To some, it's where local homeless people panhandled harmlessly. To others, it is "tweaker island," where handouts enable addiction.

Twice, a local group has erected a metal sign there discouraging donations; twice it has been torn down.

By one count, homelessness in Bonney Lake and the neighboring communities of Buckley and Orting has nearly doubled in the last two years, to a likely undercounted total of 130 in July. The question of how to respond has split the community.