GREEN TACKLES METH LAB PROPERTY LEGISLATION

Under Proposal, Owners Would Be Required To Disclose Former Use Of
Homes, Rentals To Prospective Buyers

GREEN: The city might make it a crime to knowingly sell a
methamphetamine-tainted property without disclosing the condition to
the prospective buyer.

Councilwoman Christine Croce will introduce legislation tonight that
would require owners of homes and rental properties once used as meth
labs to fill out a city form detailing the property's meth history
and give it to the buyer.

Under the proposal, anyone who knowingly sells a property without
disclosing the information could be charged with a first-degree
misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum of 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Green copied similar legislation approved earlier this year in Stow,
Green Law Director Stephen Pruneski said.

"We're trying to put in a step in the process to ensure that somebody
doesn't get into the situation unknowingly and suffer a serious
health problem," he said.

Croce, who works as legal counsel for the Summit County Sheriff's
Office, could not be reached for comment.

Many local officials and communities have been debating this year how
to better inform homeowners and renters about residences used as meth
labs. The discussion was prompted by news reports of a Stow homeowner
who bought a former meth site unknowingly and is suing the seller.

Meth is a drug made by cooking chemical ingredients. The cooking
creates dangerous residues that can seep into walls and carpeting.

Exposure to those chemicals can cause headaches, chest pain, nausea,
dizziness and other problems, depending on the length and type of
exposure, according to health experts.

Earlier this year, County Council created the Summit County
Methamphetamine Property Awareness Task Force to study the problem.

The Sheriff's Office also announced it was developing a Web site so
the public could identify local meth sites.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration maintains an online
nationwide database of former meth labs.

The National Clandestine Laboratory Register has identified nearly
140 properties in Summit County.

The list is available online at http://www.dea.gov/seizures/ohio.html.