Tempe Mayor Corey Woods emphasized homelessness management in State of the City
TEMPE, Ariz. - Tempe Mayor Corey Woods delivered his State of the City address on Wednesday morning, emphasizing the solutions the city has taken to curb the homeless and housing crisis throughout the nation.
Woods touted the city's HOPE outreach team that made more than 10,000 engagements to those in need this year, and Sue's Espacio, a bridge shelter that helped 19,000 people find solutions to homelessness with temporary shelter, Woods said.
He added that Tempe will tackle the issue of homelessness with sympathetic, action-oriented practicality and the city will lead with their hearts first, offering services and warnings to those who violate city ordinances.
The issues of homelessness and public encampments have grown in importance after the Phoenix cleanup of the Zone, the Supreme Court's decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson and the passage in Arizona of Prop 312.
The Grants Pass decision ruled that local governments can enforce laws prohibiting people from camping in public, while Arizona's Prop 312 - which passed by more than 500,000 votes - allows property owners to apply for a tax refund if camping, loitering and other public disturbances are not enforced by the city government on their properties.
On Dec. 3, Tempe joined Goodyear, Phoenix and Mesa, announcing that they would be enforcing a ban on urban camping.
The city cited city code 23-90, a law that was put in place in 1997, that prohibits anyone from using public property as housing as the reason for enforcement.
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Woods delivered the address at the Omni Tempe Hotel on the campus of ASU on Wednesday, Dec. 4.
He also covered topics including the improvement and continued construction to bolster the city's infrastructure, a decrease in the violent crime rate by 20% and a celebration of the 25th anniversary of Tempe Town Lake.