PEMBERTON PASSES MARIJUANA GROW-OP BYLAW

Pemberton council has passed a bylaw aimed at weeding out marijuana
grow operations and in the process, it has reduced the rights of
rental tenants in Pemberton.

The bylaw is similar to one the Chilliwack council pioneered and which
has had a huge impact in stopping grow operations in that region.

The Chilliwack bylaw is effective because of changes that were made to
the Residency Tenancy Act, or RTA, which allows the landlord to
legally inspect the spaces they rent periodically. The bylaw places
the onus on landlords to ensure that there are no marijuana grow
operations in their places.

The Pemberton bylaw can stop landlords from renting their properties
until a grow operation is removed and allows council to enforce
penalties up to $10,000.

"Every owner of residential premises or other premises that are
subject to a Tenancy Agreement must inspect the premises at least once
every three months to ascertain whether this bylaw has been
contravened," reads Pemberton's new bylaw.

If a grow operation is found then the bylaw instructs that the tenant
must be removed within 30 days, the premises has to be cleaned and
then inspected by a certified hygienist before another tenant is
allowed back into the property.

Pemberton's new "Grow Operation, Nuisance or Offensive Trades, Health
and Safety Bylaw No.546, 2005" also allows for the fire chief to
inspect the premises for "conditions that may cause fires." But Mayor
Elinor Warner said the bylaw was primarily meant to shift the
responsibility for grow operations onto the owners of properties and
to enforce heavy penalties if the bylaws are broken.