Overview

• A staff report recommends a 1.8-metre-high, wrought-iron fence around City Hall and the adjacent service centre to address loitering, harassment and property damage linked to the overdose prevention site relocated in December 2022.
• Mayor Leonard Krog supports the proposal, citing the city’s legal obligation to protect employees from intimidation, fires, vandalism and human waste near municipal premises.
• The $412,000 plan hinges on securing a zoning variance to exceed the 1.2-metre height limit by 60 centimetres and still requires formal committee approval and funding allocation.
• Local public safety advocates and the Nanaimo Area Public Safety Association are urging provincial and federal governments to take more substantive action on downtown street disorder and homelessness.
• Opponents warn that fencing a civic facility risks further stigmatizing vulnerable residents and symbolizing exclusion in the heart of Nanaimo’s downtown