By MADDY VITALE
An ordinance banning bamboo and other invasive species is up for a public hearing and final vote before the Sea Isle City Council on Tuesday.
A review of the city’s ordinance to make sure it is consistent with the requirements of the city’s master plan was scheduled for Monday night before the Planning Board.
City Council introduced the ordinance during a March 8 meeting to “control the planting, cultivating, and/or growing of bamboo and other invasive plant species” in the city.
The measure is up for final approval at the Council meeting 10 a.m. Tuesday at City Hall.
Among other destructive plants on the banned list are poison ivy, poison oak, ragweed, multiflora rose and kudzu-vine.
The ordinance reads, “No owner, tenant or occupant of a property, or person, corporation or other entity, shall plant, install, or cause or permit the planting or installation of invasive plant species such as bamboo within any lot and/or parcel of ground anywhere within the City.”
While there would be a ban on the invasive plants, residents who already have bamboo on their property may keep it as long as it is maintained and doesn’t spread to surrounding properties, officials said.
New bamboo, though, is prohibited. And violators risk fines ranging from $100 to $1,000 and a possible jail term of up to 90 days or a maximum of 90 days of community service, according to the ordinance.
Earlier this year, the city’s Planning Board and Environmental Commission recommended that City Council adopt an ordinance to ban invasive plants.
Bamboo grows several inches a day and can be very difficult to remove once it takes root.
So the city decided to take steps to ban bamboo and other invasive plants to try and prevent them from destroying growth of native foliage and vegetation.
If approved Tuesday, the ordinance would make Sea Isle one of the latest cities in the country to pass local laws prohibiting bamboo and other invasive plants.
