SALMON ARM DRUG HOUSE BYLAW SUCCESSFUL

It's been considered a success in Salmon Arm so it might just work in
Williams Lake.

The city has proposed a bylaw that would allow city staff and the fire
department to shut down and seize suspected drug houses in Williams
Lake.

Salmon Arm adopted a similar bylaw earlier this year and according to
its city staff it's been well received by the community.

So far Salmon Arm has used the bylaw twice.

In both instances, the houses remain vacant, with one possibly being
demolished for a development proposal.

Corey Paiement, director of development and planning for The City of
Salmon Arm, says based on RCMP reports it was expected the city would
use the bylaw seven times a year.

While the City of Williams Lake is modeling its bylaw on Salmon Arm's
there are some differences between the two.

In Salmon Arms' case, the city posts a notice and shuts off the water.
People are only able to return if the house is professionally cleaned
and deemed inhabitable.

"It just comes back to making the house safe is what we're interested
in doing, and no one can reside in that house until it's safe," says
Paiement.

The city only shuts down the houses after being alerted by RCMP, and
an initial investigation is complete.

Paiement says that also makes it safer for city staff.

"City staff if they need to attend the property or the building won't
attend until we know it's safe," he says.

In Williams Lake, it's expected the city will target specific houses
they believe to be involved in drugs, and perhaps only use RCMP as
back-up.

Another difference is Williams Lake is hoping to seize and take
ownership of potential drug properties, to make some money.

That's something Salmon Arm city officials have no interest in.

Paiement explains that in Salmon Arm if an owner does want to return
back to their property, they are also responsible for the cost of city
staff time, and in both cases, the owners have not come forward to
settle the issue.

Unlike Williams Lake, where the city continues to fight its crime
capital status with tough new measures, Paiement says there really
wasn't anything in particular that sparked his city from striking up
the bylaw.

"It was looked at as a tool that was available," he says.

And Paiement believes when someone owns a property and can't rent it
out, and therefore loses money, it's a pretty big incentive for those
owners to make sure they're cleaned up.

While Paiement does acknowledge the bylaw takes city staff away from
other things they could be doing, after the first two shut-downs, he
says the city expects the process to run smoother in the future.