PORT ANGELES — A newly erected downtown fence has helped keep panhandlers and loiterers from congregating on a concrete pad near the busy Front Street-Lincoln Street intersection, Interim Police Chief Brian Smith said Wednesday.
The barrier at 208 E. Front St. was planted on a city right of way June 8.
“It’s a big improvement,” Smith said.
He said it is dangerous for panhandlers to solicit near the corner where drivers often slow for a traffic light as they enter downtown Port Angeles.
“It’s not perfect, but we’ve been able to mitigate some of the issues associated with that space,” he said.
Smith said the fence also blocks Front Street sidewalk access to a flat area on a bluff above the paved area where some homeless sleep — but which is still accessible by an adjacent alley.
Deputy Mayor Cherie Kidd also said the barrier is an improvement.
“People have been consistently complaining,” she said.
“This is a public safety issue.”
Even a 46-year-old man who was panhandling on the sidewalk side of the fence Wednesday afternoon was glad the fence was up.
“I didn’t like people over there drinking and bumming money off me,” the man said while standing in the rain.
Holding a sign with “Need A Little Help God Bless” written on it, he said he made between $25 and $40 a day in three to four hours of panhandling.
Identifying himself as Jon, he said he has a condition that prevents him from walking much and is under court supervision for driving under the influence.
Not that the fence will help assuage the overall problem of homelessness, Kim Leach, a homeless services provider, said Wednesday.
“In terms of activity down there, I think that they are just going to move to a different location,” said Leach, executive director of Serenity House of Clallam County in Port Angeles.
“Then the city or someone else is going to have the same problem.”
The 7,000-square-foot paved area that’s now blocked — and is for sale — sits next to a dilapidated vacant two-story brick building at 204 E. Front St., creating a two-pronged headache for city officials.
“We have a history of nuisance-related issues on both those properties,” Nathan West, community and economic development director, said Wednesday.
West said a first notice of violation was issued June 7 to Matthew Fairshter of Escondido, Calif., owner of the paved parcel, that could lead to imposition of abatement procedures and a fine in August.
Fairshter could not be reached for comment Wednesday through Janet Stevenson, designated broker for Properties by Landmark Inc. of Port Angeles, which is listing the parcel for sale.
West said David Gladwin of Port Angeles, owner of the brick building, has worked with city officials to prevent trespassing.
Gladwin pledged Wednesday to remodel the second floor of the building for apartments this year and the first floor as retail space in 2017.
West was skeptical.
“We’ve been hearing that for years,” West said.
Said Gladwin: “I understand his concern, but it’s happening, or I wouldn’t tell you it’s happening.
“I’ve moved a bunch of stuff down there for the remodel.
“I’m actually locked into this now with getting money, and I’m locking in with permits from the city.”
Both the Port Angeles Downtown Association and the Port Angeles Business Association issued letters to the city in May expressing concerns over trespassers entering the building and the structure’s condition.
PABA President John Brewer asked the city May 16 to begin condemnation procedures, citing the building’s frequent use by squatters and drug users, while downtown association President Young Johnson said May 25 the city should consider condemnation as an option.
Individual business owners also have made it known that “they are tired of seeing these properties in the circumstances they are in,” West said.
“For that reason, we will do everything we can under the municipal code to make sure property owners move forward with rectifying the situation with both blighted properties,” he said.
“This is a critical intersection where we have a very large number of travelers coming through town.
“We want this intersection — the look and current condition of this intersection — improved.”
Stevenson said the blufftop next to the concrete pad has been cleaned of refuse and the brush cut back.
“I was getting ready to put up signs anyway,” she said.
“The city solved my problems when they put the fence up.”
Sarah Garling, manager of Mathews Glass Co. next to Gladwin’s building, “still sees a fair amount of panhandling” near the intersection, she said Wednesday.
“There are lots of places downtown where they can gather and do these sorts of things,” Garling said.
“We can’t just push people aside and expect it to go away.
“We just have to address it.”
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
Executive Editor Leah Leach contributed to this report.
