LANDLORDS FACE BILLS FOR GROW-OP BUSTS

A city plan to bill rental property owners for marijuana grow-ops found in
their homes has been slammed by the Rental Owners and Managers Association
of British Columbia as unfair.

Al Kemp, chief executive of ROMA B.C., said that pot growers should be
paying the costs of shutting down the grow-op, not the property owners.

"The property owner is an easy target. They already have tens of thousands
of dollars damage to their property and then along comes the City of
Vancouver saying we are going to whack you as well," Kemp said. "It's a
double whammy and I'm not comfortable with that."

City staff will recommend to council on Tuesday to amend the city's
building bylaw to allow the city to recoup the cost from property owners of
shutting down a grow-op.

The city's Grow Busters team, including police, fire and property
inspection staff, costs about $2,000 per bust for salaries, disconnecting
power and dismantling, transporting and storing a grow-op's equipment.

Grow Busters shuts down about eight operations a week, although only 15 per
cent of those shut down result in criminal charges. Under the staff
proposal, the bill to landlords would be levied on the annual property tax
assessment.

"What we really need to get into here is why the judicial system is
basically saying grow operations are OK," Kemp said. "If you get caught
with a grow operation the worst thing that will happen is you are going to
face a fine, which is the cost of doing business."

Carlene Robbins, the city's manager of bylaw administration, said
Chilliwack, Surrey, Port Moody and North Vancouver already have a bylaw in
place similar to the Vancouver proposal. Robbins said expecting city
taxpayers to cover the costs of shutting down grow-ops is unfair. About
10,000 grow-ops are estimated to be operating in the city.

"There is a definite cost to closing these operations and the city and
taxpayer are bearing the cost. Is that fair to the taxpayers, when the
property owner should be responsible for their property?" Robbins said.

"If you manage your property right and inspect the property then you should
discover it. It's your responsibility to take care of the building."

Last fall, the city began placing advisory notes on a property's
certificate of title if a home had been used as a grow-op more than once.
The notes are meant to warn prospective buyers that mould resulting from
grow-ops can damage buildings. Robbins said two or three properties a week
received amended certificates of title.

Last week, council slapped warnings to prospective buyers on three
properties used repeatedly as marijuana grow-ops at 5853-5857 Victoria Dr.,
7313 Kerr St. and 2211 East 1st Ave. Next week, council will be asked to do
the same to properties at 1231 East 51st Ave. and 757 East 60th Ave.

Kemp rental property owner's have difficulty knowing whether a potential
renter is grower, because some growers use false names and references.

"It's not the city's fault there are all these grow operations either, but
it certainly isn't the [fault of] individual landlords," Kemp said. "What
has happened is a case of here's the problem, let's solve it with the wrong
solution."