LANDLORDS BEAR BRUNT OF TOUGHER LAWS

Richmond Coun. Bill McNulty wants Richmond to follow Chilliwack's lead by
enacting harsh penalties for negligent landlords and building owners when
grow-ops are found.

"Other municipalities are way ahead of us, and I think it's time we caught
up," McNulty said.

Chilliwack recently embarked on a tough new set of regulations that will
allow it to hit landlords or owners with a $10,000 fine if they haven't
visited the premises in 90 days, as well as about $3,000 in safety
inspection and certification fees. They can also shut off water to the
home, fix a damaged home and bill the owner and arrange for fire inspectors
to enter the home.

"I'm very, very impressed with what they've done," McNulty said. "I think
the penalties are harsh enough."

Comparing the bylaw to "preventative medicine," McNulty said the point is
not to penalize landlords, but to ensure they visit the premises they rent.
With rewired grow-ops sometimes posing a fire hazard, a bylaw with teeth
could help preserve public safety, he added.

Unlike most Lower Mainland municipalities, Richmond doesn't have a bylaw
that cracks down on marijuana growing operations. Offences related to
dangerous buildings, the closest facsimiles, don't do anything to curtail
the grow-op problem, McNulty said.

While Richmond staff are drafting a grow-op bylaw, expected to be ready
this fall, McNulty wants to know the fine print now so council can direct
them. He intends to raise the issue at the committee or council level.

"This is not new for me," McNulty said. "I've been pushing this for well
over three years."

City spokesman Ted Townsend said the new grow-op bylaw will allow the city
to recoup costs associated with policing marijuana growing operations.

Similar to a bylaw in Surrey, it would allow Richmond to pass costs for
surveillance, arrests, seizure of plants, electrical inspections by the
fire department and building safety inspections to landlords and property
owners.

Townsend said the bylaw will ensure taxpayers aren't footing the bill for
offences that could have been curbed by more vigilant landlords.

"It's been talked about on and off (at city hall) for a couple of years,"
Townsend said.

The head of the local RCMP's five-man 'Green Team,' which combats grow-ops,
likes the idea of a bylaw that pressures landlords to keep tabs on what's
happening in their rental properties. Compared to Surrey, Chilliwack and
Vancouver, Richmond's grow-op problem is relatively small, according to
RCMP Cpl. Bob Pinkewycz.

He wants to keep it that way.

"Richmond is doing quite well, but we don't want to be the only city
without that bylaw," he said.