CITY NOTICES WARN OF GROW-OPS IN HOMES

Abbotsford is using the Community Charter to help warn unsuspecting
homebuyers about grow-ops.

Council has been allowing Section 57 notices to be filed against the
titles of properties involved in producing marijuana.

"It acts as an alert to anyone who is interested in the property,"
explained Gordon Ferguson, Abbotsford's manager of bylaw
enforcement.

Under Section 57 of the charter, municipal governments have the right
to file a notice in vthe land title office if construction or safety
concerns in regard to a structure are observed or if any work has been
performed without a permit of inspection.

The option of filing a notice was initially created to warn people
about bylaw infractions regarding alterations to a home that may be
unsafe. However, Abbotsford is using contraventions to its controlled
substance bylaw as well.

Most of the homes in question have had modifications made to them
including bypassed electric meters, added or modified branch circuits,
disconnected heat vents or unsafe conditions like accumulation of mold
and fungus.

These are all common occurrences in homes that have grow
operations.

Once council approves placing the notification on a property, it will
remain there until the modifications have been corrected and properly
inspected.

The property is not to be occupied until then.

In many cases, the homes involved are rental houses, meaning the
landlord is stuck paying for his tenants' actions.

"That does happen and it's unfortunate," said Abbotsford Mayor George
Peary. "It's really a hazard being a landlord now."

So far, in 2010, the city has filed between 35 and 40 notices on drug
houses, which Ferguson said is about the same amount as last year.

"That's not that high. I wish the number was double," said
Peary.

He believes the city might be aware of about 20 per cent of the grow
ops in the community. With only 40 notices filed, that leaves more
than 160 that aren't shut down.

"And if we only know about 10 per cent?"