Prince George’s County Council member Wanika Fisher is urging steep fines against utility companies Pepco and Colonial Pipeline for allowing a homeless encampment to become a public nuisance.
“It’s about enforcing public safety for everyone in our county,” Ms. Fisher, a District 2 Democrat, told The Washington Times on Tuesday. “As a legislator, I create laws, but I cannot control how these laws are executed.”
She said she co-sponsored a new law hiking fines for non-residential landowners to hold such private companies “accountable for not meeting property standards.”
The county council unanimously passed the Housing Property Standard Bill on July 14. Starting at the end of this summer, it will double the initial fine for non-residential maintenance violations from $1,000 to $2,000, then levy up to $5,000 for each day of continued noncompliance.
In an interview with WTOP-FM, Ms. Fisher cited land owned by the utilities where the encampment sits, on University Boulevard near Riggs Road, for helping inspire the legislation.
“I’ve been dealing with a homeless encampment for years, and it’s really, really difficult. And one of the things that would help us sort of clean up that area is fencing that off,” Ms. Fisher told WTOP a day after the vote.
“All we can do is fine them into compliance,” she said.
It remains unclear whether code enforcement inspectors will heed her request. The Times reached out to County Executive Aisha Braveboy and the Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement.
The homeless encampment became ground zero of a humanitarian crisis after residents of the neighboring Marylander Condominiums blamed homeless people for vandalizing their heating system in November 2025.
Homeowners of 58 of the 108 affected units have refused to comply with an “unfit for human habitation” notice directing them to “vacate immediately” that county inspectors posted on Dec. 10. They endured a frigid winter without heat.
The county denies that homeless people disabled the property’s boiler. Police have periodically cleared the encampment, only to watch it refill with drifters and drug addicts.
Ms. Braveboy’s office also has pressured Pepco and Colonial to fence off their land. Braveboy spokesman Devan Martin said in a January statement that “Pepco is the primary landowner for the area where the encampment is situated.”
Both utilities have denied that the encampment sits directly on their land and declined to build fencing. They reiterated on Tuesday that they have cooperated fully with the county to fulfill their legal obligations.
“We respectfully disagree with Council member Fisher’s characterization,” said a spokesperson for Pepco, an electric utility based in the District.
“Pepco has taken proactive steps to ensure the safety of the transmission line, which is a critical part of the energy grid,” the spokesperson said. “We work to ensure the right-of-way is well-maintained and kept free of trespassers, and conduct regular monthly cleanups and inspections to prevent encroachment onto company property.”
Colonial Pipeline officials said they have never received a fine from the county.
“Colonial Pipeline has been working with county authorities and fellow landowners for several months, complying with Prince George’s County’s direction to clean up our property, which is a narrow strip of land adjacent to a larger electric utility right of way,” said David Conti, a spokesman for the Georgia-based oil pipeline company.
“Our work and the collaboration with other landowners impacted by the encampment continues as the encampment intermittently persists between coordinated cleanups,” he said.
Marylander residents say homeless people cross Pepco and Colonial lands daily on their way to sleep, defecate, use drugs and have sex in private buildings that they break into.
At a June 28 hearing, Maryland District Court Judge Bryon Bereano said the Marylander condo association’s lack of money had stalled heating repairs indefinitely. He floated three dates for a contempt-of-court hearing that could begin as early as next month.
A contempt-of-court finding would push the condos toward receivership, in which the county would seek to take over property management and operations.
Marylander officials note that the Maryland Transit Administration plans to open a Riggs Road station when its Purple Line light rail system becomes operational late next year.
They have accused the county of trying to clear out both the homeless and their low-income units to facilitate redevelopment along the route.
A Maryland Public Information Act request that The Times submitted in March found no record of code violations levied against the condos before December’s notice to vacate. More citations have since been issued to the Marylander for electrical violations and other issues.
Kenneth Brown, CEO of property manager Quasar, said county agencies offered the homeless people food and resources for years. At the same time, he said the county ignored open-air fires in wood shanties and rarely arrested them for trespassing.
“Prince George’s County’s attempts to shift responsibility for the University Boulevard drug encampment onto the utility companies overlook years of documented county awareness and enforcement authority regarding conditions on and around the property,” Mr. Brown said Tuesday.
He echoed Ms. Fisher, saying the encampment poses “a longstanding public safety, housing, and code enforcement issue that falls within the County’s governmental responsibilities.”
“The broader concern remains whether enforcement efforts are being applied fairly and effectively,” Mr. Brown said.
Contact the author
Please read our comment policy before commenting.