Bamboo will no longer be sold or planted in the county. Instead, the use of native plants and grasses will be encouraged strongly following Tuesday’s unanimous vote by the County Council.
The adopted legislation prohibits the commercial sale of bamboo, which spreads quickly into other yards and can break up sidewalks and fences, according to the bill’s sponsor Councilmember Evan Glass.
“You know how bad it can spread? Up to 15 feet in a year,” he said. Bamboo is notoriously difficult to remove and must be completely dug out.
When detailing the impact of the act, Glass smilingly added he wasn’t “getting into the weeds of that legislation.”
Residents will not have to remove bamboo currently existing on their property. But they would have to control weeds. That includes plant growth taller than 12 inches and within 15 feet of a property boundary. Weed removal does not apply to native species.
The selling of bamboo house plants and bamboo food products will still be allowed.
According to the county’s Office of Legislative Oversight, this act “will likely have a small, positive impact on the County’s community climate resilience as encouraging the planting of native plants by exempting native species from weed removal requirements and prohibiting the sale of bamboo, an invasive species, would positively impact community climate resilience.”
A public hearing was held in January.
