BYLAW TARGETS GROW-OPS

The City of Prince George is developing a bylaw to crack down on
landlords who allow marijuana growing operations or clandestine drug
labs on their property.

On Monday city council directed city staff to develop the bylaw, which
will hold the landlords accountable for the RCMP costs of removing
material and equipment from the grow ops and drug labs; and the costs
of inspecting the buildings for safety, health and fire code violations.

"We're already doing inspections on properties, after the fact, as
police find them. This would allow us to recoup those costs," bylaw
services manager Guy Gusdal said. "Most of the Lower Mainland have
these (bylaws). Certainly they've been effective in dealing with the
problems."

City health, safety and fire inspectors have inspected the sites of
approximately six marijuana grow operations already this year, Gusdal
said.

Information on what those inspections have cost the city is not
available, he said, but depending on the level of damage to the home
they can be extensive and time consuming. Mould, substandard wiring,
structural changes to the building, spilled chemicals and other
hazards are common in marijuana grow operations and clandestine drug
labs.

"These buildings often have life/safety issues," Gusdal said. "You can
have substantial damage to the home."

Council also directed administration to prepare a policy to register
on the property title that it was used as a grow op or drug lab. City
council has that authority under the community charter, but must
receive a report from the inspector and approve the title notification
on a case-by-case basis.

The bylaw will also allow the city to request electricity consumption
information from B.C. Hydro. Homes or buildings which have
unusually-high consumption may be inspected to determine the cause,
Gusdal said.

There may be legitimate causes for the higher-than-average use such as
electric heating systems or swimming pools, he said, but it could be
powering grow lamps for marijuana.

The RCMP can get a warrant to request that information about specific
properties, Gusdal said.

"Because they're doing it as a criminal investigation, there is a
pretty high standard (of evidence required)," he said. "Our
requirements for getting that information are to a lesser standard
than police, because we're doing it as a health/safety issue."

RCMP officers will be involved in any inspections conducted to keep
the peace and respond to illegal activity found.

"A lot of these things are very preventable," Gusdal said. "If the
owner is managing the property and does inspections, this is
preventable. If the owner finds (illegal activity) and reports it
within 24 hours, they will not be held responsible for the costs."

Coun. Cameron Stolz said putting a notification on the property title
means the landlord will have a harder time selling the property down
the road.

Coun.. Dave Wilbur said the bylaw will force landlords to be more
diligent in managing their property.

"This is going to hit slumlords where it hurts," Coun. Brian Skakun
said.