TENANTS WANT POT OUT OF MAPLE RIDGE BUSINESS PARK

Tenants of a business park in east Maple Ridge allege the property is
home to several illegal marijuana grow operations that have failed to
be dismantled despite repeated complaints.

Located at the end of 256th Street, past the Fraser Regional
Correctional Centre, the Webster's Corner Business Park backs onto
thick forest and is far from homes.

On some days, said a man who owns a unit in the park, the smell of
marijuana permeates the entire property.

On Wednesday, the skunky scent of fresh marijuana hung in the air, as
corrections officers took a lunch hour walk past the property.

"It's bothersome," said the man, who asked to remain anonymous. "These
are not thriving businesses. They are thriving grow operations. We
stare at it every single day. Yeah, I'm afraid."

He claims a car has been shot at on the property, an incident that
went unreported to police, and several of the supposed grow operations
have been broken into.

The grow-rips and break-ins have prompted some tenants to stick signs
on their back doors indicating there is "no dope here."

Another owner, who also requested anonymity for fear of intimidation,
remains concerned for his safety and the structural damage being done
to the units by the pot growers that could eventually affect strata
fees. "This is affecting my business," he said.

"We've complained, but nothing ever happens."

Police, though, have dismantled grow ops on the property before and
encourage owners to come forward with information that could lead to
busting several more.

On Feb. 22 this year, the Ridge Meadows RCMP executed two search
warrants on the complex and seized more than 1,000 plants.

A year earlier, on Feb. 12, 2010, they targeted two different
units.

One held two cargo trailers, which contained 500 plants. The other
unit held close to 1,000 plants.

Phil Cooper, a strata manager who owns several units in the business
park, said district bylaw officials and the fire department are also
in the process of conducting inspections in each of the units.

The municipality will be making sure every tenant has a business
license for the premise and will be looking for electrical, as well as
building infractions.

"I'm going to let fire and bylaws deal with it," said Cooper, adding
that the Webster's Corner Business Park isn't the only industrial
complex plagued by allegations of grow operations.

He hopes the inspections prompt the pot growers to take their crops
elsewhere.