Pot times July 15, 2005

City Adds Grow-Op Complaints To List

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1115/a03.html
Newshawk: Herb

Pubdate: Wed, 13 Jul 2005
Source: Coquitlam Now, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005Lower Mainland Publishing Group, Inc.
Contact: editorial@thenownews.com
Website: http://www.thenownews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1340
Author: Leneen Robb

CITY ADDS GROW-OP COMPLAINTS TO LIST

Coquitlam residents filed far fewer complaints with the city's bylaw department during the first half of this year than during the same period last year - 609, down from 1,066 during the first six months of 2004.

While parking-related complaints topped the list both this year and last ( 488, down from 541 ), a new category sprang up in 2005 - grow op-related complaints.  During the first half of 2005, the city recorded 42 complaints relating to grow ops.

But Lisa Parkes, assistant city solicitor, said that doesn't mean 42 people called City Hall to complain.

"They called them 'complaints,' but I think it was more referrals from here at City Hall," she said Tuesday.

"So the RCMP report to the building department, 'Here's a new grow op,' the building department then sets up an inspector to go and do their inspection and they would call the bylaw office and say, 'We're going out to this address today at this time.  We need a bylaw officer to attend,' - for that official presence and just to make sure that there was not one staff member there by themselves."

City staff have inspected busted grow ops since council passed its noxious or offensive business activity bylaw, which aims to prevent property owners or tenants from running grow ops or meth labs.

The bylaw received final reading in April 2004.

Parkes said she's not sure why grow ops are listed as a separate bylaw complaint category this year, but added that she suspects its because the topic is "on everyone's radar now, so it was just broken out so that people would know."

And she said that while the listing represents visits made by bylaw inspectors to grow ops during the first half of the year, it doesn't necessarily reflect the total number of drug homes city inspectors looked at during that time period.

"There may be some ( grow ops referred to City Hall by the RCMP ) that wouldn't be reflected there, because if there were two building inspectors or a building and plumbing inspector going together, they might not call ( the bylaw department )," she said.

Overall, grow op-related complaints accounted for 6.9 per cent of general bylaw complaints during the first half of this year.

Other complaint categories related to signs ( 21 complaints ) and untidy or unsightly premises ( seven complaints ).  A category called "other" ( 51 complaints ) rounded out the list.