Pubdate: Tue, 28 Jun 2005 Source: Daily Courier, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2005 The Okanagan Valley Group of Newspapers Contact: http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/531 Author: J.P. Squire Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) CITY SEEKS PROVINCEWIDE STRATEGY ON GROW-OPS Kelowna councillors will pressure the province through the Union of B.C. Municipalities for a B.C.-wide strategy to crack down on marijuana grow-ops On Monday, councillors also voted in favour of submitting a UBCM resolution by Thursday's deadline, calling on the union to organize a meeting of interested municipalities to study the results of two pilot projects in Surrey and Abbotsford The UBCM convention isn't until September, and Abbotsford is only partway through its 90-day pilot project, but Surrey had great success with its team of in-house electrical and fire inspectors, deputy city clerk Stephen Fleming told council Under the authority of the B.C. Safety Standards Act, the inspectors examined large electrical consumption at 420 residences, visited 126 homes and found electrical problems at 119. Numerous tips were received by the team. Of those 119, 78 houses had electrical power terminated for one reason or another. Some homeowners were required to make repairs within seven days and inspectors found 30 illegal bypasses of the electrical meter, said Fleming. Those numbers don't tell the whole story, commented Coun. Colin Day, who understands the vast majority of grow-ops disappeared as soon as inspection notices were posted on the front door. The province gave Surrey and Abbotsford $60,000 to $80,000 for the pilot projects, said Fleming, noting Surrey is one of only eight municipalities with its own in-house electrical inspectors. Other B.C. municipalities use provincial inspectors. "We will use that as a guide to where the city is going in the future," he said. Provincial authorities have promised to use the results of the pilot projects to formulate new policies, but "there is no definitive answer yet." He has already had discussions with fire chief-designate Rene Blanleil on fire safety issues, a major component of a Kelowna grow-op bylaw. City manager Ron Born said Kelowna firefighters are getting training in how to deal with grow-op fires and potentially booby-trapped houses, and have the tools they need. However, "we are concerned about the dangers they face and are trying to eliminate as many of them as we can," he said. In response to a question from Coun. Robert Hobson, Fleming said the city can revoke an occupancy permit for a residence used in a grow-op and require a series of inspections before another occupancy permit is granted. Both Penticton and Chilliwack have tried to attack grow-ops through occupancy permits. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth