GOT POT? YOU'LL HAVE BILLS, TOO

The city of Port Coquitlam is taking action against the growing number of
home-based pot farms by making landlords pay for their tenants' illegal
activities.

In a sweeping bylaw that has yet to come before council, city staff are
recommending landlords check their rental units at least every three months
and report any marijuana grow operation they find to the city within 48
hours. Three months is about how long it takes to grow a crop.

Property owners who fail to notify the city may be subject to a long list
of service fees incurred by the city, Coquitlam RCMP and PoCo Fire/Rescue
to clean up the home - plus a $10,000 fine for each day the bylaw is
contravened.

Under the draft bylaw, which was brought before the city's protective
services committee Thursday and also includes provisions dealing with
methamphetamine labs and the growing of hallucinogenic mushrooms, landlords
could be charged:

* $52 per hour for each RCMP officer assigned to dismantle and dispose of a
grow op (or up to $104 per hour for overtime);

* $28 per hour to deploy an RCMP exhibit custodian (or $56 per hour for
overtime);

* $54 per hour for a building inspector during regular working hours (or
$430 per call-out);

* $43 per hour for a bylaw officer during regular working hours (or $345
per call-out); and

* $600 per hour for deployment of a fire engine and crew to safeguard the
premises during the seizure.

Nancy Gomerich, PoCo's corporate services director, said the proposed
service fees are designed to recover all the costs to the city to clean up
contaminated premises.

Service fees are defined in the bylaw as "all direct and indirect costs
incurred by the city in relation to the inspection, investigation or
remediation of a parcel that contains or contained a grow operation."

"It's quite comprehensive in the costs that could be charged," Gomerich
told the committee this week.

Service fees not paid by Dec. 31 will be tacked on to the property bill the
following year, she said.

Last November, councillors directed staff to give more teeth to the city's
grow op bylaw to include cost-recovery options and to broaden the
definition of a grow op and an inspector.

As well, under the proposed new bylaw, property owners would be expected to
tell prospective tenants the home had been used as a grow op, and has since
been remediated and okayed by a hygienist (hygienist bills can run up to
$5,000).

In addition, the city is considering placing a statement on a home's tax
certificate to indicate the home had been a grow op. The statement would
remain on the certificate for at least 10 years, staff recommends.

To date, Coquitlam RCMP have seized pot plants from 53 Coquitlam homes
since September, when the Marijuana Enforcement Team (MET) formed, while
about one PoCo home a month has been busted since last fall "but we know
we're going to get a lot more [seizures] in the future," Gomerich said,
adding the city's workload will increase and cost recovery to remediate the
homes is necessary.

(Coquitlam RCMP Cpl. Jane Baptista confirmed PoCo will become more of a
target for MET officers.)

Committee chair Coun. Greg Moore said he's pleased the city plans to make
property owners more accountable but suggested staff boost the $10,000 fine
to a more substantial penalty. "Ten thousand dollars is what these guys
spend in electricity a month," he said of the pot growers, adding that they
can make up to $1 million a year. "We want to make it harder for them to do
business here."

But deputy chair Coun. Mike Forrest said if the fine is too high, the
courts could throw out the bylaw if it's challenged.

PoCo residents will be notified of the proposed bylaw changes in a
mail-out, Gomerich said.

Meanwhile, the city is also considering changes to its Fire Protection
Bylaw to make property owners with abandoned homes more responsible for
their premises.

Fire Chief Steve Gamble told the protective services committee "the
community is just up in arms" about vagrants who occupy vacant homes and
use them as crack houses or dumping grounds.

Under the proposal, owners with dilapidated homes that have been empty for
30 consecutive days will be contacted by the city and "encouraged to take
care of the property or tear the place down," Gamble said.

Two men accused in connection with a meth lab in Port Coquitlam were not in
court this week for their arraignment hearing.

Another date has been set for next month for Nghai Chung and Thoai Ong to
be arraigned on charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking and
production of an illegal substance.

Police say they pulled 200 exhibits and 24 pounds of finished ecstasy - a
derivative of meth - from a home at 1615 Shaughnessy St. March 19. Officers
were led to the complex in the Citadel Heights sub-division after receiving
information from city officials that they had found a tar-like substance in
the area sewage line.

Thursday, at PoCo's protective services committee, fire officials said the
homeowner has hired a company to remediate the house.

The city will consider charging the property owner for the cost to flush
the sewer. Fire Chief Steve Gamble said the department is monitoring the
sewer line in case of any backup as a result of the chemicals in the system.