ABBOTSFORD TO FINE GROW OP HOME OWNERS

One Strike - And You're Up In Smoke.

A bylaw meant to recover city costs of busting repeat marijuana grow
operations was up for debate again at city council chambers January 21.
Councillors voted to give an amended bylaw three readings, which means it
awaits only fourth and final reading to make it law.

Once in effect, landlords who have had their property busted more than once
for a grow-op could face costs into the thousands of dollars for cleanup
and police time.

Back in September, council voted to defer action on the bylaw, titled the
Abbotsford Controlled Substance Property Bylaw, pending the outcome of an
expected court challenge of a similar bylaw enacted by Surrey, another area
plagued by grow-ops.

They were also concerned that landlords who used "due diligence" in
screening tenants would be unfairly penalized. Or, as Coun. John Redekop
then remarked: "Better a guilty man go free than an innocent man be hanged."

However, that bylaw, dubbed the Surrey Solution, has not been challenged.
For Surrey, it's meant recovering more than $45,000 spent on arresting
suspects and cleaning up properties used for growing marijuana, Grant
Acheson, acting director of development services, told council.

For Surrey landlords, many of them absentee, it has resulted in bills
ranging from $500 to $2,500, depending on the size of the operation and the
amount of clean up required. Other B.C. cities, including Kelowna, are
considering similar legislation.

The bylaw enables the city, as a condition of re-occupancy of a home where
a grow-op was found and removed, to have the owner(s) obtain a building
permit for restoration of health, safety and fire requirements of the
building code. It also would allow Abbotsford Police to recover
extraordinary costs of dismantling, transportation, storage and disposal of
the drug grow equipment.

The bylaw as presented here contains two changes to the one proposed last
fall. One states that unless a property owner is also a resident of the
house, the owner is only liable to pay extraordinary police costs on a
second offence. As Acheson told council: "If you (an owner) live in a house
where a grow-op occurs, there is no free ride."

The second change is that there is a right of re-consideration of payment,
in other words an appeal first to the Abbotsford Police chief and then to
city council. This would include those ordered to make payment upon a
second offence.

Coun. Simon Gibson voted to proceed with the amended bylaw, a motion
seconded by Coun. Ed Fast.

"I'm confident my original concerns have been addressed," said Gibson. "I
have a lot of trust in our police - they have a history of handling
themselves with decorum. This will do well for the taxpayers of our city."
Said Redekop: "We're talking big dollars. If they allow big grow-ops, this
is what they'll be charged. We want to eliminate this whole matter."