Bill would ban city's 'homeless hotel'

Mar. 1—A bill authored by a Scottsdale state representative would pull the plug on Scottsdale's use of an underused hotel as temporary shelter for homeless people.

"State or local monies may not be used for mixed hoteling," states the bill introduced Rep. Matt Gress, R-Scottsdale.

HB 2872 defines "mixed hoteling" as "providing rooms or shelter services, whether emergency, temporary or transitional rooms or shelter, to homeless individuals while concurrently providing hotel services to the general public in the same building or on the same premises."

That spells out exactly what is happening at the Independence Hotel, where Scottsdale is using $940,000 from the Arizona Department of Housing to provide temporary shelter and case management for up to 120 people.

The contract calls for Scottsdale to rent 10 rooms at the hotel on Pima Road between Via de Ventura and Indian Bend Road through June 30.

Even though it is a long way from becoming law, a few Scottsdale City Council members are furious over the Gress bill.

They were not buying the claim by Gress in a press release that his idea is "an important step towards reducing chronic homelessness and drug-related crime."

"This bill is government overreach — telling a privately owned business person what they can do with their business," Councilwoman Solange Whitehead said.

"It also undermines cities across the Valley that have seen 70% and 80% success rates relying on businesses to help people transition out of homelessness."

In a Progress guest editorial, Mayor David Ortega claimed Scottsdale's "Bridge Program" for transitional housing for the homeless was exceptionally successful, stating "70% of our program participants go on to stable housing."

Whitehead accused Gress of "creating a problem out of a solution."

"If you ask residents who do you want to solve problems — they want the city to solve them, not the state," she said.

In stark contrast to the Gress picture of homeless hotels riddled with drugs and crime, Whitehead stressed the Independence Hotel program is running smoothly.

The councilwoman said Scottsdale Police Chief Jeff Walther hosted a meeting with Independence Hotel neighbors to explain the program and address any concerns.

"The neighbors are 100% comfortable with the program after meeting with the police chief and recognizing there are no problems," Whitehead said.

She also noted the size and age of the Scottsdale Bridge Program.

"This isn't something Scottsdale does on a large scale," Whitehead said.

"We've done this since 2020 and been successful on a small scale."

What happens after the current contract with the Independence Hotel expires July 1?

"I don't know if we have plans to do it in the future," Whitehead said.

Rowdy town hall

The issue has been nagging at Gress for months.

On Sept. 13, Gress hosted a boisterous — with Ortega met by a round of booing — public hearing "to examine housing contracts to convert hotel rooms for use as an emergency homeless shelter" at a Scottsdale Civic Center Library meeting room.

Gress started the meeting with an applause-getting promise:

"I will not allow the disastrous policies of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, San Francisco and even Phoenix to seep into our community," Gress pledged.

He later slammed the city, saying, "Scottsdale's plan to utilize local hotel rooms to accommodate homeless individuals has caused a great deal of concern with residents."

Councilman Tom Durham fumed over the state representative — and his new bill.

"Gress's claim that we are doing what San Francisco is doing is ridiculous," Durham said.

"San Francisco has thousands of homeless residents spread over numerous hotels and has paid out millions of dollars for damages to these hotels and has experienced numerous drug related deaths."

Way different story here, Durham said.

"Our program — unlike San Francisco's — has been extremely successful and has not resulted in any serious crime," Durham said.

"It is understandable that Mr. Gress does not understand Scottsdale's program, since he refused several invitations from the mayor to come and visit before his publicity session last fall," Durham added.

New fund proposed

The Gress bill would require hotels used as temporary homeless housing to post "clearly visible" signs stating:

"This business is being used to house homeless individuals alongside the general public. It is recommended that all guests keep hotel doors locked, safely store their belongings and report any health or safety concerns to local law enforcement."

In addition to putting the hammer on homeless hotels, Gress insists his legislation will solve problems cities can't handle. His bill would transfer $75 million from the Housing Trust Fund passed by lawmakers last year to create a new Homeless Shelter and Services Fund.

The new fund, Gress says, will be used for homeless shelter services and construction of temporary housing for homeless people.

Democrats, cities and housing and homeless shelter organizations oppose the bill, which passed on a party line vote in committee.

The Capitol Times contributed to this story.