By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

Persistent social problems prompt fencing around downtown City building

Apr 2, 2019 | 3:26 PM

NANAIMO — Large fences were approved for two downtown Nanaimo properties where constant social disorder originating from the Wesley St. area remains an ongoing problem.

One of the fence height variance requests okayed by Council was for the rear parking lot of the City’s Service and Resource Centre (SARC) on Dunsmuir St., while the other is for the neighbouring Nanaimo Credit Union’s parking lot.

A pair of City staff reports prepared for Council outlined the need to help prevent property damage and improve safety at the two parking lots accessed from Wesley St.

Fences up to 1.8 metres tall will be allowed behind the two respective properties, while a 2.9-metre fence will go between the two lots.

The City’s SARC property will include a gate to be used after-hours.

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The City cited numerous unauthorized uses of the SARC’s back parking lot during non-business hours, including drug use, open fires and vandalism.

Maintenance staff can’t do routine duties outside due to potential confrontations with trespassers in the parking lot, a City staff report stated.

Last November, Council approved fence height variances for three other properties in the immediate vicinity.

Public safety concerns in the area included what police ruled was an unintentional shotgun blast into the back of the SARC building in October 2017. 

Several social services exist in the Wesley St. and Franklyn St. area, including a 36-unit housing complex and overdose prevention site, while a needle exchange operates on the same block.

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