GROW-OP BYLAW GOOD FIRST STEP

Chilliwack's new anti grow-op bylaw has yet to gain final approval,
but it's already having an impact.

Local politicians were on the airwaves much of Wednesday, explaining
council's rationale for enacting such a sweeping bylaw.

The measures, they say, are necessary to combat a growing problem in
the community: the use of homes for the cultivation of marijuana and
the manufacture of other drugs (see story, front page).

The "Nuisance, Noxious, or Offensive Trades Health and Safety Bylaw,"
which is expected to gain final approval Aug. 16, is being called the
toughest bylaw of its kind in British Columbia. It carries a maximum
fine of $10,000 and will hold landlords responsible for property that
is used for marijuana grow operations, or labs that make drugs like
methamphetamine (crystal meth).

The bylaw stems from a study done four years ago that concluded
Chilliwack had the most grow operations per capita in British
Columbia. That was a reputation the city did not want to see
cultivated further.

And understandably so. The marijuana grow operations of today are
industrial operations, funded and administered by organized crime.
They are not innocent hobby farms, tended by aging hippies looking for
a weekend puff.

Their impact spreads beyond the home that has been converted into a
grow-op. The whole neighbourhood is affected, and adjacent homeowners
are put at risk by thieves looking to rob the lucrative
installations.

Even after a grow-op is gone, there are risks. Two years ago a family
in Burnaby was nearly asphyxiated in a home that had earlier been used
as a grow-op. The furnace had been modified to help vent the operation
and was never fixed.

Granted, the bylaw does place a responsibility on landlords to ensure
their property is not being used for illegal purposes. But this is not
unreasonable. Indeed, it is in their best interest to ensure their
properties are not used for grow-ops because of the damage done to the
homes.

Nonetheless, the city should establish an education program for
landlords (similar to the Crime-Free Multi-Housing Program) that will
help landlords find and keep responsible tenants.

The attention generated by city hall's tough stance has already sent a
message that Chilliwack will not tolerate being called the grow-op
capital of British Columbia.

The challenge will be to follow the words with actions so that both
property owners and the community do not become victims of these
industrial grow operations.