governments to enforce the law and address rampant homelessness,” Goldwater President and CEO Victor Riches said. “This ballot measure will ensure that when municipalities fail to do their job, business and property owners are not left holding the bag.”
The Goldwater Institute is a Phoenix-based conservative think tank. The group says the reform has a large coalition of support from residents, property owners, and business owners who have been hurt by their government’s failure to enforce the law, and the government’s tendency for pushing homeless people into unofficial open-air shelters like “The Zone” in Phoenix.
The bill was sponsored by Senate President Warren Petersen and Speaker of the House Ben Toma, both Republicans.
Toma said Arizona residents are tired of lawlessness and inaction regarding the homelessness crisis.
“Business owners and residents alike are having their property stolen, vandalized, or terrorized and are desperate for help,” Toma said. “That’s why I sponsored HCR2023, to hold our local governments accountable to our community members and to help provide some relief for property owners who have suffered damages because of a city’s purposeful failure to provide the public health and safety services we all pay for.”
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the Goldwater Institute was founded by Barry Goldwater. The story has been corrected.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
Arizona’s leading legislative Republicans are cheering on the nation’s high court as it agreed to hear arguments in a significant case of interest to the state.
Earlier this month, the General Counsel for the Arizona House Republicans, Linley Wilson, announced that the Supreme Court of the United States had granted cert in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson and Logan. Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma had filed an amicus brief at the Court in September 2023 in the matter concerning “three homeless individuals in Grants Pass (who) filed this lawsuit to try to stop local and state governments from combating the public safety threats, the public health dangers, and the inhumane conditions associated with these homeless encampments.”
The city had received unfavorable opinions from the federal courts at both the district and appeals (Ninth Circuit) levels, leading to the appeal to the nation’s high court.
In their brief, Petersen and Toma asserted that “the Legislature also has a pressing interest in homelessness because it confronts the realities of America’s homelessness crisis every day, including only a few blocks from the state capitol complex. Phoenix, Arizona, is home to one of the nation’s largest homeless encampments, commonly known as ‘The Zone.’ With hundreds of homeless residents, The Zone is a place of intense poverty, frequent crime (including multiple homicides), social instability, and poor living standards.”
The lawmakers also opined, “the Ninth Circuit decided it was better at making policy than elected state legislatures and city councils.” They argued the opinion from the Ninth Circuit “injects the federal courts into a policymaking area reserved for state and local lawmakers, entrenches a plainly incorrect and deeply damaging construction of the Eighth Amendment, and improperly interferes with state and local policymaking on the critically important issue of homelessness.”
Wilson previously pointed to a social media post from California Governor Gavin Newsom about the issue of federal courts inserting case law into “local efforts to clear street encampments,” stating, “This humanitarian crisis is not a partisan issue. The 9th Circuit’s opinions harm the homeless and the Legislature’s ability to craft effective policies.”
This humanitarian crisis is not a partisan issue. The 9th Circuit’s opinions harm the homeless and the Legislature’s ability to craft effective policies. Read the amicus brief filed today by @RepBenToma and @votewarren in SCOTUS👇🏼https://t.co/7VCv5B3MOMhttps://t.co/QyfE8C8gkd
