Phoenix City Council approves homeless campground in downtown

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) – The Phoenix City Council approved Wednesday a plan to build a homeless campground in downtown. The move comes as the city faces a court-ordered deadline to clear hundreds of people living in tents in The Zone, the largest homeless encampment in the state. The new campground is set to be built on a vacant lot near 15th Avenue and Jefferson Street. City leaders say it will have showers, bathrooms, shade and security. It will cost $13.3 million and will be funded through the Arizona Department of Housing.

“My opinion is that moving people into an outdoor area again would not be good for some of us who have severe health issues. I see it as not fair when there is funding that could help us get affordable housing,” said one man who spoke at the meeting. There was pushback from many community members who called the campground inhumane. Some said the city is rushing the project because of the looming deadline to clean up The Zone. Meanwhile, Phoenix City Councilman Jim Waring said it is a safer option. “We heard a lot of negatives about this but certainly we need the space and the current situation is a complete disaster. People mentioned the amount of deaths. I got to imagine that number would go down, in this more supervised scenario,” said Waring.

The campground will have security and city leaders said they will call the police if people commit crimes. This city said this is a temporary solution as it builds more indoor shelter space.

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