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. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.