Pubdate: Wed, 07 May 2008 Source: Tri-City News (Port Coquitlam, CN BC) Copyright: 2008 Tri-City News Contact: http://www.tricitynews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1239 Author: Lara Gerrits Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/grow+operations SAFETY STILL KEY, CITY SAYS, WITH OR WITHOUT GROW OP Safety will continue to be the key for Coquitlam's controversial public safety inspection program, which has been the target of public criticism over the last few weeks. And improvements will be made to the program, which is aimed at shutting down marijuana grow operations and targets homes using reports from BC Hydro about high power usage. That means even homes that have been inspected and found not to have a grow op could be required to undergo upgrades for electrical and other safety issues. A number of Coquitlam homeowners have gone to the media in recent weeks saying they were unfairly targeted by the city's inspection team, which was created last May. Some are complaining that it's not fair they be required to fix electrical and/or building code deficiencies discovered as result of an inspection that was intended to find a grow op. While there is no legislation mandating that bylaw inspectors ticket for infractions, safety issues make it important for them to do so, said city spokesperson Therese Mickelson. "We've asked them to look for balance, to go in there with a focused intent of looking for issues and concerns related to life and fire safety," she said, citing issues including electrical wiring and natural gas venting. Most homeowners, if we flag something like that, are going to say, 'Thank you very much.'" "Once our staff discover something that is a potential hazard to the safety of the house or the people in it, we have to deal with it because if we ignore that and didn't bring it up to a safe standard, someone could be injured, the house could be destroyed and the city of Coquitlam could be found liable," Mayor Maxine Wilson said yesterday. While the focus on safety won't change, communication between city staff and owners of homes targeted as part of the public safety inspection program will improve via new protocol. As well, owners who want their homes inspected immediately upon notification will have that option. Previously, they had 24 hours to schedule an appointment with the inspection team, comprised of city building and bylaw inspectors, an electrical inspector, an RCMP officer and a member of Coquitlam Fire/Rescue. Occupancy permits are only revoked when inspectors find damage related to a grow operation, including poorly done electrical wiring and mould. In a recent case covered by Global TV, one couple had their occupancy revoked due to damage incurred by their home's previous owner. In that instance, Mickelson said, the city tried to be "flexible" by waiving inspection fees and not cutting utilities to the home so the parents-to-be could remain living there. In 2007, 255 tickets were handed out for offences, including interference with hydro meters, prohibited structural modifications, allowing mould or fungus to grow, and violations related to remediation and occupancy. Of the 128 properties inspected last year, 88 - or 70% - had their occupancy revoked and/or power shut off related to a grow op. Nine were found to have no evidence of a grow op; in those cases, their high-power consumption was linked to factors that could not be identified in advance, such as an 800-gallon aquarium, a computer business operating without a licence or renovation work taking place without a permit. Most city councillors contacted this week by The Tri-City News said they were awaiting information from staff about how to limit the number of unnecessary inspections but all said they were supportive of the program. "I think it's done an excellent job of trying to get a dent in the massive problem of grow ops in the city of Coquitlam," said Coun. Fin Donnelly. "The public is saying 'Deal with it, get these grow ops out of our neighbourhood and do something.'" But at least two councillors are already calling for specific changes. Coun. Lou Sekora said if a house is inspected and no evidence of a grow operation is found, the inspection team should leave immediately. "Don't go through the house three or four hours later and see if you can get them on some kind of violation," he said. "That's not what I voted for." And Coun. Richard Stewart said perhaps just one inspector should enter a house initially to determine if the rest of the team is needed. If no grow op is found but safety issues are identified, the homeowner should be notified and given time to fix deficiencies before being ticketed. "[Right now] we give them a penalty for us having made a mistake," he said. "The innocent Coquitlam resident should be thankful that we have the program, not regret it." During a council meeting Monday, city manager Pete Steblin said there are more sides to the news reports that are not being told. "Whenever you hear certain stories in the media, you hear one perspective," he said, later calling the city's grow op initiative "a very well thought-out program" that the community wants. "If, on occasion, certain situations get captured that were not originally intended for that, we apologize," he said. NOT ONLY HERE Coquitlam is one of several municipalities with police-supported inspection programs designed to get rid of pot farmers. It's also not the only such program facing controversy. Initiatives such as Coquitlam's public safety inspection program are also in place in Port Coquitlam, Abbotsford, Langley, Mission and Surrey, where two residents are suing the city, BC Hydro and the provincial government after their power was cut May 30, 2007. They want to strike down an amendment to the BC Safety Standards Act that allows safety inspectors to enter homes believed to contain grow ops, alleging the amendment is unconstitutional because the province does not have authority to enact criminal legislation. The legislative changes were enacted after lobbying from Surrey Fire Chief Len Garis and Darryl Plecas, a criminology professor from the University of the Fraser Valley. The theory was that homes with high power consumption could contain marijuana grow ops, making those homes a greater fire risk. "I think in general we have to understand that this is focused specifically around safety, the safety of our neighbourhoods," Garis told The Tri-City News. "One thing that we have discovered of these homes that we know have contained marijuana grow operations, the [fire] damage is much greater and often spreads beyond the home of origin." About 84% of locations inspected in Surrey have been found to have electrical-safety violations that required remediation, he said. And since the program was implemented in Surrey in 2005, the number fires associated with grow operations has fallen by 70%. He admitted some residents have complaints about the program and it isn't perfect but it works. "There are going to be inconveniences and I wish we had methods to become more accurate on it," Garis said, "but I think if we do our diligence, we can minimize that, and hope that the public will understand that we're doing our best possible to try and solve the problem." In Abbotsford last year, approximately 148 suspected grow ops were inspected and of those, 88 were shut down. Twenty grow operations involved reports to the Ministry of Children and Families when young children were at significant risk and grow op related fires were reduced by 90% in Abbotsford. The U.K. is taking notice of the public safety program and Plecas presented research last month at the prestigious Oxford Round Table on how B.C. is dealing with grow ops. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin