DRUG PRODUCERS TARGETED

Drug production in Langley Township homes and buildings will be
targeted by a special team of fire, police and bylaw officers. Fees
to the owner of a home found in violation will be $3,500 at minimum.

Township Fire Chief Doug Wade says controlled-substance, fire
services and electrical safety laws provide ample authority for
safety inspections of suspected marijuana grow operations or drug
production facilities.

Authorities would be able, under an amended controlled-substance
property bylaw, to serve 24 hours notice of a safety inspection, to
the occupants of a Township premise.

That may prompt drug producers to clear out the evidence, but
inspectors may still find safety and fire violations, Wade said.

On Monday, council approved $250,000 from 2007 budget contingencies,
to fund a pilot program outlined by Wade in a report.

To conduct the inspections, Wade said some additional staff may be
required. But he proposes to second staff from RCMP, fire and bylaw
enforcement, to reduce out of pocket expenditures, and cost
recoveries will eventually lessen the burden on the taxpayer.

Wade said on March 7 that Surrey, Abbotsford and Pitt Meadows are
already using the safety inspections to target drug producers, and
Coquitlam council also approved a similar program.

Wade's most recent information from Surrey indicates that in 91
inspections conducted there, officials found 90 premises with
electrical or structural safety problems.

In Pitt Meadows, which has only recently begun a similar program, 15
inspections have turned up safety problems in 14 premises.

Such inspections will encourage illicit drug producers to relocate
elsewhere, said Wade.

"It (drug production in residential areas) is clearly rampant in the
community. It concerns us. It concerns us for the safety of our
(firefighters) it concerns us for the safety of (adjacent) residents
and it concerns us for the safety of the community in general," said Wade.

Wade said the Township will charge the owner of the home an initial
inspection fee of $3,500 if electrical/fire/structure safety issues
related to drug production are found in the building.

Additional fees, for extra costs, and permit inspections related to
making the home safe again for habitation, can be added to the
$3,500, which will be added to the property tax bill.

Wade said that Surrey's average charges have been $5,000.

"That puts into perspective what it actually costs (to run the
program)," Wade said.

He said a team of at least five will be required, and Surrey has
recently doubled the size of its team of inspectors.

Any indication of a structural or electrical safety issue, or
chemical contamination connected to drug production would result in
the building requiring a building permit inspection prior to
re-occupancy, said Township administrator Mark Bakken.

Under the existing controlled-substance property bylaw, the Township
can recover costs when RCMP and the fire department are involved in
fire calls related to grow ops and drug production facilities.

In 2006 (including January 2007) the Township invoiced offending
property owners a total of $98,862, including $49,965 for emergency
response costs and $45,897 for building permits and inspections to
ensure that the premises were remediated to safe-living conditions.

To March 5, $70,137, or 75 per cent of these charges have been paid.

"We are relatively certain that we can recover a majority of the
expenditures," Bakken told council.

Councillor Jordan Bateman said that houses with grow ops are 25 per
cent more likely to burn than homes without, and the special safety
inspections would go a long way to curtailing drug production here.

Council unanimously approved the $250,000 for the pilot inspection
program, and gave first, second and third reading to the amended
Controlled Substance Property Bylaw.