Gaithersburg residents protest day-laborer site

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Residents of Gaithersburg's historic district are irritated by day laborers who loiter in their neighborhoods of 100-year-old homes.

But they are outraged over plans to provide a shelter for the laborers, many of whom are illegal aliens, on a main street in Olde Towne.

"That's not what I want to the entrance of my historic community, which has more stringent rules and regulations than normal communities," Clark Day said. "That's not why we moved here."

Mr. Day and other residents plan to meet tonight to discuss the plans, which they say violate city code because they were not discussed publicly.

They plan to address the issue Oct. 17 before the City Council.

Other jurisdictions in the D.C. area have grappled with ways to deal with day laborers.

In Wheaton, residents clashed with Montgomery County officials about a center that recently opened.

Herndon residents disagreed with town officials' decision last month to spend tax dollars on a center to keep day laborers from loitering near a 7-Eleven store.

The day laborers in Gaithersburg wait most mornings in Grace United Methodist Church's parking lot, where they urinate, drink and catcall women who visit the shopping center next door.

Mr. Day said he awoke one day at 6 a.m. to find a laborer showering in his driveway with his hose.