Testimony starts in homeless camp trial; Phoenix plans to keep clearing no matter outcome

A highly anticipated trial over Phoenix’s largest homeless encampment, “The Zone,” kicked off on Monday with a full day of witness testimony.

The state court lawsuit, Brown v. City of Phoenix, was filed in August by residents and business owners who say the sprawling downtown encampment is a public nuisance and that the city hasn’t done enough to fix the problem. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney, who is presiding over the case, ordered the city in March to begin clearing out the encampment.

During Monday’s trial, witnesses for both parties took the stand to inform the court about the situation in The Zone, which is near 12th Avenue and Madison Street, and what the city has done to address it.

Plaintiffs Freddy Brown and Ian Francis Likwarz, who own businesses in the area, described witnessing violent crime, drug use and sex acts near their properties. They said the situation hasn’t improved since they filed the lawsuit and, in some ways, has worsened.

Brown said The Zone has continued to grow, with some people trading in their tents for semi-permanent structures made of construction materials like wood pallets, plywood and solar panels.

Likwarz said the city is “dragging their feet” on clearing the area.

“It’s an abomination,” he said.

The number of unhoused people living in and around The Zone has fluctuated since the city began clearing out the area on May 10, with weekly counts ranging from 750 people to over 900, according to data from the Human Services Campus, a collection of homelessness nonprofits that sits at the center of the encampment.

The recent increase in The Zone’s population could be attributed to the closure of sober living homes due to widespread Medicaid fraud, said Rachel Milne, director of Phoenix’s Office of Homeless Solutions, who also testified.

The city created 600 new shelter beds in 2022 and 120 new beds so far this year, Milne said, with 800 more in the works. Its newest shelter site, a hotel that can accommodate 50 people, opened Monday, Milne said.

Judge Glock, director of research at the conservative think tank Manhattan Institute and an expert witness for the plaintiffs, testified that providing permanent supportive housing or increasing the amount of affordable housing available is insufficient for ending homelessness. To decrease street homelessness, cities must also enforce bans on urban camping, he said.

The city has two more cleanups in The Zone planned for Wednesday, July 12, and Wednesday, July 19. Phoenix has been cleaning The Zone block-by-block since early May.

The lawsuit has two potential primary outcomes, said Ilan Wurman, an attorney for the plaintiffs. Blaney could rule in favor of the plaintiffs and make his court order requiring the city to clear out the encampment permanent, possibly even setting a hard deadline for completion, or he could rule in favor of the city and walk the court order back.

No matter the lawsuit’s outcome, the city will continue to clear out the encampment as planned, Milne said.

“This is what we know to be the right thing for the people who are currently camping on the streets, as well as what we think is the right thing for the businesses and residents around there," she said.

The trial will resume Tuesday, with four more of the city’s witnesses scheduled to take the stand.

Juliette Rihl covers housing insecurity and homelessness for The Arizona Republic. She can be reached at jrihl@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @julietterihl.

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: Phoenix reveals plans in 'The Zone' homeless camp trial testimony