PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked the city of Phoenix from enforcing its new park rules regarding helping the homeless against a church group.
In a ruling issued Wednesday, Judge Krissa M. Lanham granted a temporary restraining order blocking the enforcement against St. Herman’s Table and its founder, Lance Brace, because the ordinance likely violates the First Amendment rights of the Orthodox Christian outreach ministry that feeds homeless people weekly.
The temporary restraining order only lasts two weeks.
The city’s new ordinance makes giving food or providing medical care to homeless people at parks without a permit a misdemeanor. The aid must take place under a tent or mobile medical vehicle.
The ordinance also bans the exchange and distribution of needles in city parks and the distribution of naloxone if given in a needle or syringe.
Supporters said the change will help keep parks cleaner and more welcoming for families.
Critics said the restrictions could hurt homeless people and limit syringe programs that help reduce overdose deaths.
St. Herman’s provides ministry at the Cave Creek Park for up to two hours every Thursday, including volunteers who provide food, water, hygiene products, Bibles, open prayer and information about the church.
Under the ordinance, a permit allows two “food distribution events” per month per park, and the church group said the restrictions would “make it impossible” for them to continue their ministry.
Along with the First Amendment questions, Lanham said in her ruling that the ordinance is not neutral because it treats people differently based on their motivation for “food distribution,” such as a restaurant giving out food, compared to a charity feeding the homeless.
Phoenix said it needs the rules to prevent a “strain” on park resources and avoid noise and crowds. But secular activities like birthday parties cause the same strain as charitable food giveaways, Lanham said.
“Phoenix provides no evidence or meaningful argument explaining why a birthday party providing cake to twenty select two-year-olds is any less likely to strain park resources with noise or mess than a religiously-motivated gathering open to twenty members of the public,” she wrote in the court order.
Lanham ruled that any loss of First Amendment freedoms, even for a short time, automatically constitutes irreparable harm.
Both sides have until Monday to file a joint statement telling the court how they want to proceed with the case.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Copyright 2026 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.