HOMEOWNERS STUCK WITH GROW-OP COSTS

Wiring, Duct Work, Mould Can Add To Cleanup Costs

Owners of buildings found to house marijuana grow ops will be saddled
with a bill for costs associated with dismantling the illegal
operations with Orillia council's approval of a fee bylaw.

The bylaw was part of a package that included two new protocol
agreements surrounding dismantling residential grow-ops found in the city.

The two protocol documents outline the process the OPP, Orillia Fire
Department and the city's building division will follow when a
marijuana grow operation is discovered.

"Love it. Great. Long overdue," Coun. Michael Fogarty said at Monday
afternoon's council committee meeting. "My only question is why are
we just limiting it to marijuana?"

Legislative services manager Gayle Jackson, who was joined at the
meeting by Orillia OPP Insp. Terry Wright, fire Chief Ralph Dominelli
and chief building official Kelly Smith, said at this point marijuana
is considered a starting point.

In an interview Tuesday, Jackson said the idea to start looking at
recovering costs from grow operations came from the police services
board. When all affected parties came to the table, they discovered
there was no set protocol, although departments were already working together.

"It's just formalizing what we're already doing," agreed Wright on
Tuesday, noting the OPP has a very good relationship with the other
agencies involved. "We're all working together to make sure it's done
properly."

Doing it properly is something that can take a number of departments
and a lot of time and money, according to Smith. She's been involved
in the remediation of eight houses that were used as marijuana grow
operations in the city in the past three years.

The extent of repairs necessary to make a home safe and habitable
again varies with each grow operation, she said. That variety makes
it difficult to establish minimum fees, so instead the bylaw sets out
that property owners will be required to pay actual costs of
inspections and remediation when grow-ops are found.

"The damage to the house was the result of an illegal activity so why
should the city pay for that gratis?" said Smith.

That damage can include everything from improper and unsafe wiring to
improperly installed duct work, cut duct work, mould and damage that
comes with high levels of humidity maintained in basements that are
often sealed off from the rest of the house.

Even just removing items such as planting pots and miscellaneous
items not seized by police can be time consuming.

"(It's turning) a 'garden centre' back into a family dwelling," she said.

As part of the new protocol, property owners will be given the
opportunity to step in and do the necessary remediation on their own,
something both Mayor Ron Stevens and Coun. Paul Spears were pleased
to hear at Monday's committee meeting.

"I think it's only reasonable we give them that opportunity," said Stevens.

In some cases, he said, property owners may not know houses they've
rented out are being used to grow marijuana.

In each case she's been involved with, Smith said the homeowner has
stepped up to take care of costs.

"We've been fortunate that we've only had to pay for our time," she said.

In drafting the document, Jackson said she used similar protocols
from municipalities such as Brampton and Mississauga as guides, as
well as a sample put forward by the Ministry of Community Safety and
Correctional Services.

Although he agreed it's a good start, Coun. Ralph Cipolla said he'd
like to see Orillia go even further when it comes to dealing with
marijuana grow-ops.

"I honestly don't believe this goes far enough," he said. "If we're
trying to curtail the drug problem in this community, then I think we
need to be much harder and harsher than we are."