CAPE MAY POINT — Residents looking to remove bamboo could be required to confine it if it grows elsewhere.
On June 23, Borough Commission moved forward with changes regarding bamboo, which may become residents’ responsibility to manage disposal.
Deputy Mayor Elise Geiger first raised the issue May 26, noting that the borough enacted an ordinance in 2020 that prohibits planting bamboo and requires existing chutes to be contained if possible and removed if not.
She said the borough has received a complaint about what she calls a “bamboo forest.” Determining the original source of the bamboo is difficult, as the patch runs through the backyard of eight properties.
Solicitor John Amenhauser said the disposal is the sole responsibility of the property owner. Commissioner Suzanne Yunghans said at the last meeting that Public Works cannot safely remove it without potentially damaging machinery.
“I think it works because now there’s really no impediments to enforcement,” Geiger said.
Permanent bamboo containment requires destroying its rhizomes, a dense underground root system.
In January, the state adopted the Invasive Species Management Act, which formally classifies running bamboo (Phyllostachys) as a prohibited invasive species at the state level. Geiger said that bamboo is one of 33 invasive species included in the act.
Yunghans said bamboo cannot be sold or planted anymore because of the state’s law.
“We’re talking about legacy bamboo that’s already here,” Yunghans said, adding that Superintendent Bill Gibson told her Public Works cannot pick it up because it has to go to the landfill, so homeowners must have somebody dispose of it properly.
For enforcement citations, Geiger said she thought requesting a plan from a homeowner on whether they intend to remove the bamboo, how they plan to do so and a timeline for removal. She suggested a period of 30 or 60 days for compliance.
Amenhauser said the current code states that remediation must be complete within 120 days of code enforcement’s approval of the submitted plan. He suggested modifying the wording to “confinement” and “remediation.”
“You mentioned last time that a group of people with their properties connected in one street, so maybe there’s a way that they can work together,” Yunghans said. “I would hope they might try to do that because if they banded together, they might get a better price and control it better.”
Geiger said there are specific ways to maintain bamboo and prevent it from encroaching on other properties.
A second reading and public hearing of the ordinance are scheduled for July 14.
Trash regulations
Borough Commission also discussed concerns about the trash regulations. Borough code currently states that trash and recyclable storage shall be located in the side or rear yard of a property, screened from public view on the street.
Amenhauser said there was an issue making a particular section of the code fit squarely with trash location for corner properties that front on two streets.
The current code states that for corner lots, storage shall be in a yard area that does not front on a street and is screened from public view.
Amenhauser said he revised the language to read that, for corner lots that front on two or more streets, storage shall be in a yard screened from public view and not visible from the street.
“In order to meet with the intent and purpose of the originally enacted ordinance, revisiting it to allow them to be in a yard that fronts the street, as long as they are screened from the public and not visible from the street, that’s what this does,” he said.
Geiger said the ordinance was originally enacted to get rid of trash corrals. She added that she wanted to make sure the ordinance did not allow that and suggested using wording such as “inconspicuous” or “unobtrusive.”
“I agree with Elise, the whole point was to get rid of the corrals, but in some of these cases, I’m afraid it’s almost impossible,” Mayor Anita Van Heeswyk said. “Inconspicuous, is that a legal word that a judge could uphold?”
Amenhauser said it would be cleaner to add a restriction that nothing can be interpreted to allow for the placement of trash corrals.
A second reading and public hearing of the ordinance are scheduled for July 28.
By RACHEL SHUBIN/Special to the Star and Wave
