Shuttered illegal drug operations could be facing the wrecking ball after city council yesterday agreed to look at demolishing abandoned grow-ops.
Ald. Diane Colley-Urquhart said with about 150 derelict homes peppered throughout Calgary, the city’s fire chief should be able to knock down properties that are safety hazards and eyesores.
“This would allow the fire chief to issue remediation or demolition orders and we now have the ability to seize property under proceeds of crime (legislation),” she said.
An online registry on the Alberta Health Services website lists more than 400 seized grow-ops, and Colley-Urquhart said “there’s like hundreds more that haven’t been ferreted out.”
But Ald. Brian Pincott said he’s worried exchanging abandoned properties for holes in the ground may wind up being a bigger annoyance.
