Board eyes bamboo ban
LOWER POTTSGROVE >> An invasive Asian plant favored by pandas does not seem to have gained any favor with the township commissioners.
During the March 4 commissioners meeting, Township Solicitor Charles D. Garner presented the board with samples of ordinances outlawing or regulating bamboo.
The matter was evidently brought to the table by Commissioners’ Chairman Bruce Foltz, who demonstrated personal knowledge of bamboo’s invasive nature.
“I know of a place where it has spread to 10 other yards,” Foltz said.
Garner said the plant is considered an invasive species. And indeed, some varieties can grow up to 35 inches per day.
“Several municipalities throughout Bucks and Montgomery counties have passed ordinances regulating the planting and maintenance of bamboo, most carrying fines ranging from $600 to $1,000 and some including jail time in lieu of payment,” according to a report in the Bucks County Courier Times.
“In February 2015, the Bucks County Association of Township Officials voted to join with the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors in support of adding types of bamboo to the Noxious Weed Law,” the newspaper reported.
In 2014, the Brick Township in New Jersey also passed a law banning new plantings of bamboo after a previous ordinance simply requiring control proved ineffective, according to ShoreBeat.
“In addition to prohibiting new plantings, the revised ordinance also calls for residents who already have such plants in the ground to control them from spreading by installing a ‘physical barrier’ to ensure they do not encroach onto a neighboring property,” the news site reported.
A law adopted last year in the Bucks County township of Northampton prohibits the planting of bamboo unless it is contained, given that the plant spreads by extending its roots underground.
Failure to remove it, unless certain conditions are met, could result in a fine as high as $1,000.
That was an exception that Garner pointed out to the Lower Pottsgrove commissioners, saying it is one way the township could go with any ordinance it chooses to adopt.
Otherwise, “it spreaders very quickly and can be difficult to get rid of,” Garner said.
One resident in the audience said he has bamboo on his property and controls it by making sure to use his lawn mover over the top of it regularly.
“It can be very beautiful,” he said.
Foltz wanted to know if the township could ban the selling of a property until all its bamboo had been removed, but Garner said that would be difficult to enforce because Pennsylvania is “a buyer beware state.”
No action was taken while the commissioners review the sample ordinances Garner provided.
Before an ordinance could be adopted, a public hearing would have to be held on a specific proposed ordinance.