CITY PUTTING GROW-OPS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

The City of Abbotsford is stepping up its campaign against grow-ops,
and will bombard local residents with information aimed at helping
them identify properties where marijuana has taken root.

The ad blitz will see the creation of television and newspaper
advertisements, radio announcements and public presentations, which
the city hopes "will raise awareness further."

The City of Abbotsford created its public safety inspection division
in 2005. That team relies on tips from the public who suspect there
may be a grow-op in their neighbourhood.

According to Abbotsford Mayor George Ferguson, the new campaign will
help ensure citizens "remain aware and vigilant against the grow-op
threat."

"Grow-ops pose a significant health and safety risk to the community
in which they are operating," Ferguson said via a press release. "This
awareness campaign will educate our residents, making it more and more
difficult for grow-ops to operate in Abbotsford."

According to the city, the television campaign will run for one year
and inform residents how to identify a grow-op in their neighbourhood,
and tell them what to do if a grow-op is suspected.

At yesterday's council meeting in Matsqui Centennial Auditorium, Tim
Short, the manager of the public safety inspection division, said the
one-minute television ad will be shown on the TV listings page on
channel two.

It will be shown 400 times a week, he said, and will not cost the city
any money to transmit. Other potential financial costs attached to the
campaign were not available as of press deadline.

From an initial staff of three, the public safety inspection division
- - which was launched by former Abbotsford mayor Mary Reeves - now has
eight full-time members.

City statistics show that in 2007, 725 investigations were conducted
into properties which allegedly contained grow-ops. A total of 150 of
those were confirmed and shut down, which was a 20 per cent increase
on the 2006 total.

"These results clearly show that our residents are informed, and
taking action in the grow-op initiative," said Ferguson.

"Our program has made our community safer, and it is extremely
important for this program to continue."

Coun. Moe Gill, speaking at the council meeting, also welcomed the
numbers.

"If we continue working hard on this, hopefully we will stamp out the
grow operations in Abbotsford," he said.

"Hopefully two or three years down the road we will have a [city
staff] report saying there are no grow operations in
Abbotsford."

Homes suspected of containing a marijuana grow-op are inspected by the
public safety inspection division.

The city is then able to slap a "no occupancy" notice on the property
if it does not meet the standards laid out in the Fire Services Act,
the B.C. Building Code or the city's controlled substance property
bylaw. It means that a grow-op does not necessarily have to be
discovered in a property for its owners to be handed a no occupancy
notice, if it breaks fire safety or building code rules.