Tucson City Council will be voting tonight on the possible adoption or amendment of several city ordinances revolving around Tucson's homeless population.
- The first is the proposed amendment which would prohibit people from occupying traffic medians on streets where the speed limits are 30 miles-per-hour or higher, for any reason other than crossing the street legally, according to a city communication attached to Tuesday night's Council Meeting agenda.
The original codes, adopted in 2000, prohibited people from occupying medians to "solicit employment, contributions, donations or sales of any kind from the occupant of a vehicle," the memo said. It was adopted to regulate the sale of newspapers from medians. But subsequent federal court rulings made the codes unenforceable.
- The second proposal prohibits camping in washes and watercourses, defined in documents as "setting up or remaining in or at a campsite, a place where bedding, sleeping bags, tents, shade structures, boxes, or other material is used for bedding purposes, or where any stove or fire is placed for the purpose of maintaining a temporary place to live," the memo said.
- The third proposal will amend the code that regulates and prohibits camping in city parks. The amendment will align the definition of "camping" in these instances with the definition used for the new proposal banning camping in washes.
The proposals are in response to Prop. 312, approved by Arizona voters on Nov. 4, that allows a property owner to apply for a reimbursement once a year of expenses are incurred, as a result of the city, town or county not enforcing existing laws "prohibiting illegal camping, obstructing a public thoroughfare, loitering, panhandling, urinating or defecating in public, consuming alcoholic beverages in public, or possessing or using illegal substances; or maintaining such public nuisance.”
The City Attorney advised at a study session in January that certain provisions of the Tucson Code should be revised so that they are less likely to be the basis for claims.
Tuesday's City Council meeting begins at 5:30 p.m.
