Pubdate: Mon, 27 Feb 2012 Source: Nanaimo Daily News (CN BC) Copyright: 2012 Nanaimo Daily News Contact: http://www.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1608 OWNER MUST CLEAN UP HOME AFTER GROW-OP The owner of an Eighth Street property will likely be forced to pay thousands of dollars to cleanup after an illegal marijuana grow-op. The City of Nanaimo issued a non-occupancy order for a home on Eighth Street this month, when a bust by the RCMP'S green team revealed unsafe living conditions. The owner can't live in the house until its repaired and cleaned. City council members will decide today if they should set a 30-day deadline on the work. This is the first illegal growop the city has dealt with this year under its building bylaw and the second since the start of 2011. City building inspectors follow on the heels of grow-op busts to inspect the condition of homes. Often there are changes to the building to support grow-op activity, such as hydro bypasses and ventilation that sends vapour into other parts of the house, causing mould, said Randy Churchill, the city's manager of bylaw services. Most homeowners eventually address the problems so they can move back into the house. "It's to (the homeowners') financial advantage to do it, because the property still has some worth," Churchill said. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.