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Saanich Mayor’s (Frank Leonard) Annual Address.
By admin | December 8, 2004
Dec 6, 2004.
The following is an excerption from the Mayor’s (Saanich, BC) Annual Address for 2004.
Some municipalities in the lower mainland are introducing municipal by-laws to assist law enforcement agencies prevent homes being used for the growing or manufacturing of illegal drugs. I have been assured that our situation here in Saanich is not the same as in some other communities. However, it is pointless and perhaps impossible to quantify illegal activity or make an illegal grow-op less significant because other communities may have hundreds of them. I have asked our Solicitor and Police Department to monitor these by-laws and bring forth recommendations as they deem appropriate.
The first by-law to result from this review will be before Council shortly and addresses issues which arise after a dwelling is raided. When Saanich Police break up a marijuana grow-op, drug lab or crack house they often find that the operators have made unathorized changes to the electrical, plumbing and structural components of the building, causing a danger to the future occupants and even the surrounding neighbourhood. Chemicals and fungus from these activities can also become embedded in the building, endangering persons’ health. Managing the remediation of these buildings is a significant burden on Police and Municipal staff. Saanich taxpayers should not have to bear this burden and so the Municipal Solicitor is preparing a by-law that will prohibit these buildings from being occupied until the owner has carried out a full professional clean-up and remediation at his/her expense, and paid administration and inspection fees to the Municipality
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