1 arrested as Phoenix continues clearing ‘The Zone' homeless encampment

Phoenix reached the halfway point in its clearing of "The Zone" homeless encampment on Wednesday, as the parties to a lawsuit that spurred the city's cleanup awaited a post-trial ruling in the case.

One person was arrested during Wednesday's clearing of a block on Madison Street, between 10th and 11th avenues. It was the third arrest since the block-by-block process of shutting down The Zone began in May.

Just before 8 a.m., a man was handcuffed by police and escorted off the block. Phoenix police said the arrest was for an outstanding warrant.

The Madison Street block, the ninth block of The Zone cleared of people experiencing homelessness, was emptied of people by 11 a.m. Of the 30 people living in The Zone whom the city interacted with on Wednesday, 22 accepted shelter, according to Kristin Couturier, a spokesperson for Phoenix's Office of Homeless Solutions.

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After Wednesday, city officials estimate, about eight more blocks are left to be cleared of residents.

The Zone is Phoenix's largest homeless encampment. It surrounds the Human Services Campus at South 12th Avenue and West Madison Street. The campus is home to more than a dozen nonprofits that serve people experiencing homelessness.

When Roberto Delaney first started living in the area about three years ago, it was a very different place, he said. He was one of the people living on the Madison Street block that was cleared Wednesday.

"Everybody knew everybody," Delaney said.

Now, he said, there are many more people living in The Zone. He watched its population grow steadily over the years, he said.

Delaney said he was offered shelter on Wednesday, but he didn't accept it. He wanted to stay near his possessions, including nearly two dozen bike frames he keeps as part of his bike-selling business, he said.

He was up all night packing, he said. He put his things in bags, he said, and hauled them with friends to another block of The Zone, one where people remain.

"It's been a lot of stress on me," Delaney said.

Charles "Cueball" Sanders said he has lost count of the number of times he has moved around The Zone.

"I couldn't even tell you," he said.

But on Wednesday, he was moving out of his tent into a hotel room that aid workers offered. He was excited to have a place where he can rest, he said.

"I'm going to lay in that bed without getting up," he said.

Twanisha Daniels-Anderson said she was offered a space in a shelter, as opposed to a hotel room just for her. She preferred to stay in the familiarity of The Zone since shelters are difficult for her to navigate with her social anxiety, she said.

In August 2022, residents and business owners near The Zone filed a lawsuit, Brown v. City of Phoenix, claiming the encampment was a public nuisance and urging the city to take action to limit it.

One of those business owners, Joel Coplin, watched from the roof of his art gallery as people packed up their items and moved out on Wednesday.

Coplin said he is happy with how the cleanups have gone so far.

"There has to be a better situation for these people to be in," he said.

A trial was held in the case in July. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney’s post-trial decision will clarify what changes, if any, will be made to a preliminary order requiring the city to clean up the area. There has not been movement in the case since the city last month accused a local business of dumping mattresses near the encampment.

“Although we are eager for a final order, the preliminary injunction is still in place, and the City is obligated to abate the nuisance in the Zone,” said Ilan Wurman, an attorney for the plaintiffs, in a statement. “We expect the judge is ensuring a thorough order that will withstand all scrutiny on appeal.”

Last week, before a City Council subcommittee, officials working on the cleanups said they have tried to provide a variety of indoor shelter options to people and learned that tracking the number of people living in a certain area weeks in advance is difficult because people frequently move.

The Office of Homeless Solutions estimates that about 80% of the people they have interacted with during cleanups accept some kind of shelter, but there is no data showing how many stay sheltered.

Over the past month, the number of people living in The Zone has steadily declined after months of stagnant population counts. Currently, about 500 people are living in the area, according to estimates from the Human Services Campus. Earlier this summer, The Zone was estimated to be home to between 700 and 800 people.

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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.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Another arrest as Phoenix clears block of ‘The Zone’