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Austin Davis, founder of the nonprofit AZ HUGS, has filed a lawsuit against the city of Tempe regarding its permit rules for special events.
A release from the Pacific Legal Foundation explained that Davis is suing the city over its use of special event permits to “effectively ban charitable efforts such as feeding the homeless."
“The government does not have a monopoly on charity,” the release stated. “Americans have the constitutional right to pursue their callings, including helping those in need, without burdensome regulations.”
The case Austin Davis vs. City of Tempe was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.
Anastasia Boden, senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, said in the release that AZ HUGS should be free to offer food to people who are hungry without facing a costly barrier or threat of criminal prosecution.
“No organization should have to pay $500 for a permit to engage in charity in a public park,” Boden said.
Davis founded AZ HUGS in 2020 with the mission of serving Tempe’s homeless community.
Its Sunday dinner initiative began serving meals to homeless individuals at public parks, and the nonprofit has grown to provide a range of charitable services like mental health resources, addiction treatment services, temporary housing assistance and employment opportunities.
The release explained that in 2022, the city began charging $500 for a special event permit, which extends to people like Davis who are providing meals to Tempe’s unhoused population at city parks.
“The permit, which costs $500 for each event and forces organizations to secure costly liability insurance, imposes a criminal trespass charge for any violation,” the release stated.
The city of Tempe said in a statement, “When an event is held utilizing city property that is open to the public, Tempe city code requires a special event or other permit. This requirement — which applies equally to everyone — has been a requirement of the Tempe city code for decades.
“While the city has not yet been served with the lawsuit, (we) disagree with the allegations and we stand ready to defend this longstanding law,” it states.
As previously reported by the Independent, Davis had applied for the special event permit after receiving violations for holding the weekly dinners in 2024. Davis continued holding the events while awaiting city staff’s decisions on the permit.
Tempe ultimately denied AZ HUGS’s permit, and with that denial, the group was not allowed to reapply for a permit for one year.
It was reported that Davis was arrested for his continued meal services, and he has since been banned from Tempe parks until 2026 as part of a plea deal regarding his violations of the special event permit rules.
For more information, contact media@pacificlegal.org.
