City of Nanaimo to fence in SARC property to thwart “antisocial behavior” on property – Nanaimo News Bulletin

An iron fence is being installed behind a municipal building in downtown Nanaimo to mitigate the “unsocial” behavior.

Nanaimo City Councils approved a Deviation Permit to erect a 6-foot fence around the rear parking lot of the municipal service and resource center at 411 Dunsmuir Street.

The city councils approved the deviation without any real discussion taking place at the table on Monday evening.

According to an employee report, the city is planning to install a wrought iron fence with access to the gate along Wesley Street, which is the back parking lot of the SARC building. The gate would remain open during office hours but would have controlled access outside of office hours.

The town’s fence will be joined to another fence that the report says has been approved for a neighboring property at 424 Wesley Street. A 2.9 meter long fence separating the two properties is also being built. Fences have already been installed on other neighboring lots, including one on Albert Street.

SARC is located near a 36-unit housing estate with an overdose prevention point and a needle replacement point.

The city argues that a fence is needed because the parking lot is “often used as an unauthorized assembly point” after traditional working hours and is often exposed to “damage, vandalism, rubbish, drug use, open fires and anti-social behavior”. the employees have affected.

“Maintenance staff are unable to dispose of garbage outside of business hours and perform routine maintenance outside of business hours due to the potential confrontation,” the report said.

Dale Lindsay, the city’s director of community development, said the city is choosing to install a decorative fence instead of a chain link fence, adding that neighboring lots have similar types of fences. He said some nearby properties had some long-term “maintenance problems” with chain link fences.

“We believe a decorative fence is a better approach,” he said.

The fence is valued at $ 25,000 to $ 30,000, but according to Lindsay, some of the cost of the fence will be paid for by the owners of 424 Wesley St.

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