GROW-OP CLEANUP BYLAW PASSES

HOMEOWNERS in West Van will now be responsible for cleaning up after
tenants who set up illegal marijuana growing operations.

Although all councillors voted in favour of the bylaw Monday, there was
disagreement in the council chamber.

Coun. Rod Day drew attention to letters from community members which he
said echoed his concern that the bylaw puts too much burden on property
owners, who are already victimized by tenants who set up the illegal grow
operations, or grow ops. The new bylaw requires owners who rent out
property to visit that property every three months. If a grow op is
discovered on the property, the owner needs to pay for cleanup and for
municipal inspections that are required before the building can be rented
out again.

"I guess I support this, but it worries me that this legislation seems to
be blaming the victim," Day said. "The owner is, after all, the victim -
having his house melted down and then he or she is in a position of being
blamed legally."

Municipal manager David Stuart said the intent of the bylaw is to encourage
homeowners to take more responsibility and to help the municipality cover
some of the cost of inspecting a building after a grow op is discovered.
"The options that are open to municipalities to try to dissuade this kind
of activity are very limited. What we're hoping to do is encourage more
diligence on behalf of the owners," he said.

Stuart said many municipalities in British Columbia have adopted similar
bylaws. He added that the bylaw does put significant onus on the property
owner, but that making property owners responsible is key to reducing the
number of grow ops.

There would be no enforcement of the requirement to visit the rented home
every three months, Stuart said. "It really will be up to the landlords to
decide if they want to adhere to this," he said. "When you take into
consideration the value of the property in West Vancouver, visiting it
every three months to ensure your investment is secure or having your agent
do that seems like a reasonable precaution," he said. Property owners who
can demonstrate they have regularly visited a property that is later
discovered to be a grow op would be exempt from paying inspection fees.

Coun. Pam Goldsmith-Jones said she supports the bylaw. "Marijuana grow ops
. . . represent serious health and safety hazards, serious threats to the
value of your assets," she said. "We can turn a blind eye or we can say
look, this is actually going on, and enable people to know what to look
for, and help them be proactive and protect the value of their homes. To me
there's no question. And I support it," she said.