PROPERTY OWNERS TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR GROW-OPS UNDER NEW BYLAW

Police Costs Of Drug House Busts Would Go To Landlords

A proposed bylaw that would hold property owners responsible for
renters' drug operations and bill them for the cost of investigations
passed its first three readings and received strong council support
at the District of Squamish council meeting Tuesday (June 20).

Squamish council is only one of several B.C. municipal governments
supporting the provincially endorsed bylaw, which was drafted by the
Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM).

The intent of the bylaw is to limit and reduce marijuana grow
operations and methamphetamine production labs -- called Controlled
Substance Properties (CSP) -- and to recover costs associated with
RCMP and municipal investigations, according to district protective
services staff.

"RCMP officers in Squamish are routinely investigating and 'busting'
illegal marijuana cultivation operations," states a staff report.

"This bylaw will authorize proper clean-up of these sites as well as
a framework for dealing with clean-up of the more hazardous
methamphetamine labs."

Property owners will be required to inspect a rental property for a
CSP at least once every three months, to maintain a written log of
such inspections, to provide a copy of the inspection log when
requested by an inspector, and to report any found CSP to the
district within 24 hours of finding it. If RCMP or inspectors suspect
and discover a CSP without the property owner's notification, the
owner is billed with policing and district enforcement costs,
starting at $500 for an inspection. If these "service fees" are not
paid, they can be collected as property taxes. The fees are justified
due to the costs and hazards associated with CSPs.

"Meth labs use many chemicals, which are toxic and extremely volatile
when combined," states the report. "With these sites, a firefighter
and any other first responder or safety staff must be cognisant of
the additional risks posed by hydro bypass, booby traps protecting
the operation, electrical wiring entanglements, confrontation with
attack dogs, and collection of toxic chemicals. In addition to the
danger, there is currently the cost to the taxpayer for providing
first responder, operations, and other services."

Once the CSP is discovered, the owner has two months to make the site
livable by removing mould and thoroughly cleaning the residence.
Owners are encouraged to follow new regulations or face more costs
through minimum $1,000 fines for a number of offences including
failure to notify inspectors, failure to provide inspection logs,
altered hydro meters, failure to properly clean premises after CSP
discovery and failure to notify neighbouring tenants or new tenants
of CSP discovery.

"Most grow ops and meth labs are in rental homes, where often the
internal structures and services are adversely altered to accommodate
the production activities," states the staff report. "When the
production facilities are dismantled, it is left virtually
uninhabitable from damage to the integrity, often mould and/or
absorption of chemicals into carpeting, walls, etc. If not cleaned
properly, these sites are very unhealthy and dangerous for future residents."

The bylaw will also entitle district staff, landlords and other
authorities to shut off water service despite a provincial
Residential Tenancy Office regulation that states: "It is an offence
for a landlord to discontinue providing a service or facility that is
essential to the tenant's use of the site or unit for their residence."

Conflicting regulations may be resolved through the bylaw's
"severability" clause, which states: "If a portion of this bylaw is
found invalid by a court, it is the intention of the council that the
portion be severed and that the remainder of the bylaw remain in effect."

The bylaw will be heard for its adoption at the next District of
Squamish council meeting on July 4.