MARIJUANA: GROW-OP COSTS RECOVERED

A bylaw change now allows Langley Township to recover the costs of
investigating homes wrecked by grow-ops.

The RCMP and Langley Township's fire department will be able to recover the
full costs of investigating buildings that have been damaged by marijuana
grow-ops and other illegal activities.

A change to the applicable Township bylaw will make it possible.

In its first year, the Property Maintenance and Repair Bylaw generated
$31,562.50 in recovered costs from 32 damaged properties referred to the
Township Building Department by the RCMP.

Staff estimate that up to $100,000 could have been collected, if the bylaw
had permitted full recovery of police and fire department costs.

Under the bylaw, property owners are held responsible for maintaining their
buildings and repairing them to a condition that is safe for occupancy if
they have been damaged as a result of illegal activities.

At present, 22 of the 32 buildings reported in the past year have been
restored.

While the Township has been able to recover any money it has spent, a
year's worth of experience has shown that the bylaw doesn't cover all RCMP
and fire department expenses.

Several repeat offenders also caused RCMP costs to be higher than staff had
estimated.

According to Permit Licence and Inspection Manager Glen Gordon, the RCMP
and fire department already keep records of manpower and equipment costs
for each investigation, so they will easily be able to provide that
information on a case by case basis.

After Council endorsed its amended bylaw, Councillor Kim Richter urged
landlords to pay attention to what's happening on their properties, warning
that, if they don't, "They could get saddled with a pretty significant bill."