Phoenix Council Considers Criminal Penalty for Giving Out Food, Medical Care in City Parks

In a small room on the 18th floor of Phoenix City Hall, about 20 people gathered to discuss a newly expanded proposed city ordinance that would severely restrict both food and medical provision in city parks.

The ordinance — which LOOKOUT was first to report on in December — is scheduled to be discussed and voted on at the May 6 City Council meeting. It would allow only two permits per park per month for organizations to conduct basic medical care or distribute food, an expansion of its earlier draft that caused widespread concern among health practitioners. Critics say the restrictions could lead to increased hunger, outbreaks of illness, and death.

The April 1 meeting was part of the Fast-Track Cities Committee, a global network of more than 600 cities and municipalities working to reduce HIV and STI transmissions through urban health initiatives. It included Phoenix councilmembers Debra Stark and Laura Pastor, who previously voted in favor of the ordinance.

Pastor told LOOKOUT after the meeting that she heard the concerns raised but was cautious about commenting further.

“Some of the great work Fast Track has been doing may be hindered by some of the items in here,” she said.

On how she would vote, she added: “I will decide probably the day I walk up there and weigh my pros and cons,” she said.

A city spokesperson told LOOKOUT, “The City of Phoenix is committed to providing safe, clean, and welcoming community spaces for all residents. The proposed Medical Treatment and Food Distribution in Parks Ordinance is intended to establish a framework to ensure these services are provided in a safe and organized manner.”

But “safe and organized” isn’t how most members of the Fast-Track committee see the ordinance, as their frustration during the meeting was palpable. Attendees questioned why the City Council did not consult stakeholders before drafting the ordinance. They raised concerns about restricting food distribution, limiting permits, and the origins of several additional provisions.

Angel Algarin, a professor at Arizona State University’s Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, called the ordinance “despicable.”

A history of expanding restrictions

The newly expanded ordinance comes from a measure passed in December that focused solely on restricting medical care — a process that was already contentious.

In November 2025, an initial draft proposed banning all medical care in city parks, as well as the distribution of information related to medical care or harm reduction. LOOKOUT obtained and published a leaked copy of the proposal.

Among its provisions: a ban on distributing drug-testing kits, clean needles, alcohol pads and rapid HIV tests in parks — services that mutual aid groups like R.I.O.T. Phoenix rely on to reach people who use drugs and those experiencing homelessness.

The draft would have barred any “person, group or organization” from inviting, promoting or organizing events intended to provide medical treatment to the public, raising concerns among civil rights advocates that the language could be used to target individuals simply carrying harm reduction supplies.

The day before the Dec. 17 council vote, members amended the proposal to narrow its scope, specifying that restrictions applied to treatment involving diagnosis or aid to people with illnesses or wounds. However, the revision also increased penalties, turning civil citations into Class 1 misdemeanor charges.

Despite nearly six hours of public comment — most from health workers and harm reduction advocates — the council voted overwhelmingly to approve the ordinance. Councilwoman Anna Hernandez cast the lone dissenting vote.

Phoenix Parks and Recreation Director Cynthia Aguilar — now deputy city manager — acknowledged during that meeting that the city did not consult outside stakeholders, including medical providers or harm reduction groups, when drafting or revising the ordinance.

The rule was originally set to take effect in March 2026 but has since been delayed until June.

Now, just months later, the city has returned with an even broader proposal.

What the new ordinance does

The expanded ordinance adds food distribution to the list of restricted activities and defines “medical treatment” as any act that “involves the use of needles, syringes, other medical sharps, or produces medical waste.”

It caps permits at two per park per calendar month and requires medical treatment to take place only in parking lots or hardscape areas, inside enclosed structures with “a tarp or other impermeable floor” — a provision Becky Lutz, community outreach manager for Spectrum Medical and a committee member, described as “another restrictive way to stop us from doing services to people that are being deemed unworthy.”

The ordinance also prohibits possession of a needle or syringe in a park unless a person can prove the medication is “currently and validly prescribed” to themselves or someone in their direct care — a requirement advocates worry could violate HIPAA protections.

It further bans the “sale, distribution, or exchange of syringes or needles,” effectively prohibiting needle exchange programs, with a narrow exception for participants in a state-authorized overdose and disease prevention program who can verify the needle’s origin.

An exception remains for the distribution of intranasal naloxone — an opioid overdose reversal drug — in both emergency and non-emergency situations, as well as for first responders and licensed professionals at separately permitted city events.

“This ordinance is completely in opposition to the mission of this program. Full stop,” said Jack Palmer of Circle the City during the Fast Track Cities meeting. 

He noted that in the past eight months alone, more than 100 people tested positive for hepatitis C through outreach conducted in parks.

Arlene Mahoney, executive director of Southwest Recovery Alliance, told LOOKOUT that restricting access would cause severe harm: “We are meeting people where they're at, keeping people safer, reducing overdose deaths and transmission of HIV and Hep C, reducing soft tissue infection, providing sharps disposal,” she said.

She also pointed to research showing syringe services programs reduce syringe waste in surrounding communities.

Lutz, with Spectrum Medical, said the organization conducted approximately 900 HIV-positive tests last year, most through park outreach. She said if the ordinance goes through, an HIV outbreak is sure to happen: “Instead of finding needles, they’re going to find dead bodies.”

The ordinance’s effective date has been pushed to June 1, 2026.

Residents can weigh in at three upcoming community meetings: April 8 at Sunnyslope, April 14 at Cesar Chavez Community Center and April 16 in a virtual session. The City Council is set to vote May 6. Find more info about the meetings and fill out a survey to share your opinion.

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