The Town Council held a discussion at its June 20 meeting in an effort to provide staff with guidance for potential ordinance to address some of the issues that go with homelessness.

Council members were told there are significant pitfalls in trying to draft policies to address such issues. Whatever is proposed as an ordinance, it must have across the board application. Town Attorney Aaron Arnson told the council it must keep in mind that crime must be addressed as conduct and cannot, under any circumstance, be related to status of an individual.

Citing the example of trying to enforce trespassing, Arnson said law enforcement needs to identify a victim willing to file a complaint. Also, whether the suspect is still present when deputies arrive is a consideration. He also cited one example of deputies issuing a citation to a person trespassing in a wash thought to be Town property. It turned out it was not Town property, so the citation was not valid.

Councilman Allen Skillicorn, who participated in the meeting via phone, asked about staff follow-up regarding a transient in “Kiwanis Park,” where the Kiwanis Club leases a building on the property. Skillicorn expressed frustration getting a response. Arnson said the Kiwanis facility, while it has some minor outdoor amenities, is not a designated park for the Town. Arnson said it would be up to the lessee (Kiwanis) to complain. Public Works Director Justin Weldy, who would have jurisdiction over Town facilities, told the council he has reached out to the club, but had not yet scheduled a meeting to discuss the issue.

Resident Crystal Cavanagh offered some suggestions related to a potential ordinance. Cavanagh said Fountain Hills has a good quality of life and she would want to see it stay that way. She suggested criminalizing littering with a hefty fine or jail. She said incarceration may lead to rehabilitation. She also suggested fining businesses if they do not maintain clean property, and requiring permits for soliciting in the rights of ways with specific guidelines.

“A tight ordinance will help,” Cavanagh said.

Skillicorn proposed a motion that would prohibit individuals from standing or sitting in a street median where the speed limit is greater than 35 miles per hour.

He also asked for the Town to consider, verbatim, an ordinance adopted by Glendale. Mayor Ginny Dickey noted that council members had received a confidential memo from Arnson advising against adopting the Glendale provisions. It was noted without specifics that the ordinance has significant legal issues.

Skillicorn suggested the current U.S. Supreme Court might favor such restrictions. Dickey said she has no interest in the notoriety of challenging something before the Supreme Court.

“Taxpayers are spending millions (on programs) that are just not working,” Skillicorn said. “These policies are a colossal failure.”

Vice Mayor Peggy McMahon said it sounds like Skillicorn is proposing ordinances that target the homeless.

“This is too broad and not enforceable,” McMahon said.

“We are not attacking someone based on their status,” Councilwoman Hannah Toth said. “I think we are looking out for safety.”

“I have concerns this is blatantly targeting one person,” Councilwoman Sharron Grzybowski said. “I see issues with this.”

“We should proceed with great caution,” Councilwoman Brenda Kalivianakis said.

“This is a very complex issue we are dealing with,” Dickey said. “Let’s avoid generalizations that this is not working.”

Interim Town Manager Rachael Goodwin said the discussion gave staff a starting point to draft some regulations. She said they would focus on safety and commerce and include input from law enforcement.

“We will have a draft for future consideration,” Goodwin said.

Input

Prior to its discussion the council heard from agencies that deal with homelessness as a matter of course.

Amy St. Peter with Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) discussed regional programs to address homelessness. The Town has budgeted $50,000 to support MAG programs.

St. Peter outlined the current numbers for the region showing homeless households have increased by just over 1,000 since January 2022. Over that same period the number of homeless families has remained consistent at around 600.

The primary factors contributing to homelessness include economic factors (28.2%), health issues (25.5%), family issues including death of a loved one, domestic violence and family conflict (21.5%) and lack of affordable housing (10.9%). Those making the lack of housing a lifestyle was about 4%.

St. Peter said that one significant issue is that inflow of homeless people is greater than the outflow, or those finding homes. She presented a regionwide homeless map that indicates Fountain Hills has a small number of non-chronically homeless.

Pathways Home is the regional action plan MAG has involving local and tribal governments. Highlighted actions include working regionally to reduce homelessness, increase safe housing options and support diverse partnerships to address homelessness.

Capt. Larry Kratzer, Maricopa County Sheriff’s Commander for District 7 based in Fountain Hills discussed crime statistics for the community.

Kratzer stressed that MCSO does not specifically track crimes by homeless individuals, nor in most cases even ask the person’s status. They can go by whether the person provides an address, but he indicated that is very unreliable. He did say that between 2020 through 2022 those individuals providing an address accounted for 94.6% of subjects, with 4.3% providing no address.

Generally speaking, the numbers presented by Kratzer at the meeting indicate homelessness has little impact on incidents of crime in the community. Based on the numbers over the past three years (2020-2022) in most categories the numbers are going down.

Kratzer also introduced an individual who acts as a crisis assistant with MCSO. She is a licensed counselor who works with deputies to provide information on available resources, services and facilities to assist homeless individuals. This is an effort to reduce incarceration. There is a hotline deputies can use for assistance with specific situations.