HOMEOWNER MAY FACE GROW-OP BILL

Police Find 400 Pot Plants In Vacant British Properties
Home

A West Vancouver family may be on the hook for thousands of dollars in
emergency services and repair bills after police found a large grow
operation inside their home.

A member of the family called West Vancouver police Sunday evening
when he arrived at the Glenross Road property -- which the family
believed to be vacant -- to find the locks changed and condensation
accumulating on the inside of the windows. When officers arrived at
the British Properties home, they forced their way in to find more
than 400 marijuana plants growing in three rooms.

Investigators dismantled the operation and carted away the drug along
with various pieces of related equipment.

Grow ops, which generally require humid conditions and a variety of
toxic chemicals, can be extremely destructive to the buildings in
which they are situated. West Vancouver Fire and Rescue and bylaw
inspectors will be examining the premises to determine the extent of
the damage in this case. Whatever the result, the property owner will
be landed with the repair bill -- in addition, possibly, to a tab for
the emergency and municipal staff used to shut the operation down and
remove the components.

Under a 2005 bylaw, the owner of any West Vancouver rental property is
responsible for inspecting the premises every three months to ensure
no grow op has been established. If the owner finds one, they have to
report it within 24 hours.

In the event the owner doesn't follow these rules, and the authorities
discover an operation on the premises, the municipality will charge
the owner for all the costs it incurs as a result. That includes all
the hours logged by police, fire and bylaw services. All told, the tab
can run anywhere from $3,800 to $32,000, according to district staff.

"The costs get pretty high, pretty quickly," said Liz Holitzki, West
Vancouver's manager of permits, inspections and bylaws.

The fees are waived if the owner has been inspecting the premises
regularly and duly reported an infraction, she said. The municipality
has not yet determined whether this was the case for the Glenross Road
property, however.

According to police, the owner had last examined the vacant rental
home two months before the discovery of the operation, which would
appear to fall within the bylaw's requirements.

Regardless of the family's diligence, however, they will very likely
be facing a whopping bill to bring the home back up to a livable
standard. Under the West Vancouver bylaw, the owner is responsible for
removing any fire hazards, replacing all carpets and curtains, having
the furnace and air ducts professionally cleaned, and disinfecting --
or replacing, if necessary -- all the home's floors, walls and ceilings.

If fertilizer or other toxic chemicals have been poured down the
drain, as is not uncommon, a portion of the plumbing will have to be
replaced. In the event the regular hydro hookup has been bypassed --
another common practice -- the owner will have to pay for rewiring.

It is unlikely the cost will be covered by insurance. "I do not know
of one insurance policy that has ever covered a grow op," Holitzki.
"This is very, very serious for homeowners."