Pubdate: Wed, 28 Feb 2007 Source: Tri-City News (Port Coquitlam, CN BC) Copyright: 2007 Tri-City News Contact: http://www.tricitynews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1239 Author: Janis Warren Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) POCO PUTS POT PROPERTY OWNERS ON NOTICE The owners of four Port Coquitlam homes that housed marijuana grow ops will have notices placed against their land titles this week as part of a crackdown by the city. Monday, PoCo city council unanimously voted to place the notices on the titles to force the owners to clean up their contaminated houses. Council said the measure is also being taken to protect potential home buyers, to alert banks or mortgage companies, and to reduce the city's liability. The notices - on houses located at 3819 Sefton St., 2446 Kelly Ave., 3453 Coast Meridian Rd. and 4024 Mars Pl. - will be lifted once remediation on the homes is complete, said Kim Fowler, PoCo's director of development services. It's the first time the city has placed notices against titles for former grow op homes. The city is allowed to take the step under section 57 of the Community Charter if the city's building inspector deems a house unsafe or if work has been done to the building without the necessary permits. In the case of the four homes, none of the owners had taken out permits for remediation, Fowler said, although all four had contacted city hall after receiving the letters. At Monday's meeting, Fowler displayed pictures of the four properties to city council, showing the extent of the damage caused. The photos, taken by city staff, show electrical, plumbing and structural alterations. Fowler said remedial action or prosecution will be considered against the owners if the homes are occupied without the remediation being done. Under section 57, the owner has the chance to address council about the proposed notice on title. Only one owner appeared, Vince De Stefano, who said he had no knowledge renters at his Coast Meridian Road home were growing pot. He faces a $2,692 bill from the city for costs to dismantle the operation. In the case of 2446 Kelly Ave., which had a grow op and a meth lab, council heard the owner faces a $79,909 bill for clean-up. "RCMP and hazardous materials teams would not allow city staff to enter the property to inspect due to the very hazardous conditions," Fowler wrote in her report to council. Sean Horlor, a spokesperson for the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, said even if a former grow op property has been remediated, by law, that information has to be disclosed to potential buyers. "It's the seller's obligation to tell the realtor," he said. "If they don't tell the realtor, then there's nothing the realtor can do because they don't know." If the seller tells the realtor and the realtor doesn't pass on that information to potential home buyers, the buyer can launch a complaint to the real estate board or the Real Estate Council of BC, Horlor said. Realtors in this province are trained to look for signs of a former grow home, he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom