CLEAN-UP DOESN'T MEAN HOUSES ARE SAFE: MOUNTIE

Six homes in Port Coquitlam that used to house marijuana growing
operations are now being, or have recently been, cleaned up under a
city order.

But an RCMP drug expert says remediation of a former grow-op house
doesn't always guarantee they will be rid of contaminants.

Cpl. Scott Rintoul of the RCMP's E Division provincial headquarters
said chemicals from grow-ops and methamphetamine labs can seep past
the gyproc and into the frame of a house.

"When it comes to the condition of the residence, you have to keep in
mind that it was a clandestine lab," he said, adding the solvents,
pesticides and herbicides that are sprayed on the plants could leach
into the house frame. "The concern is the spores that may hang around
the interior of the residence. Every time that you turn on the heat,
you're going to throw things around."

Rintoul said the risks are greater the longer a grow-op has been in
the house.

"People should be very, very concerned," he said, "and landlords
should be concerned because who's going to buy a home that's been
growing marijuana?" Still, the cities of PoCo and Port Moody are
trying to discourage marijuana grow-ops with bylaws that will hit the
owner of homes used for pot farms hard in the pocket.

Under PoCo's bylaw, property owners whose homes housed grow-ops must
have them professionally cleaned and inspected by the city before they
are re-occupied. Of the five homes now going through the process, four
are on the city's north side and one in the south side. A sixth
property owner, whose northside home was referred by the RCMP, has
finished the clean-up process.

Owners who don't obey the bylaw can be fined up to
$10,000.

Tim Arthur, PoCo's acting planning manager, said the owner may be
required to take out permits if further repairs are needed. "We're not
asking them to upgrade the building to the current code," he said.
"We're asking them to restore it to the way it was prior to [the grow-op]."

Under PoMo's bylaw, owners found with grow-ops in their homes are
billed for the police's costs to clean up and remove the plants and
growing equipment. Property owners who fail to pay will have the costs
added to their tax bills.

Paul Rockwood, PoMo's finance director, said the city has sent out
$35,600 worth of invoices to owners since last July but received only
$11,300 in payments. "Sooner or later, we'll get our money back," said
Pat Fitzgerald, deputy chief of the PoMo Police Department. "We don't
have any doubts about that at all."

He said the cost to secure and dismantle a grow-op runs around $5,000
"but that doesn't include the investigational time prior to the take
down," he said.

Last week, the BC Real Estate Association amended the property
disclosure statement requiring sellers to state whether a home was
ever used as a grow-op. The group also suggests home buyers get an
inspection done before purchasing.