Neighbors Upset Over Company Listing Homes As 'Pot Grow Friendly'
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (CBS4)- People who live in one Commerce City neighborhood are upset with a company that specializes in renting out homes approved for marijuana grows by the owners.
The company is called Housing Guru and the neighborhood is called Outlook near 120th and Highway 2.
On one house there is a sign posted that reads "DANGER." It was a marijuana grow house.
Former occupant Corydon Drake was arrested in Wisconsin accused of bringing 500 pounds of pot there from Colorado.
Nearby is another house where the occupants moved out after a marijuana grow operation was discovered under construction inside.
A neighbor who asked that his name not be used told CBS4 Investigator Rick Sallinger, "This particular house was originally listed at $3,800 a month as a 'grow friendly' house on HousingGuru.com."
On its website, the rental agency calls itself "Denver's only grow friendly property rental specialist."
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In a call to CBS4, manager Rich Green said, "We do not condone any illegal activity on our properties."
He said illegal grows would be lease violations.
Homes turned into grow houses have been common along the front range of Colorado.
Commerce City spokesperson Jodi Hardee says "With the legalization of marijuana we have noticed an increase in these types of complaints."
She said code inspectors have been going into the homes and finding violations such as electrical issues. If they are not remedied the owners are fined. If the fines are not paid, a lien is placed on the property.
The code enforcement is a different tactic than a police raid, but in many cases the end effect has been the same, shutting down illegal grows.
CBS4's Rick Sallinger is a Peabody award winning reporter who has been with the station more than two decades doing hard news and investigative reporting. Follow him on Twitter @ricksallinger.