FEW LANDLORDS BALK AT ORDERS TO CLEAN UP POT GROW-OPS: CITY

Rarely does a city council meeting go by these days where council does not
issue a cleanup order against a house used for a marijuana grow operation.

Since implementing a new policy on grow operations in September last year,
the city has issued 36 cleanup orders.

The orders require the property owner to address public health and safety
issues and building code violations. Failure to do so will result in a
demolition order.

So far, only two of the 36 property owners to receive notices have refused
to take any action, said city bylaw manager Dave Nichols.

That does not necessarily mean the houses will be torn down, Nichols said.

They will simply be left vacant, until the owner either decides to fix them
up, or tears them down.

Only if the properties become a hazard or public nuisance will the city
actually bulldoze the houses, Nichols said.

"We don't want to be in the business of taking houses down in the city, if
we can avoid it," he said.

It has been estimated there are at least 300 marijuana grow operations in
Nanaimo.

The jury is still out on if the new policy is having any impact.

Nanaimo's policy is modeled on a bylaw in New Westminster, which has issued
30 cleanup orders since the policy was implemented a year ago.

Keith Coueffin, New Westminster's assistant director of strategic services,
said the policy has definitely discouraged grow operations from popping
back up in the same place.

Prior to the new policy, police would shut down one grow operation, only to
see another one pop right back up in the same house.

That no longer happens, because after a bust, the city steps in, evicts the
occupants, shuts off the power and water, and requires the owner to bring
the house back up to public health and safety codes.

"In all the situations I'm aware of, there has been no repeat offences,
where the bylaw has been enacted," Coueffin said.

Some landlords have complained that they are getting stuck with huge repair
bills for damage they did not cause. Some insurance companies have refused
to cover the costs of repairs, which range from $4,000 to $20,000.