CITY DROPS BYLAW HAMMER ON UNLICENSED RECOVERY HOMES

Surrey alcohol and drug recovery homes will have to obtain proper
zoning or shut down.

The long-dormant issue is arising again after complaints from the
public regarding at least three North Surrey recovery homes near 101
Avenue and 133 Street known collectively as Cornerstone Manor.

It's unknown how many recovery homes are operating in Surrey, but in
1998, this city had 54 - one-third of the provincial total. City
officials believe there are less than that now, but only one of them,
Cloverdale's Path to Freedom, is licensed and zoned properly.

The city will no longer allow the unregulated facilities.

On June 22, a Surrey bylaw enforcement officer issued a compliance
order on Cornerstone.

"A recent inspection of the above property has revealed that you are
operating a recovery home," the notice states, adding the property
isn't properly zoned.

"You are required to stop this illegal use by Aug. 15."

Richard Schmold, operator of the recovery home for the past 15 years,
says clients are already leaving the home because of its uncertain future.

The stepped-up enforcement opens up a decade-old battle between the
city and recovery homes.

In 1998, then-Coun. Dianne Watts struck a task force on recovery
homes in an effort to both limit their number and location. She also
wanted to improve the quality of service to clients.

The city created a bylaw in 1998 that governed where the homes can
locate, but municipal authority stops at the front door - operations
were a provincial responsibility.

With the help of the province, the city later introduced amendments
to the recovery home bylaw requiring compliance with the Community
Care Facilities Act. It meant providing 24-hour staffing, a nutrition
care plan and a daily activity plan. It was an ambitious program that
required provincial funding.

However, it proved too onerous and costly for recovery homes and the
province, so in 2002, the B.C. Liberal government abandoned the program.

Nonetheless, it still remains a requirement of the city's bylaw.

Schmold, also chair of the B.C. Association of Drug and Alcohol
Recovery Houses, says the city is opening up a huge can of worms.

If Surrey begins requiring rezoning of local recovery homes,
operators will scatter, he says.

"They'll just go underground," Schmold says. "It's going to be moving
from here and coming to your neighbourhood soon."

The clients, he said, will suffer.

Ken, a 46-year-old resident of Cornerstone, fears he'll go out and
use drugs if he loses the assistance.

"Without the help of Cornerstone and the people that work here, I
can't do it," says Ken, who paid for his crack cocaine habit mostly
through break-ins and property theft.

"What it means for me is I'm homeless without a safe place... I don't
know where I'm going to go."

Mayor Watts is aware of the bylaw order.

"Let me put it this way, this has been an ongoing issue for a number
of years," Watts said Thursday. "There are some good recovery houses
out there and there are others that need support."

The city, she says, needs to ensure the homes are providing adequate care.

Part of the crackdown will involve lobbying the provincial government
for regulations on how the facilities operate.

"Again we go back to the drawing board where we have to deal with the
issue," Watts said. "The issue of addictions is something we need to
deal with on a multi-governmental level, we cannot keep passing the buck."

The city is currently compiling a database of addictions services
throughout the city, Watts said. Once that's finished, the city can
go forward to the provincial government with a specific list of needs.

Meanwhile, bylaw officials will continue issuing notices when they
receive complaints from the public.

"We respond on a per-complaint basis, and that's exactly what we're
doing here," Watts said.