Westside traffic was impeded Wednesday by a methamphetamine lab cleanup on Colorado Avenue. Police and fire trucks surrounded the old house while firemen removed hazardous substances in cardboard boxes. Likely the only recourse for this clapboard house will be demolition. Meth labs are fast-tracks for slumlords to flip their properties to developers.
Wouldn’t it stand to reason that landlords should be penalized for taking in drug-dealing tenants? Otherwise, what better way to demo your property. It’s legal arson. You write off, or file a claim, and rebuild to gentrification standards.
The real meth lab epidemic is several years past, but don’t discount the easy tool the hazmat condemnation provides for property owners eager to shed themselves of low-rent digs. Below is a map of previous lab-domiciles that required destruction.
