Falls could soon have guidelines for meth lab property cleanup

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by Steve Wiandt

Reporter

Cuyahoga Falls -- The city is getting closer to governing the identification, cleanup and re-occupancy of buildings that housed clandestine drug laboratories, also known as meth labs.

The proposed ordinance has undergone some changes since it was introduced by the city administration in June and will be discussed again in committee on Dec. 1.

Hope Jones, the city's assistant law director, said she tightened up the language in the ordinance in addition to making some changes and additions as requested by Councilmembers.

In the revised law, homeowners will not have to pay back the city for public costs for services performed in the cleanup of a meth lab site or chemical dump site. Previous language required the owner to cover administrative costs.

Police Chief John Conley and Mayor Don L. Robart formed a team last year made up of representatives of the police, law department, narcotics unit and community development, dedicated to cleaning up former "meth houses" in the city.

"The plan was to prepare a strong piece of legislation that would address this problem," Conley said, adding often a neighborhood's quality of life is not restored after a drug dealer is arrested and the meth house is boarded up.

The proposed ordinance defines a clandestine drug lab site as any land, dwelling or structure where controlled substances are illegally manufactured, as determined by law enforcement officials. The new ordinance would require law enforcement authorities to notify a city building official once they declare a property a public health nuisance due to its designation as a clandestine drug lab site or chemical dump site.

The building official must then notify the owner, occupants, neighbors, police, and government authorities. Also spelled out in the proposed ordinance are the property owner's responsibilities, which include vacating all occupants of the property, hiring environmental testing and cleaning firms, and paying the costs of environmental cleanup and testing.

The proposed ordinance requires disclosure to buyers and occupants of a property that it once was declared a public health nuisance or was the site of a clandestine drug lab.

Councilmember Kathy Hummel (D-At Large) requested Nov. 17 that the ordinance require the company that tests a cleaned up meth lab site not be the same company that did the cleanup. Hummel also asked that when a property is cleaned up and the declaration of public health nuisance is removed, that fact is stated on both the city and county Web sites.

The word "cultivation" was added to the definition of the manufacture of controlled substances. Jones said that although she is not aware of hazardous materials associated with the growing of marijuana, she included the word at the request of Council.

Among the changes suggested by members of Council on Nov. 17, Carol Klinger (R-At Large) asked Jones to add "adjacent property owners" and "City Council members" to the list of parties who must be notified of a public health nuisance caused by a meth lab site.

Jones said a representative of an environmental cleanup company told her the average is $5,000, but she said she would try to get a more accurate figure before the committee's next meeting.

Jones said she looked at ordinances approved in states around the country, and found Western states such as Colorado and Washington are in the forefront for establishing meth lab criteria. "Ohio is not taking the lead," she added.

Jones said one state had what she felt was a textbook criteria.

"I chose New Mexico," she said, "because when I sat down with it as someone who has no idea how to clean up a meth lab, I actually looked at it and said, 'I get this.'"

E-mail: swiandt@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3141