Pubdate: Tue, 28 Jun 2005
Source: Abbotsford Times (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 The Abbotsford Times
Contact:  http://www.abbotsfordtimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1009
Author: Christina Toth
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

LAND TITLES INCLUDE GROW-OP INFO

Abbotsford property owners who have marijuana growing operations 
found on their premises will have that information put on their Land 
Title Office files in New Westminster.

Anyone interested in purchasing the property will be aware of 
potential problems, bylaw manager Gordon Ferguson said in a report 
presented to city council last week.

Owners who object to such a notice on their file can speak to the 
city council at a public hearing.

The city is using Section 57 of the Community Charter to take the 
action. The section states notice can be filed with the Land Title 
Office when "construction or safety concerns related to a building or 
structure is discovered; or work without the required permit or 
inspection is discovered," Ferguson wrote in his report.

In buildings used for grow-ops, electrical wiring is often altered 
and unsafe, while humid conditions needed for growing the plants 
encourage mould in the walls. For safety reasons, the building 
inspector can recommend a notice be filed in the Land Title Office.

To date, letters were sent to seven registered owners of residential 
homes, informing them that such information will be attached to their 
land title files. The properties were used to grow marijuana in 
contravention of the Controlled Substance Property Bylaw, Ferguson said.

"Under the bylaw, such properties must be properly cleaned, certified 
by an industrial hygienist and pass a special safety inspection by 
the city's building inspector," he wrote.

Advising the Land Title Offices is the latest step in a strategy 
taken by the city to discourage people from setting up illegal grow-ops.

In May, Abbotsford launched a 90-day pilot project that uses 
provincial acts and bylaws, not police, to flush out marijuana 
growers. The project uses the Fire Services Act, the B.C. Building 
Code and the city's Controlled Substance Property Bylaw to gain entry 
into homes suspected to have dangerous activity.

Growers are billed and fined for associated costs, which are to be 
used to pay for the $100,000 program.

The city reports the Grow-Op Public Safety Project has had "some 
impressive results," dismantling 12 operations between May 16 and 
June 10. Ten homes were posted with no occupancy notices. No home can 
be occupied until it meets full compliance under the B.C. Building 
Code and Fire Services Act.

The city notes that a University College of the Fraser Valley study 
estimated about one-fifth of all grow-ops in B.C. had children 
residing in them. The study also found that a home containing a 
grow-op was 40 times more susceptible to having a fire, due to unsafe 
electrical wiring.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth