12 Sept 11th-Sept 17th, 2025 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Tempe Mayor Corey Woods said the city will go back to the drawing board to craft a new special events ordinance. (U.S. Department of Labor/Flickr/CC BY 2.0) over its enforcement actions. Woods previously claimed to Phoenix New Times that the lawsuit prompted the city’s rapid effort to change city code. Critics claimed the new ordinance invested too much power in city staffers to approve or deny events in city parks and feared it could be used to limit freedom of assembly. The city claimed the ordinance was neces- sary to keep parks safe and clean for everyone to use. Late last month, however, the advocates suing the city dropped their lawsuit while the repeal effort played out. Days later, a city council meeting agenda included an item about reconsidering the new ordi- nance. Eric Anderson, Tempe’s city attorney, noted during the meeting on Sept. 2 that the lawsuit motivated the city to change the law quickly. “It kind of gave us a position where, because of the status of the litigation at that time, we felt from the legal perspective that was the best procedure, and we couldn’t necessarily do some of the public outreach that the council would normally have done,” Anderson said. Starting over Without the suit, Woods said, there’s little harm in going back to the drawing board. “Now, without the threat of litigation, we have the opportunity to take the time necessary to have important conversations about what we as a community want for our parks, for our events, and for our city as a whole,” Woods said. Before the vote, Tempe residents and other members of the public said they would celebrate such a decision. “Ordinances that target good Samaritans are not evidence-based answers to addressing the root causes of homelessness,” Bobby Nichols, a candidate running for Tempe City Council and the author of the referendum petition, told the council. “When you are all ready to have a conversation about what an ordinance that meets the needs of the community looks like, my door is open.” Mandy Everett, an organizer who gath- ered petition signatures, recalled when councilmembers said they believed the majority of residents supported the new ordinance when they passed it. “The circles you’re spending your time in might be donor circles,” Everett said. “I don’t really feel like you took the time to hear from your residents. So, we wound up doing it for you.” Dillon Wild, the co-chair of the Phoenix chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, said he would support the repeal of the ordinance and “would interpret such an action as a sign of good faith.” He added that he hoped the council would include residents in conversations to draft a new ordinance that “protects freedom of speech, assembly and the ability to provide aid in public spaces.” Woods indicated that the city’s Neighborhood Services Office would create a public engagement plan to have conversations with residents. How long that process will take isn’t clear. It’s also not clear how Tempe will enforce its old special events and parks ordinance in the interim. The council was initially set to vote on the repeal petition at a meeting on Aug. 28, but it was canceled due to unspecified “security concerns.” The investigation into those concerns remains ongoing, Tempe Assistant Chief of Police James Sweig explained during the meeting. Sweig did not provide specific details besides noting that a threat was made on social media and that “we determined it to be credible.” Sweig said that the department is conducting a review of security protocols at the Tempe Municipal Building. Until that is completed, Tempe police have recommended that all city council meet- ings be held virtually. Never Mind from p 11
