Pubdate: Sat, 03 Oct 2015
Source: Nanaimo Daily News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Nanaimo Daily News
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1608
Author: Darrell Bellaart
Page: 4

STOMPING DRUG HOUSES

Nanaimo Serves As Model for Cleaning Up Drug Houses

When Ladysmith officials reached the end of their rope on controlling 
nuisance properties this summer, they turned to Nanaimo for ideas. 
They weren't the first.

A number of B.C. cities have approached Nanaimo for advice on how to 
clean up drug houses and nuisance properties, thanks to a 
groundbreaking city bylaw developed nearly 10 years ago that is being 
held up as a model for other communities. Nanaimo city staff were 
getting overwhelmed with complaints about drug houses in various 
neighbourhoods and needed a unique solution.

"The mayor and council were getting all kinds of calls, it was 
frustrating everyone," said recently retired city bylaws manager 
Randy Churchill. "Neighbourhoods were getting concerned and wanted change."

Ted Swabey, then a senior city planner, directed staff members to 
pool ideas to find a solution.

"We wanted a different model," Churchill said.

"We had good experience at that time dealing with (marijuana) 
grow-ops. Now the problem was drug houses.

"We looked at it legally, and drafted a bylaw based on the authority 
we had, tackling it from a nuisance perspective, not a crime perspective."

Ultimately, the goal is eviction. The solution was to force owners to 
be responsible for any problems on their properties - putting the 
onus for dealing with bad tenants on landlords using a 
carrot-andstick approach.

City staff knew many landlords were afraid to face problem tenants. 
And that is where the "carrot" comes in.

The city started a process where it approaches the homeowner about 
the problem, asks the landlord to do something about it, and backs 
them up with access to resources, including sending staff to 
accompany them when confronting troublesome tenants.

"We tell them: 'You have powers under the Residential Tenancy Act. 
You need to take control of your property. We're here to support you 
in dealing with it,'" Churchill said.

Often a single meeting between police, the owner and the tenants ends 
the problem. Sometimes landlords are unco-operative. Then city staff 
has to play hardball.

The "stick," in this case, is a bylaw that hits landlords directly in 
the pocketbook any time police or city staff is required to deal with 
their alcohol and drug-fueled tenants.

The property gets placed on the nuisance property list, and, if city 
council approves it, the owner is liable for all enforcement costs.

Costs add up quickly for any visits bylaw officers, police, 
firefighters, public works personnel, building inspectors and other 
staff and agencies make to nuisance properties.

As landlords started to understand how ignoring the problem costs 
them money, fewer properties went before council.

The number of "target" nuisance properties - those involving drug 
houses - ranged between 27 and 50 in the years immediately before the 
bylaw was introduced.

Thirty-six properties went before council in 2007, 38 the following 
year and the number has been 27 or fewer ever since.

Churchill said the best measure of success is the shorter time it 
takes to end problems in neighbourhoods.

Where criminal charges were once needed to close a drug house, now 
the city bylaws department can end the problem in a few months, he said.

It's not a panacea; residents still get impatient waiting for drug 
houses to be closed. But the solution has earned kudos from affected 
neighbourhoods.

Drug houses can be frightening to neighbours, who have to deal with 
noise at all hours, the impact of the sex trade, violence between 
drug users and even intimidation when neighbours speak out about the problem.

"Neighbours are concerned, fearful and frustrated that there doesn't 
appear to be any fast resolution to the problem," said Douglas 
Hardie, president of the South End Neighbourhood Association.

"(The process) does take time, and it is frustrating," Hardie said. 
But he and his neighbours appreciate that the city "found a way, in 
conjunction with RCMP and other departments, to act."

The program was showcased at the Union of B.C. Municipalities 
convention, and it's brought councillors and staff members from Lower 
Mainland cities and elsewhere to find out how Nanaimo controls a 
difficult problem.

The town of Ladysmith is ready to tap into Nanaimo's experience.

"There's a couple trouble houses that are a decade old in our 
community that have a significant effect on our community," said 
Ladysmith Mayor Aaron Stone.

"The challenges are not only enforcement but costs associated with 
reducing neighbourhood impact."

Churchill, who retired late last month, takes pride in the program's 
successes, which he says was a team effort, with strong support 
"partners" in other departments and agencies.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom