HOMEOWNERS FUMING OVER GROW-OP SEARCH LAW

A controversial B.C. law that allows municipalities to inspect homes
using large amounts of electricity has helped make neighbourhoods
safer and thwarted marijuana-grow operations, says a criminology
professor whose research triggered the law.

But his comments are unlikely to move outraged citizens in one
community, who are girding for a fight with their local council and
threatening a class-action lawsuit -- complaining that they've been
slapped with unjust and excessive inspection fees and unfairly
labelled as criminals.

A change in 2006 to the B.C. Safety Standards Act gave municipalities
direct access to electricity-consumption data from B.C. Hydro, and
the ability to identify homes with unusually high power usage. Armed
with that data, public-safety teams, consisting of building, fire and
electrical experts, have been inspecting some of these properties
after giving homeowners 24- to 48-hours notice.

The inspectors typically look for tampered wiring and plumbing,
overloaded circuits, mould buildup, pesticides, holes in walls and
extra ventilation ducts -- possible indications of a grow op.

But even if a grow op isn't found -- which is the case most of the
time -- authorities can still find that a home is in violation of
safety bylaws and require the homeowner to fix the problems.

"There has been a tendency for people to view this as nothing more
[than] a backdoor to get at grow ops. This a complete
misrepresentation," said Darryl Plecas, a criminology professor at
the University of the Fraser Valley.

While the bylaws have helped make a dent in the number of grow ops,
the driving force behind them is safety, said Plecas, whose research
has found that grow-ops constitute a fire hazard because of the way
electrical wiring is configured.