FORMER POT PROPERTIES IN POCO TO GET NOTICES

Remediation Work Needs To Get Done, City Tells Owners

Council agreed to place a notice on land title for three Port
Coquitlam homes that housed marijuana grow operations.

In each case, the Coquitlam RCMP notified the city that a grow op had
been found in the properties and, despite at least two subsequent
letters from the city warning each owner of the bylaw infractions, no
remediation work had occurred.

Photographs from the building inspector showed each property had
undergone major structural, mechanical and electrical alterations,
without permits, to establish the grow ops.

At least one showed large swaths of mould spores spreading over the
walls and ceilings.

Under Section 57 of the Community Charter, council can place a notice
on the land title to protect future purchasers and encourage the
homeowner to remediate the property, according to a report from Kim
Fowler, PoCo's director of development services. Prosecution can then
be considered if the properties are occupied without the remediation
being completed.

Owners of the properties -- which are located in the 3700-block of
Coast Meridian Road, the 1900-block of Grant Avenue and the 1600-block
of Shaughnessy Street -- have been charged to recover costs and will
pay the charges or they will collected as taxes. The fees the
properties are $8,043, $3,006 and $6,886 respectively.

Council agreed to defer the notice on title for a fourth property,
located in the 3500-block of Oxford Street, because the owner was
close to completing the remediation work.