Pubdate: Sun, 07 Dec 2008 Source: Cuyahoga Falls News-Press (OH) Copyright: 2008 Record Publishing Co, LLC Contact: http://www.fallsnewspress.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4791 Author: Steve Wiandt Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) CITY COUNCIL SLATED TO VOTE ON NEW METH LAB ORDINANCE DEC. 8 Cuyahoga Falls -- The rules for reporting, remediating and re-occupying clandestine drug labs in the city will go before City Council for a vote on Dec. 8. The legislation has been in the making since June. "The clandestine drug lab ordinance is the only one of its kind in the state," Hope Jones, the city's deputy law director, told the Falls News-Press. "I am proud that the administration and City Council took the lead on this issue." The purpose of the proposed legislation is to reduce public exposure to health risks where law enforcement officers have determined that hazardous chemicals from a suspected clandestine drug lab site or associated dump site may exist. The proposed ordinance defines a clandestine drug lab site as any land, dwelling or structure where controlled substances are illegally manufactured, as determined by law enforcement officials. The new ordinance would require law enforcement authorities to notify a city building official once they declare a property a public health nuisance due to its designation as a clandestine drug lab site or chemical dump site. The building official must then notify the owner, occupants, neighbors, police, and government authorities. The proposed ordinance gives the owner 90 days to complete remediation and post-remediation assessment, and it requires disclosure to buyers and occupants of a property that it once was declared a public health nuisance or was the site of a clandestine drug lab. The revised legislation, which Jones presented to Council Dec. 1, states "all adjacent property owners and any other neighbors at probable risk," "the primary mortgage holder" and "City Council members" are among those to notify when a clandestine drug lab, or meth lab, is discovered and declared a public nuisance. If the state or federal government passes cleanup guidelines that are more stringent than the city's or that pre-empt local regulation, its cleanup guidelines shall prevail, she said. Jones also added a requirement that the chief building official notify the Summit County Sheriff and the Summit County Department of Health that the property has been cleared for re-occupancy. She put in the criteria that the remediation firm performing preliminary and post-remediation assessments be a different firm than the one that performs the remediation. Jones thanked Council members for their input, noting she believes the ordinance is better now than when it was first written. Many of the changes were based on Council's input. After the meeting, Jones said the owner will not pay any public costs such as those connected with the detection of a meth lab and cleanup of chemicals by the police department. The only cost the owner will have to pay is that to remediate the property for reoccupation, she said, adding that if the city has to do the remediation, the city will assess the property for the actual cost. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom