Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Vancouver City Council

FROM:

Director of Licenses and Inspections, the Deputy Chief Fire Prevention and the Chief Constable

SUBJECT:

Grow Busters Project

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

CONSIDERATION

GENERAL MANAGERS' and CHIEF CONSTABLE'S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

All changes in level of service are to be reported to Council.

Council on January 17, 1991 resolved:

THAT every Department/Board review services for which fees are now charged to ensure that fees are recovering the full cost of the services to the City, or are equivalent to competitive charges where the fee is of a market nature, rather than for cost recovery.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to provide an update to Council on the progress of the Project to date and to request approval to extend the Project one (1) year beyond the currently approved period to September 2002. The report also asks that Council consider recovering all of the staff costs to CSG, Fire and Police through an increase in the Special Inspection Permit fee.

BACKGROUND

In July of 2000, City Council approved the establishment of a co-ordinated Project Team for enforcement of illegal grow operations to September 1, 2001. The project team members, identified as the "Grow Busters", include staff from Police, Fire and Community Services. The team also works in cooperation with staff from BC Hydro and BC Gas.

Council's approval included the establishment of five (5) temporary full time positions in the Community Services Group for up to one (1) year to September 2001, at an estimated cost of $275,000. The costs were to be covered by related Special Inspection Permit revenues. At that time, Council requested an interim report back on the progress of the project. The total revenue collected to date is $ 292,042 with approximately $45,000 in expected permit revenue still to come on those premises that have already been closed.

In September of 2000 five staff from Community Services together with six (6) Police officers and one (1) Fire Prevention Officer were assigned and the "Grow Busters" project officially began. The purpose of the project is to address the serious life safety concerns created by illegal grow operations, respond to the Community's concerns, identify the buildings and effectively close down the operations.

DISCUSSION

1. Progress Report

The focus of the Grow Busters Project is enforcement, education and partnering:

Enforcement:

As of July 1, 2001, the Grow Busters Team and BC Hydro has closed 607 grow operations.

Some pertinent facts about the project are as follows:

Education:

The Team works closely with the Community Police Centres and together they have developed information brochures, pamphlets, power point presentations and a TIP line for community residents and landlords. They have been featured in local and international television articles and will be part of an NBC documentary that will be aired this spring/summer.

Partnering:

The team is comprised of staff from Police, Community Services and Fire. They have partnered with community residents as well as with BC Hydro and BC Gas to develop procedures for identification and closure of these operations. Each team member has an assigned task. The site team utilizes Police personnel, Electrical Inspectors, a Fire Prevention Officer and a BC Hydro employee. The team removes the marijuana by cutting it and bagging it after which it is collected and sent to an offsite facility for burning, they identify and take remedial action to correct any unsafe condition, disconnect the electrical and gas services to the building and post a NOT SAFE TO OCCUPY notice. The work carried out by the site team is followed up by CSG inspection and support staff who issue the permits, carry out the reinspections and correspond with the Property owners. Team members are also working with representatives of the banking and insurance agencies to identify methods of jointly dealing with grow operations.

Dangers of Grow Operations:

The Vancouver Fire Department advises that in the year 2000, they handled 24 fires that resulted from illegal grow operations. Notwithstanding those buildings that have already suffered fire damage, there is great concern about the potential fire risk to the buildings that contain grow ops in the City. The Fire department is also concerned about the frequent use of propane containers indoors. They are typical 20lb barbeque containers that have the potential of exploding and not only destroying the house that contains the grow operation but also damaging neighbouring dwellings. Another frequent occurrance with grow ops is the placement of bars on windows and doors that inhibit firefighters and would also potentially trap any occupants inside the dwelling. Venting of furnaces and hot water tanks to produce CO2gas (with CO gas a natural bi-product) into the dwellings is another serious life safety concern. The fire department advises of one incident where a family of 5 were taken to hospital with gas inhalation due to the furnace having been tampered with because of a previous grow op in the house they were renting. The City had no previous knowledge that this house had been used as a grow operation.

Another serious concern related to marijuana grow operations is the link to organized crime and the potential for violence. There is already growing evidence of groups raiding each others grow operations with violent consequences. The low start-up costs, high return on small investments and minimal penalties if caught are an attraction to these groups.

Grow Operations are a Global Issue:

Indoor marijuana grow operations go well beyond the jurisdiction of local police and municipalities. Drug trafficking is an international problem and organized crime is an international problem. There are many initiatives throughout the Province that have beenestablished by municipalities, the RCMP and OCA to tackle this enormous issue. Collectively these initiatives have had a positive impact in reducing the number of active grow ops. It may interest Council to know that on June 4, 2001, Surrey City Council passed a By-law permitting cost recovery for Police, Fire and Inspection staff in the prevention and abatement of manufacturing of controlled substances. It is difficult to predict whether these initiatives will ever eliminate grow ops entirely, however, without the programs in place, the industry will continue to grow and prosper at the expense of the local communities.

Benefits of the Grow Busters Program:

The Grow Busters Program is an excellent example of how inter-departmental staff co-ordination with community help can succeed. This coordinated approach arose in response to overwhelming concerns from the Community about the safety of their neighbourhoods.

The primary benefit of the program is improved public safety. Every building that has been closed by the Grow Busters Project has had unsafe conditions noted. Those unsafe conditions were not only detrimental to the occupants of the buildings but were also a threat to the safety of the surrounding neighbours. Each of those buildings has been or is in the process of being renovated and restored to an acceptable standard of living. Other benefits of the program include the improvement and increase of rental housing stock in the City.

Permit Fees and Revenue:

Currently, costs to the property owners for fees related to closure of a grow operation are an average of $700.00 per address (made up of a $412.00 initial Special Inspection fee and $282.00 in repair permit fees). It should be noted that 99% of the grow operations closed have been rental properties. The property owners are landlords that receive an average of $1,500.00 per month in rental fees. Aside from any repair costs, the City's current costs to landlords are less than ½ of the cost of one (1) month's rent. In addition, it has been observed that the damage caused to these buildings increases over time. Consequently, the faster the Grow Buster's Team shuts down a grow operation, the lesser the repairs required and the lesser the costs to the property owner.

Based on the projected number of closures in the July 6, 2000 report to Council, permit fee revenues for the Grow Busters Project were anticipated at $325,760 to July of 2001. In fact, revenues were higher at approximately $337,330. Due to cooperation with BC Hydro, staff were able to close down more operations than expected. This is in spite of the work stoppage in the Fall of 2000. As noted later in this report, this more than covers the cost of the five (5) CSG staff already approved by Council. Projected revenues at the current permit fee rate are estimated at $ 531,216 over 14 months, which will also cover the proposed two (2) additional CSG and one (1) additional Fire Department position. However, the originalminimal staffing request has proved to be inadequate and there has been an impact on other work to meet demands.

2. Extension of the Project

Staff are requesting an extension of the Project for an additional year up to September 2002. By that time, staff believe we will have a better understanding of the effectiveness of this Project in the context of other drug enforcement initiatives. It is recommended that the objectives and accomplishments of the Project be reviewed again after the next 14 months to determine whether or not it should be continued. A summary of all costs and fees associated with the Project are outlined in Appendix A.

CSG Staffing:

As noted above, the Project is currently providing funding for four (4) inspectors plus 1 support staff. The project generates a very heavy workload for the department. There is the initial shut down of the operation, followed by written notice to the property owner, reinspection of the property by the four (4) inspection disciplines, further correspondence to the owner and finally the reoccupancy and licensing approval process. In addition, there are some related operational costs, i.e. yearly lease for the Grow Busters truck and costs to the City Pound that advises they are called out to approximately two (2) grow operations weekly in order to collect dogs that have been left unattended in these buildings. Although staff are constantly reviewing the program and have established a number of efficiencies to improve response and turnaround times, it has been determined that in order to continue operating at the current level, meet the demand and not impact other work, an additional two (2) temporary full time inspectors are required at a cost of $129,888 to September of 2002 (14 months). Together with operational/overhead costs of approximately $28,000 this will bring the total cost to CSG to $ 542,130 for the duration of the project.

Fire Services Staffing:

At present, there is one Fire Prevention Officer assigned to the Grow Busters project. Fire Services advise that in order to continue operating at the current level and not impact other work, this position needs to be backfilled. An additional Fire Prevention Officer is required for the duration of the project at a cost to Fire Services of $ 76,975. Council is asked to consider funding the cost of this Fire Prevention Officer through revenue generated by the Special Inspection Permit fee as outlined previously.

Based on the trial period, projected costs for all the recommended positions in CSG and Fire Services are as follows:

Staff Costs for 14 months (CSG & Fire Services):

CSG (7 positions) $ 465,155
Fire (1 position) $ 76,975
Total Staff Costs $ 542,130

Staff believe that the costs of the additional positions will be adequately covered if the Special Inspection Fee remains the same.

Police Staffing:

At present, there are six (6) Police Officers assigned to the Grow Busters project. The cost to the City for these officers will be approximately $ 515,844 for the duration of the Project. Staff are putting forward for consideration that the City recover these costs through an increase in the Special Inspection Permit fee to $1,000 (for a total cost to the owner of approximately $1,350.00 for all permits, which is still less than the cost of one (1) month's rent).

Staff Costs for 18 months (CSG, Fire Services & Police):

CSG ( 7 positions) $ 465,155
Fire ( 1 position) $ 76,975
Police ( 6 positions) $ 515,844
Total Project Costs $ 1,057,974
Projected Revenue:
(at current permit fee) $ 531,216
(at increased permit fee) $ 1,041,600

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:

The extension of the Grow Buster Program is to cost $1.05 million based on current staffing levels and the addition of two temporary full time Inspectors within CSG and one temporary full time Fire Prevention Officer in Fire Services. The existing Special Inspection Fee recovers 50% of total program staffing costs (covering the costs for CSG and the Fire Department). The remaining 50% of the cost, comprised of six officers provided by the Police Department, are funded through the operating budget.

If Council were to increase the Special Inspection Permit fee as proposed in Consideration D, property owners of grow operations would bear the entire cost of the program rather than being subsidized by the property tax levy. The immediate impact would be to free up approximately $ 516,000 in funding over the next 14 months.

SUMMARY

It is recommended that Council support the extension of the Grow Busters Program for a further 14 months. It is also recommended that Council approve the extension of the 5 temporary positions already approved plus the establishment of two (2) additional positions in CSG and one (l) in Fire Services for this 14 month period at a total estimated cost of
$ 542,130. In addition, it is put forward for consideration that Council include the Police staffing costs of $ 515,844 to the overall costs of the Project resulting in a total project cost of $1,057,974 and that such costs be covered by an increase in related Special Inspection Permit fees to $1,000 per building. Such fees are anticipated to amount to a minimum of $1,041,600.

- - - - -

Summary of Costs & Revenue for the Grow Busters Program

1. Ten (10) month Pilot Project:
Project costs:
CSG staffing (5 positions) $ 145,666 (actual)

Projected Revenue as referenced
in Council report of July 6, 2000 $ 325,760
Actual Revenue $ 337,330

2. Fourteen (14) month Project:
Project costs:
i) CSG - 7 positions (5 existing
and 2 recommended in this report) $ 465,155
ii) Fire Services - 1 position recommended
in this report $ 76,975
Total CSG & Fire $ 542,130
Projected Revenue at Special Inspection
Permit fee of $412.00 * $ 531,216
iii) Police - 6 officers for consideration
in this report $ 515,844
Total CSG, Fire and Police: $ 1,057,974
Projected Revenue at Special
Inspection Permit fee of $1000.00* $ 1,041,600

* based on anticipated 62 closures per month x 14 months = 868 closures

(the above estimates do not include potential revenues collected from additional repair
permit fees nor do they include the cash of $ 193,252 seized to date and not claimed).

* * * * *

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