There are few emotions more painful than desperation. But in Arizona, desperation was becoming normal.

For years, a homelessness epidemic has been growing in Western states. But instead of rising to the occasion, local governments have failed to properly respond. Misguided and shortsighted policies were putting residents and property owners in danger and hurting people living on the street without any viable path to a better life.

Few cities experienced these challenges more than Phoenix. But instead of addressing the growing issue, the local city government created a de-facto homeless encampment just blocks away from the Arizona State Capital. This area of tents, drug use, and violence, became known as “The Zone.”

In 2023, The New York Times profiled two local business owners, Joe and Debbie Faillace, whose sandwich shop, The Old Station, is in the middle of “The Zone.” Joe and Debbie’s story showed what life had turned into for many Phoenix property owners,

“The homeless population in Phoenix continued to grow by hundreds each year, even as the city’s supply of shelter beds remained relatively flat, and a federal court ruling in 2018 required places with no shelter capacity to allow some camping in public spaces. […] Soon there were hundreds of people sleeping within a few blocks of Old Station, most of them suffering from mental illness or substance abuse as they lived out their private lives within public view of the restaurant.”

In addition to the physical, financial, and emotional toll Arizona’s homelessness crisis was taking on homeowners and property owners, the inaction of local governments was a cruel failure for the people on the street who needed help. As Joel Coplin, who lives and runs his art gallery in The Zone says, “this is not compassion. This is allowing, this is enabling. Compassion will be when they have the facilities they need. Toilets, showers, water, heat, shade, security. Those are the things that are compassionate.”

After years of inaction and half measures, it was clear that neither local nor state officials would actually address this issue.

So the Goldwater Institutestepped up.

The Right Solution

Homelessness is a sensitive and controversial issue. Because of this, Goldwater’s team knew they needed to develop the right solution to empower property owners while maintaining sensitivity and compassion for people on the street.

That solution became Proposition 312.

Goldwater developed Proposition 312 (also known as The Safe Neighborhoods Act) as a statewide ballot initiative. The concept of Proposition 312 was simple enough: In areas where the local government failed to enforce the law, 312 empowered property owners to claim property tax refunds for expenses they incurred cleaning up damage and debris caused by the homeless.

Instead of lecturing or relying on politicians’ common sense or better judgment, Proposition 312 leveraged the one thing politicians care about most—taxpayer dollars.

After working with lawmakers to get Proposition 312 on the ballot, Goldwater’s team quickly formed a coalition to get it passed. Goldwater partnered with the Arizona Tax Research Association, Arizona Free Enterprise Club, Arizona Chamber of Commerce, Arizona Food Marketing Alliance, National Federation of Independent Business, Americans for Tax Reform, Arizona Rock Products Association, private-sector leaders like QuikTrip, and elected officials like Phoenix Councilman Jim Waring and Gilbert Councilman Jim Torgeson.

Once their coalition was built, the Goldwater team equipped them with research, original content, and media stories about the benefits of Proposition 312. Goldwater’s alliance cut across traditional political boundaries and spoke to a variety of voter groups.

And when Arizona voters finally got a chance to make their voice heard, the message was clear.

In November 2024, voters approved Proposition 312 with over 58% of the vote—one of the highest passage rates of initiatives that cycle.

Proposition 312 began to reshape Arizona’s urban landscapes almost immediately. After 312 passed, multiple cities made changes:

  • Mesa’s City Council voted unanimously to prohibit urban camping on public property.
  • Tempe announced enhanced enforcement of its longstanding ban.
  • Phoenix, Scottsdale, Goodyear, and Surprise all adopted similar restrictions on public camping.
  • Chandler and Tucson are considering ordinances that would bar encampments in much of their cities.

Because of their success in getting Proposition 312 to the finish line, Goldwater was named a finalist for the 2025 SPN Bob Williams Award for Biggest Home State Win.

Homelessness, at its core, is desperation. It’s desperation for the people not knowing where their next meal is coming from or where they’ll sleep that night. But it’s also desperation for the property owners having their homes, livelihoods, and safety threatened.

There’s still work that needs to be done in Arizona, but thanks to the Goldwater Institute, the desperation that was spreading, is slowly receding.