Residents urge Pacific to get tougher on squatters at East Union properties

Pacific — Residents and property owners told the Operations Committee on Aug. 15 that a cluster of buildings around East Union and Rose Lane has become a persistent site of trespass, drug overdoses and property damage, and they challenged the city to identify legal tools to remove occupants who ignore 'no occupancy' notices.

"We have squatters that are across from my house...they're even going into a building that is considered no occupancy," said Pat Graham, who gave his address and asked the committee to review enforcement options. Multiple neighbors described people entering a former shoe factory, tearing off shingles and boarding windows, stealing electricity and water, and leaving hypodermic needles in yards.

A resident who identified himself to the committee said his family now pays private counsel after repeated failures to remove occupants. "We have done everything else that we possibly can...we still cannot get rid of them," the resident said, adding that the encampment had grown over the past year.

Code-enforcement staff and committee members said existing municipal tools are limited. Staff said they can cite property conditions (junk, trash) and issue occupancy notifications but often cannot remove people when property owners insist they are "working on" repairs. "We can post it...but why they're not going in is a question for law enforcement," a city staff member said, describing the legal and evidentiary constraints that can prevent arrests or forcible entry without an owner’s complaint or a witnessed trespass.

Committee members and the mayor noted state law also affects removal of occupants from private property. A speaker at the meeting said current state statutes create protections that make local enforcement difficult and that state-level legislative change is being discussed; the committee did not claim a specific statutory citation at the meeting.

Members discussed a range of policy options that staff will investigate, including: clarifying whether long-term stationary RVs can be treated as accessory structures, adopting time limits for camping/RV stays, tightening definitions for "unfit" or "uninhabitable" structures, and asking the city attorney whether owners who permit occupants can be ticketed under local code. "If we need some additional tools, we have to start with where our existing ones are," the mayor said.

Next steps set by the committee include an administration-level workshop led by the mayor with participation by police and code enforcement, outreach to state representatives to clarify any relevant statutes, and research into ordinances used by neighboring cities. The committee did not adopt new ordinances at the meeting; members said further work and legal review are required before any local law change.

The meeting record shows extensive resident testimony and multiple staff explanations of enforcement limits. The committee signaled it will pursue both law-enforcement coordination and ordinance options before returning a concrete proposal to the Board of Aldermen.