(The Center Square) – A judge has sided with business owners in a case challenging the city of Phoenix’s handling of a sprawling homelessness encampment.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney ruled Monday that city officials must stop enabling the hundreds of homeless camping out on a broad swath of downtown Phoenix, known as “The Zone,” and act quickly to find accommodations.
A group of business owners in the area – located between 7th and 15th avenues and between Van Buren and Grant streets – filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County in September 2022 saying the city wasn’t enforcing its nuisance laws in not clearing out the encampments. One of the plaintiffs, sub-shop owner Joe Faillace, shared his harrowing story with The New York Times.
