The shantytown sitting in the shadow of "A" Mountain must move, Tucson Mayor George Miller and the City Council decided yesterday in a 5-2 vote.

Ward I Councilmember Jose Ibarra recommended that camp residents be given 72 hours notice after the city's community services personnel and other homeless service providers assess the situation.

The homeless camp near "A" Mountain, located between South Mission Road and the Santa Cruz River, sits atop a city landfill reportedly leaking methane gas. Residents of nearby Menlo Park are saying camp residents have been going into the nearby neighborhood and "causing havoc," stealing, defecating on residents' property and peeping into windows.

Although Ibarra's recommendation concerns homeless people camping on Tucson property citywide, he said he gave "A" Mountain top priority because it is the largest camp.

He said he is concerned with the safety and needs of Menlo Park residents € his constituents € who said they have been putting up with the problem for 10 years.

Resident Jenny Morales said the camp poses serious problems that must be addressed now.

"We're not trying to be inhumane," she said. "We're not discriminating against the homeless."

Morales said materials she was going to use to repair her house were stolen by homeless people.

Lillian Lopez-Grant, president of the Menlo Park Neighborhood Association, said the City Council should "cough up" the money to move the camp's residents.

"We want the camp removed now," she said.

Nancy Osborne, mother of seven children and former camp resident, said she lived in the camp for eight months after a bitter divorce battle in which the state told her she "had to stay off the system" if she wanted to regain custody of her children.

About the only support she said she received was through the Casa Maria shelter because it did not report to the state.

Brian Flagg, who lives and works at the Casa Maria, told the council that camp residents know where the services are, but that was not what the discussion was about. He said not to "sugarcoat" the situation.

"If you're going to evict them, then give them a 30-day notice and evict them."

Ward 2 Councilmember Janet Marcus agreed that the camp should be closed but opposed Ibarra's recommendation, saying she did not think a solution to the problem could be found as quickly as he would like. She instead recommended a deadline of 90 days.

Marcus said there is no money provided for trying to solve the problem and suggested the council extend a plea of help to the community and churches.

"I don't want to send the police in there," she said. "I want this to happen peacefully."

Steve Leal, vice mayor and Ward 5 councilmember, said that to find a solution, the city must come up with the resources to provide alternate living arrangements, and the camp's residents must be willing to change their lifestyle.

Historically, Leal said, the council has not voted on these types of issues. Previous programs have not succeeded, he said, because homeless people chose to live on the streets.

"Unless this issue is addressed," he said, "we will continue to see these types of camps."

Ward 6 Councilmember Molly McKasson said she will commit to working on a program that will find work for the homeless, but also said she did not want to see the city waste its time on people who did not want to change their lifestyle.

"I'm not going down that path again," McKasson said. "And I don't want to see us conduct a 90-day study in futility."

Marcus said, "We're not going to find a perfect solution, but I think we can do a hell of a lot better."