DRUG HOUSE BYLAW READY

After a two-week delay, Maple Ridge's grow-op bylaw went to council for its
final reading Tuesday evening.

The bylaw, voted on after the NEWS press deadline, requires property owners
to pay all clean-up, repair, police and fire costs if their building is
busted as a drug lab.

Realtor and former mayor Al Hogarth disagreed with some parts of the bylaw,
saying it penalized owners, when tenants were at fault.

He and two others met last week with director of bylaws Brock McDonald.
However, no major changes to the bylaw resulted from the meeting.

McDonald said property managers were reassured that if they report grow-ops
voluntarily, they won't have to pay the police or firefighter service costs
for conducting a grow-op bust, although they'd still face bills for repair
and cleanup.

The rules also require landlords to inspect their properties every three
months. Until then, there was requirement to check buildings.

The new bylaw means more work for landlords said Mayor Kathy Morse, "but
they also understand that the level of intolerance with the general public
is very very high."

The bylaw also requires that rental properties be inspected every three months.

McDonald said staff are compiling a database of landlords who'll be
notified by mail of the new bylaw. Landlords will also receive copies of
the bylaw as well as tips for spotting a drug lab.

McDonald said he pointed out at the meeting that Maple Ridge is one of the
last municipalities in the Lower Mainland to enact such a bylaw.

The bylaw addresses methamphetamine labs as well as marijuana grow operations.