LANDLORDS SHELLING OUT FOR GROW-OPS

Since a controversial "pot grow" bylaw was implemented last July, the City
of Surrey has billed 43 Surrey landlords for police and fire costs
associated with arrests at marijuana grow operations.

Surrey Mounties call the law an effective deterrent, but critics of the law
call it unconstitutional and vulnerable to legal challenge.

For the city it's meant recuperating more than $45,000 spent on arresting
suspects, and cleaning up properties used for growing marijuana.

For landlords, most of them absentee, it has resulted in bills ranging from
$500 to $2,500, depending on the size of the operation and the amount of
clean up required.

Of the total $45,000, $6,000 has been paid directly by landlords while
$39,000 will be added to property tax bills.

The bylaw also allows the city to pursue fines of up to $5,000, something
the city has not yet initiated.

Const. Tim Shields said Wednesday the legislation is turning out to be an
effective deterrent.

In the past, police have had to attend the same house repeatedly. Of those
homeowners billed for police services, Mounties haven't had to return at
all, Shields said.

The bylaw is unprecedented, and has been the subject of discussion,
curiosity and criticism across the province.

Just after the bylaw was passed, Kelowna Mayor Walter Gray dubbed it the
"Surrey Solution," and considered the same plan for that city.

"We just simply looked at it and said, 'Hey, hold it here, I wonder if
Surrey's got a good idea,' " Gray told The Leader Wednesday. "This bears
investigation."

After consulting with the public, Kelowna council decided to back away from
the plan. But other initiatives Gray couldn't talk about are currently
under way.

"We want to go another step further and see how we can 'grow-proof' our
community," Gray said, adding it's an initiative well-worth pursuing.
"There's a hell of a reward at the end of the rainbow if someone can really
do something."

Several other municipalities, including Coquitlam, Langley City and
Richmond, considered adopting a bylaw similar to Surrey's but dismissed it,
because of the potential legal pitfalls.

However, Craig MacFarlane, Surrey's head solicitor said Wednesday he hasn't
been notified of any legal challenges to the bylaw.

"No, not a thing," MacFarlane said Wednesday. "All is quiet."

Critics of the bylaw say Surrey is simply using a "back door" to conduct
searches without warrants.

The bylaw allows police officers, acting as city "inspectors," to enter the
"...property of any person at reasonable times and in a reasonable manner
for the purpose of inspecting the property and declaring whether the
property is being used for a noxious or offensive drug trade or manufacture..."

The B.C. Civil Liberties Association has criticized the Surrey bylaw for
violating an individual's right to reasonable privacy in their home.

So far, all grow op busts have involved warrants, Surrey bylaw officers say.

Some city staffers admit that if Mounties enter as inspectors without a
warrant, the bylaw could be vulnerable to a Charter of Rights challenge.