– The Washington Times
Pepco says it doesn’t own the land occupied by a homeless encampment in the Hyattsville area, where residents of the nearby Marylander Condominiums say vagrants have knocked out their heat for the winter.
A Pepco spokesman said the encampment near “high-voltage transmission lines essential to the region’s energy grid” does not fall within the utility’s right-of-way, despite condo owners and county officials saying otherwise.
“While the encampment is not situated on Pepco land, we have increased our vegetation management activities along the right-of-way near the condominiums,” Pepco spokesman Chuck McDade told The Washington Times in an email.
However, Prince George’s County officials and condo residents say vagrants occupy and cross Pepco land daily on their way to sleep, defecate, use drugs and have sex in Marylander buildings that they break into.
“The encampment sits directly beneath power lines that are owned and operated by Pepco,” Devan Martin, deputy chief of staff for County Executive Aisha Braveboy, told The Times.
“While other entities own smaller portions of nearby or adjacent land, Pepco is the primary landowner for the area where the encampment is situated,” Mr. Martin added.
Kenneth Brown, CEO of the Marylander’s property manager Quasar, shared videos showing tents next to Pepco’s lines. He said the utility does little beyond trimming the grass and trees around the lines.
“I walked the ground on Saturday morning,” Mr. Brown said. “Homeless people cross Pepco’s land so regularly that they’ve worn an actual path into the grass.”
Roughly 200 people in 100 units at the Marylander planned to mark their eighth consecutive week without heat on Wednesday. That’s half of the property’s 200 units left in the cold since the day before Thanksgiving, when residents say vagrants damaged the building’s boiler.
Condo owners have defied a Dec. 10 county notice to “vacate immediately” based on a finding that their homes were “unfit for human habitation.”
Meanwhile, county officials say there is no evidence to support reports that transients vandalized the condominiums’ 70-year-old boiler.
They have called on the condo owners to repair a property fence and building locks damaged by the camp’s residents, and to hire private security to patrol the grounds near the buildings.
“The vacant lot is privately owned, and the County does not have unilateral authority to fence, seal, or permanently restrict access,” said Mr. Martin, of the county executive’s office.
“The County is actively coordinating with Pepco and is planning a site visit to discuss available options and next steps related to the securing of Pepco’s property,” he added.
Pepco’s Mr. McDade said the utility supports “efforts that connect individuals experiencing homelessness with the resources, services, and assistance they need.”
“And we work routinely with Prince George’s County, local law enforcement, and health and human services agencies to implement monthly cleanups and ensure that no encampments extend onto Pepco property,” he added.
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.
