Pubdate: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 Source: Chilliwack Progress (CN BC) Copyright: 2004 The Chilliwack Progress Contact: http://www.theprogress.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/562 Author: Robert Freeman Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) LANDLORDS NOT CONSULTED ON PROPOSED GROW-OP BYLAW Chilliwack landlords were not asked for their input on a proposed marijuana grow-op bylaw that puts the onus on them to keep their rental properties free of illegal activities. Landlord Lawrence Engelsman says the city has a list of rental properties and could have contacted landlords, "the people who are at the front lines" of the battle against marijuana grow-ops, before going ahead with the proposed bylaw. City councillors have referred the bylaw, which carries a $10,000 fine for landlords who fail to keep their premises free of grow-ops and mandatory cleanup conditions if one is discovered, to the public safety committee for review after it was given first reading on Feb. 2. "We don't want to see any grow-ops in our houses," says Mr. Engelsman, a life-long Chilliwack resident, but he says the proposed bylaw places responsibility "unfairly" on landlords. "It's a huge problem throughout all of Chilliwack, the whole province," he says. "I don't understand why the onus has to be on the landlords." But Mayor Clint Hames says landlords can avoid the fines and fees in the proposed bylaw simply by screening their tenants more carefully and checking their rental properties more often to ensure no illegal activities are taking place. "Landlords can't simply wash their hands," he says, when a grow-op is discovered on their premises. The proposed bylaw is "consistent with just about every other in province," he adds, "we're just implementing what everybody else has." The mayor also says a well-advertised forum for landlords was held earlier by the city to inform them how to protect themselves from tenants who use their premises for grow-ops, but few attended the meeting. However, the mayor says he's still willing to meet with any landlord to talk about the proposed bylaw or hold a public information meeting. Mr. Engelsman says he only learned about the bylaw from landlord Tony Rapaz, who says he was "shocked" when he first read about it in The Progress. Continued: LANDLORDS/ p6 Mr. Rapaz fired off a letter to the mayor saying he agrees that grow-ops are unacceptable, but in his 25 years as a landlord "I have not yet rented a house in which I suspect any illegal operations will occur. "All the tenants are very sweet and very good at buttering the landlords at the beginning," he says. But he adds, "By the time the landlord realizes what is going on, it's too late. It's a nightmare to get them out." He predicted that if the bylaw is approved, rents would rise or landlords would tear down rental properties, which would decrease local accommodations for low-income families. He says the cost of clean-up and inspection fees proposed in the bylaw would bite into the already-thin profit margins landlords rely on. "It's much cheaper for me to grab a bulldozer and knock them down, but that will put families on the street," he says. "Welfare today is tighter than ever before. A lot of people are going to be in a major pinch." Mr. Engelsman agrees it would be cheaper to bulldoze his rental properties. "When the revenue isn't there, it's just a losing proposition," he says. And landlords won't have an easy time abiding by the bylaw requirement to inspect rental premises to ensure no illegal operations are taking place, he says. Tenants must be given 24-hour notice by landlords before an inspection, he says, which gives them "quite a bit of time" to remove an illegal operation. When he suspected one of his renters was growing marijuana, by the time he gave the required inspection notice "I went in there and everything looked great," he says. Mayor Hames says he "appreciates" the difficulty landlords are facing under new rental legislation in regard to inspections, "but there's nothing to stop them from knocking on the door and checking things. "You can tell pretty much just going up to houses like that from the smell .. there's a problem," he says. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom