GROW-OPS RUIN UPSCALE COMMUNITY, SAY LOCALS

People living on a Coquitlam cul-de-sac say pot growers are getting
away with it.

Dan O'Hearn, president of the Westwood Plateau Community Association,
says residents are thoroughly fed up.

"The grow-ops are getting away with ruining a community and making a
fortune," he says. "They're getting meaningless fines and no one's
getting any serious jail time."

Four lucrative marijuana grow-operations were closed down recently by
the RCMP in the 1400 block Planetree Court.

RCMP Cpl. Tim McKernan admits it is "an uphill battle" taking out the
estimated 200 to 300 grow-ops in the city.

"Anything we take down is put back up. It's growing. In my 200 busts,
I have never been involved in a case where jail time was given," he
says.

McKernan says annual returns from a pot house can be as high as
$300,000. He adds convicted growers can receive $25,000 fines.

"It can be a cost of doing business," he says.

Planetree resident Gord Fibbi explains how easy it was for organized
operators to fool the entire cul-de-sac.

"A couple showed up 18 months ago with two kids and two cars. They
kept to themselves. Over the course of a year, it changed over to a
grow-op.

"The only thing I noticed was concrete near the house drying really
quickly after a rainfall. Their side of the fence rotted. It was
because of heat from the operation," he says.

Eventually neighbours got wise to the condensation on the windows.
After several calls to police, the bud-growers were eventually busted.

But Fibbi says a van showed up two days later to remove equipment.

"That really got us upset. They'll just put it somewhere else," he says.

Westwood Plateau is a modern subdivision where many homes were bought
in the 1990s for investment purposes. Some landlords don't live in the
country.

RCMP have been actively busting operations, including a $1 million
Street of Dreams home in the 3000-block Plateau Boulevard. It was
heavily damaged as a result of faulty wiring.

Coquitlam is gamely fighting back with a noxious-activity bylaw that
puts the onus on owners to keep tabs on grow-ops. Violators are
subjected to a $5,000 fine and bills for policing and cleanup.

"The community wanted something done," says Mayor Jon Kingsbury.
"People are fed up. There is no deterrent in the justice system."

O'Hearn respects the city for helping, but says making landlords the
police is not the answer.

"It's a slippery slope. Why not hold Hertz responsible for renting a
car to a guy who drinks and ends up killing someone? Landlords are not
trained for this. It's dangerous," says O'Hearn, who is in the
property-management business.

"These guys are destroying the neighbourhood. They don't exchange
cookies over the back fence. They use swimming pools and drive on
roads. The government subsidizes them," he says.

McKernan says it is a mistake to believe that the law-breakers are
gaining anything in real terms.

"Sooner or later, people eventually get caught. Crime pays in a
monetary way, but criminals are always worried about being ratted out.
They don't have any close friends. Their best buddy is their bank
account. Most people seek out a lifestyle that's not conducive solely
to the bottom line," he says.