Phoenix determines which block of 'The Zone' homeless encampment will be cleared out first

Affected residents in The Zone have started receiving notice from Phoenix about which block will be cleared first of tents, debris and people, when the city goes in next month.

The block, which is scheduled to be cleared out on May 10, is at Ninth Avenue between Washington and Jefferson streets and sits on the outer edge of The Zone, the city’s largest homeless encampment. Roughly 20 tents lined the sidewalk on Friday.

The southwest corner of the block is home to Phoenix Inner City Kids, a nonprofit organization whose mission is “consistent intervention with at-risk youth,” according to its financial records. The street is also one block away from Library Park.

The block only became part of The Zone in recent months, as the encampment started to expand and people began putting up tents where they could still find room.

The city has started passing out flyers to alert residents that the block will soon be cleared out.

“After the cleaning is complete, you will NOT be allowed to return to the designated area and camping on 9th Avenue between Washington and Jefferson will be prohibited,” the flyer says. If a person refuses to "permanently relocate," they could be cited or arrested, it says.

Phoenix is clearing the encampment block-by-block to ensure that it has enough shelter available for everyone who must be relocated, said Rachel Milne, director of the city’s Office of Homeless Solutions. The city has not yet determined what those shelter options will be, but staff are considering hotel rooms, vacant buildings and an outdoor shelter with bathrooms and security, Milne said.

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Vanessa Martin has lived on the block with her husband for about five months. She wonders where they and their neighbors will go once they are forced to leave.

“The problem with that is, they’re getting rid of all the tents. The housing lists are closed and the hotels are full,” Martin said. “So it’s like, OK, what do we do?”

Chas Miller, who lives across the street with his girlfriend, was grateful the city provided the residents advanced notice.

“They gave us enough time. That was cool. To not just do it immediately,” Miller said. He plans to vacate the area before the May 10 cleanup but doesn't yet know where he will go.

The cleanup is in response to a court order that said Phoenix must remove tents in the area. The order is part of a lawsuit, Brown v. City of Phoenix, that nearby residents and property owners filed against the city in August, claiming that the encampment is a public nuisance and that the city hasn’t done enough to fix the problem. A trial in that lawsuit is scheduled for July 10.

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The American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona also sued the city in November over its treatment of people experiencing homelessness, seeking to halt cleanup sweeps of unhoused people’s belongings and stop police from enforcing ordinances that the lawsuit says "criminalize homelessness.” A settlement of that lawsuit was expected to be finalized by May 3, but the parties have since requested an extension until June 3, according to court records.

Arizona Republic reporter Miguel Torres contributed to this article.

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: This block of 'The Zone' homeless encampment will be cleared out first