The Zone: Phoenix gave updates on cleanup efforts days before court-imposed deadline

PHOENIX - Officials with the City of Phoenix gave an update on its efforts to clean up a homeless encampment near Downtown that has become known as "The Zone."

Over a year ago, businesses in the area filed a lawsuit against the city, and on Sept. 20, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott A. Blaney ruled that the city needs to clean out the encampment.

Judge Blaney's ruling calls for a number of things, including:

Banning the city from "continuing to maintain a public nuisance on the public property in The Zone"
Abating the nuisance, including the removal of all tents and other makeshift structures, by Nov. 4, 2023
Maintain public property in The Zone that is free of tents, biohazardous materials including human waste, trash and drug paraphernalia, and individuals committing offenses against the public order.

At one point, there were more than a thousand people living in a homeless encampment area that which sprawled across 15 blocks, and cleanup efforts began months ago. On Oct. 26, we reported that the homeless encampment was almost gone, with city officials still needing to clean two more blocks.

During a news conference that happened on the morning of Nov. 1, city workers said they are trying to find shelter for another 70 people. Meanwhile, workers can now send unhoused people to shelters, or to a campground that is being built near 15th Avenue and Jefferson.

That campground, when completed, will have 200 spaces, showers, bathrooms, and shade. The place will also have case workers to help unhoused people.

"Our job is to connect people, and create resources to give people a clear path out of homelessness or out of addiction," said a city worker. "The safe outdoor space we have a soft open now can put people in there as needed. There's still construction going on. It should be fully completed within the next couple of weeks."