Midtown neighbors and advocates react to Tucson wash camping ban

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Tucsonans woke up to a new law limiting where the unhoused community can camp within the city.

Tuesday night, Tucson Mayor and Council voted 5-1 to ban camping in washes and watercourses and then voted 5-1 again to redefine camping to be consistent with state law.

While some Tucsonans are celebrating the decision, others are denouncing it, but people on both sides say they're wondering what comes next.

Several mutual aid groups around the city wrote a release, calling this move dangerous for Tucson's most vulnerable residents.

Community organizer Liz Casey says washes are one of the few places where people living on the streets can escape the sun. She says this new ordinance "is very likely going to increase medical emergencies, overdoses and likely heat deaths.”

Casey says she's lived next to a wash for about a decade, and she's only called a crisis line once.

“Normally, I don’t even hear people," she said. "Occasionally, some people have bad days and there’s yelling in the wash, but again, they don’t have a house to do that in. It’s normal human behavior.”

Though others living near Tucson's parks and washes had a different reaction like Anthony Gonzalez who lives near Reid Park.

“I just don’t feel safe at my own home," he said, adding that on walks in the park, "I’ve found gun paraphernalia, I’ve found drugs, and it seems like nothing is being done about it.”

He hopes that now something will be done to clear those spaces.

“I think by changing the definition, it’ll be able to be enforced because I’ve spoken to officers that say they can’t enforce anything,” he said.

However, cit communications say that enforcement is completely dependent on the resources the city has available.

While Tucson Police Department is trying to expand their ranks, a spokesperson at the department says they're about 120 officers short of their goal.

A representative form the city says the ban and the amended language on camping won't go into effect for 30 days after Tucson's council voted.

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Alex Dowd is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9, where her work combines her two favorite hobbies: talking to new people and learning about the community around her. Her goal is to eventually meet every single person in Tucson. Share your story ideas with Alex via email, alex.dowd@kgun9.com, or connecting on Instagram or X.