CITY TRIPLES EFFORTS IN GROW-OP BATTLE

It started as a three month test to arm the city with more tools to
crack down on marijuana grow-ops, and now Abbotsford's Grow Op Pilot
Public Safety Project has evolved into a permanent fixture.

Wrapping up the 90-day initiative on Friday, Abbotsford Mayor Mary
Reeves addressed a group in Matsqui Centennial Auditorium that
included city council and staff, and representatives from the fire and
police departments.

And during her presentation, she said that not only would the project
continue but it would also triple in size.

That will result in nine city employees taking to the streets and
using heat-detecting equipment and public tips to shut-down some of
Abbotsford estimated 700 marijuana grow operations.

The city policy dictates that once a grow-up is detected, the city
can, under its Controlled Substance Property Bylaw, impose fees to
shut off the water supply and make a crop unviable.

Service costs to dismantle a grow-op are then charged directly back to
the property owner, regardless of whether he/she was actually the
grower. Other charges include paying for inspector visits and ensuring
a property is brought back to a state where it passes all building
codes.

"The message is this: If you are thinking of having a grow-op in your
house, you might not want to do it in Abbotsford," Reeves said yesterday.

Reeves said the grow-op initiative costs tax payers nothing as all its
operating costs are charged back to the property owner.

"That was the intent. Why should taxpayers have to pay for something
that somebody is doing illegally?" she said.

Coun. Bruce Beck, who drafted the Grow Op Pilot Project, echoed a
number of Reeves' sentiments.

"The learning curve is now behind us . . . the message is that there
will now be easier places to run a grow-op than in Abbotsford," he
said.

"This was not a political decision - the impetus came from the
neighbourhoods themselves. This is one time that NIMBY really worked
because nobody wants a grow-op in their back yard."

Abbotsford Police chief Ian Mackenzie said the program "has definitely
been a help" but it is "too early to tell" whether it is actually
deterring growers.

"I see this as a great way to improve safety in Abbotsford," Mackenzie
said, describing Abbotsford's estimated 700 grow-ops as a "low estimate".

Assistant Abbotsford Fire chief Mike Helmer said his department
"waited for this for a long time."

"It was the citizens that spoke - they were tired of it," Helmer
said.

Helmer said police, fire and ambulance staff are put in potential
danger whenever they tackle a grow-op.

And for fire personnel, he said this can include booby-trapped
properties although he said that problem is yet to surface in Abbotsford.

"The worst thing about being a chief is to lose a firefighter, and if
the reason is because of some criminal activity . . .

"We are ecstatic about this (the program.) We couldn't be
happier."

The pilot project cost $93,000 altogether - $80,000 of which was
funded by the province.

Over the past three months, Reeves said The Public Safety Inspection
Team received 120 calls from residents. A total of 32 properties were
inspected and 30 were found to be growing marijuana in contravention
of the Controlled Substance Property Bylaw.

Other findings included:

- - Only one grow-op fire was reported during the pilot project, while
five were reported during the same period in 2004.

- - Staff from the Ministry of Children and Family Development protected
the safety of children in 10 homes identified by the team.

- - Houses were brought up to building code standards.

- - The potential purchase of a grow-op house was reduced by filing
notices at the Land Title Office against 30 houses. Electrical
bypasses were found in 20 houses and the power was disconnected in
each case until they passed a financial inspection.

- - All 30 houses are to be cleaned and approved by individuals or
groups certified by the Canadian Registration Board of Occupational
Hygienists or the American Board of Industrial Hygiene.