CRIME: TOWNSHIP TOUGHENS PLANS TO FIGHT DRUG HOUSES

Langley Township Will Soon Have Tougher Bylaws To Drive Out Drug Labs
And Marijuana Growers Who Use Residential Homes.

The council unanimously approved a motion by Councillor Jordan Bateman
at Monday's meeting, asking staff to put more teeth in existing bylaws.

"This is just one small piece of the puzzle," Bateman
said.

The motion asked for staff to amend the bylaws that prohibit drug
production and to give building inspectors more powers to address
damage to homes.

Staff will also investigate placing a notice on a land title, advising
anyone who might buy a home if it has been used as a marijuana grow
house or a methamphetamine lab.

Bateman pointed out that the Township first put a bylaw in place in
2003 which limits grow ops using property maintenance standards.

Since then, several other nearby municipalities have put even tougher
measures in place, and Bateman said it's time for Langley to catch
up.

The neighbourhood Bateman's family lives in, Hillcrest, had 13 grow
ops busted in 2003, despite being very close to the RCMP detachment
headquarters.

He said locals there have become very proactive in spotting and
turning in anyone suspected of running a grow operation.

The main cause for concern in grow ops is the chemicals used, and the
mold generated, by the process, Bateman said.

He is worried about the effects it could have on residents, especially
children, if they moved into a former drug house and didn't know that
the home had a previous life as a drug factory.

Coun. Mel Kositsky worried that the changes to local bylaws will be an
attack on the provincial government for failing to take action on the
issue.

He suggested that the municipalities should work with the province to
change enforcement and the courts. The most effective tool, Kositsky
said, would be for BC Hydro to open their records and report homes
with unusually high power consumption - often the sign of a marijuana
grow operation.

Coun. Kim Richter defended Bateman's motion, saying that taking action
was not an attack on the provincial government.

"We've got to stop passing the buck on this," she said.