Tucson Council bans standing on medians, doesn’t approve law against camping in washes

On Tuesday, the Tucson City Council didn’t approve a proposed ban on camping in washes, while voting in favor of a ban on standing on medians on busy streets— two ordinances targeted at Tucson’s unsheltered population.

The ordinances are an effort to mitigate the consequences of Prop. 312, a measure approved by voters last November that would allow Arizonans to get a refund on their property taxes if they can prove local governments neglected to address negative effects of homelessness nearby.

In a 6 to 1 vote, Tucson’s City Council made it illegal for anyone to be on the median of a major road for any purpose other than crossing the street, citing potential dangers to motorists and pedestrians.

That measure replaces a ban on soliciting from medians that has not been enforced in recent years. Because the anti-panhandling ordinance targeted “expressive activity,” it would likely have been found unconstitutional, City Attorney Mike Rankin explained. The replacement city ordinance, although intended to curb homeless people from asking motorists for money, more broadly focuses on unsafe behavior.

The new measure, which was opposed by Councilmember Lane Santa Cruz (Ward 1 – West Side), applies to streets with speed limits of 30 mph or greater. Standing on a median for more than two light cycles at a signalized intersection is prima facia evidence of a violation, the ordinance reads. A violation is punishable by up to 24 hours in jail or fines/community service of up to $250. It goes into effect immediately.

The second ordinance, which would have made it a crime to sleep or set up a shelter in a city wash, garnered a tie vote of 3 to 3. Councilmember Richard Fimbres (Ward 5 – South Side), who attended the meeting virtually, did not respond when he was called on during the vote.

According to Council rules, which include Robert’s Rules of Order, a tie means a measure fails, though councilmembers agreed to revisit the ordinance at the next meeting, on April 8.

Councilman Paul Cunningham, of Ward 2 on the Northeast Side, asked to reconsider the camping vote after Fimbres participated in another vote, but Rankin said Council rules require at least 24 hours to pass before a reconsideration — which can be requested only by someone who voted “no” — can take place. A related item, to alter the city’s legal definition of “camping” in an ordinance that bars sleeping in parks to parallel the proposed wash ordinance, was not voted on Tuesday.

City officials introduced the camping ban to alleviate the “significant dangers” associated with sleeping in washes, caused by geography that makes inhabitants hard to see and difficult to access in times of emergency, City Manager Tim Thomure said in a memo.

Last September, the Council presented a first draft of the ordinance, then removed it not long after from the agenda, because it was “not ready,” Thomure told the Sentinel.

City officials and advocates voiced concerns about the ban at the meeting Tuesday, arguing that the law — with violations punishable by fines of $250 or less, or up to 10 days in jail — would further criminalize homelessness.

“This decision, along with closing off parks, implementing hostile architecture and sweeping camps is not only extremely dangerous for the unhoused community but is totally nonsensical,” said local mutual aid organizer Liz Casey in a statement to the Sentinel last fall. “It will only result in the worsening of social issues and perpetuate the cycles of homelessness.”

Washes are popular camping spots for people experiencing homelessness because they offer privacy and a modicum of relief from triple-digit temperatures, though a monsoon can fill a wash with aggressive flood waters.

Tucson’s Housing First Department regularly conducts sweeps each summer of encampments in washes in order to prevent drowning deaths, they said.

Last June, a 27-year-old woman died after she was swept up in the Rillito River during a flash flood caused by a summer storm.

On Tuesday, Cunningham, who voted “no” on the measure, said the ban would only force people camping in washes into other public areas, and not into shelter.

“I don’t like this at all, and I’m going to tell you why,” Cunningham said. “We don’t have anywhere for them to go.”

That morning, city workers cleared out homeless encampments near washes and trees at the 100-Acre Wood Bike Park on South Alvernon Way. Officials said they removed 38 people from the park and around six people accepted services or shelter.

While she and other councilmembers agreed that the city needs more comprehensive solutions for homelessness, Mayor Regina Romero said Tucson needs to protect itself from the spate of incoming lawsuits under Prop. 312.

“I have a responsibility to be able to protect the city of Tucson from lawsuits from people that I know are lining up to sue the city of Tucson on this particular issue,” Romero said.

Romero and Councilmembers Nikki Lee (Ward 4 – Southeast Side) and Karin Uhlich (Ward 6 – Midtown) voted for the camping ban, while Cunningham, Santa Cruz and Kevin Dahl (Ward 3 – Northwest Side) voted against it.

Dahl said though he voted for the ban on standing on the median because of the safety issues associated with it — increased collision risk, distraction to drivers, breathing in noxious fumes — he could not vote for the camping ban.

“I think this is stepping over the line and criminalizing homelessness,” Dahl said.