Pubdate: Tue, 21 Feb 2006
Source: Parksville Qualicum Beach News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2006 Parksville Qualicum Beach News
Contact:  http://www.pqbnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1361
Author: Colleen Dane
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

DRUG BYLAW GOES TO CITY FOR VOTE

Parksville's planning and development committee thinks  it may have 
found a controlled substances production  bylaw that everyone can be 
happy with.

After bringing one option forward a few months ago,  concerns were 
raised that the bylaw may be too  far-reaching

"That previous bylaw, was going to be problematic and  increase a lot 
of administrative costs to the city,"  said Gayle Jackson, director 
of planning for the city.

That one, borrowed from another municipality, put a lot  of the onus 
for regular inspection on the property  owners -a task that could be 
unfairly difficult in some  cases because of tenancy regulations and 
other factors.

After further research, Parksville staff were able to  find a second 
option - one everyone seems more pleased  with. The goal she says, 
was to give the RCMP a means  by which they could recoup the costs of 
dismantling a  drug production lab - and the city the ability to 
charge if work has to be done on the property to bring  it back to 
safety standards.

"The bylaw you have in front of you does that and  doesn't do much 
more," says Jackson.

Councillor Marc Lefebvre, who was a member of the  Oceanside 
Community Crystal Meth Task Force that  launched the whole bylaw 
initiative, says he felt the  second bylaw proposal is far more appropriate.

"The former bylaw we were looking at - would penalize a  property 
owner who was practicing due diligence," says  Lefebvre. "Talking to 
members of the task force, I find  it very well written, capable of 
doing what we're  looking for it to do."

The bylaw went to council for final approval last  night.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom