DRUG OPERATIONS TARGETED WITH BYLAW

Council To Look At Cleaning Up Grow Operations

The District of Sicamous is considering a new bylaw that targets the
premises of former drug production or grow operations.

At its Feb. 28 committee of the whole meeting, Sicamous council
received for its consideration a copy of the Safe Premises Bylaw
adopted by the City of Salmon Arm.

Such a bylaw would be enforced following a drug-related bust by RCMP,
typically on rental properties. According to the Salmon Arm bylaw,
after arrests have been made, a "Do Not Occupy" notice is posted on
the premises and occupants must leave. Onus would then be placed upon
the property's owner, particularly absentee owners, to have the
building professionally cleaned and inspected by a certified
hygienist. Property owners would also be required to pay to the city
service fees for an infraction, a minimum of $1,000 plus staff time
spent on a file. Other costs faced by the property owner include a
$500 fee for each inspection, a $500 fee for a special safety
inspection, a $90 hourly rate for a peace officer and a $33.75 hourly
rate for each visit from a bylaw enforcement officer.

Water to the property can be disconnected until the requirements of
the bylaw are met. And, if a property owner should default on payment
to the municipality, associated costs and fees could be added to the
owner's property tax bill the following year.

The purpose of the Salmon Arm bylaw is to "promote public safety and
'safe premises' by requiring the remediation of residences previously
used as illegal grow operations and drug labs."

It's an approach that fits with the Sicamous RCMP's own strategic
plan, and one that Harrison said he plans to take up with council.

"What it does is it empowers bylaw enforcement to deal with homes
that are contaminated by drug use, manufacturing or cultivation,
which can create a significant health problem in the community, and a
significant safety hazard with regard to altered wiring and fire
hazard, that type of thing," said Harrison. "Rather than dealing
solely with the individual, it deals with the premises and the dire
consequences and danger to health that premises create in the
community. That's a big concern. One meth lab blowing up in your
neighbourhood is going to ruin your day. The toxic chemicals involved
in that poses a serious and significant health risk."

When arrests are made on a premises for the production or
manufacturing of controlled substances, Harrison explained, charges
are recommended for the individuals involved under the Controlled
Drugs and Substances Act. Typically, nothing is done with the
premises of the drug operation, and in no time, said Harrison, that
operation is back in business.

With the adoption of a safe premises bylaw, a municipal government
can take a more holistic approach, according to Harrison, to ridding
a community of illegal drug and grow operations, he adds.

"That's the idea behind it -- there's got to be a way to deal with
the entire problem," said Harrison. "Simply charging a
person doesn't solve the problem. We've seen for years that drug
enforcement is only one tool on your tool belt for dealing with the
problem of drug abuse. The other obvious one is education, and then
there are things like these safe premises bylaws that are being
looked at by communities across B.C. To me it's a step in the right direction."

Council decided at the committee meeting to arrange a future meeting
with Harrison to discuss the Salmon Arm bylaw.

The Salmon Arm bylaw is modelled after a similar bylaw, the
Controlled Substances Bylaw, adopted by Chilliwack. The latter bylaw
was created by the Union of B.C. Municipalities to help local
governments deal with grow operations in their communities.