Supervisors defer decision on bamboo
Members of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and local residents spoke in favor of an ordinance aimed at containing running bamboo at a public hearing Feb. 22. In the end, however, the board deferred a decision.
Board members cited concerns that the proposed fines for violators might be too high and would have a disproportionate impact on lower-income residents. They also cited confusion about who is responsible for removing the bamboo when it isn’t clear who planted it.
Running bamboo is an invasive species that spreads aggressively and has no regard for property boundaries. Removing it is difficult and costly.
The ordinance would prohibit property owners from allowing running bamboo to invade adjacent properties or public land, such as a VDOT right of way or parkland.
Enforcement would be a complaint-driven process, like other issues handled by the Department of Code Compliance (DCC). According to the draft ordinance, the penalty for the first violation would be up to $50; the maximum fine would be $3,000 a year.
“It’s not going to be an easy one to enforce,” DCC Director Jack Weyant told the board. “We’ll do more outreach and education than imposing fines.”
Related story: Board considers curbing bamboo
When someone files a complaint, Weyant said, DCC would first encourage the homeowner to take action to contain the bamboo, such as by digging a trench and installing a metal containment barrier to prevent the underground rhizomes from spreading.
Violators would be given 30 days to comply. Code compliance inspectors would then revisit the property to see if the homeowner is doing anything to curb the bamboo. If not, they would get a notice of violation. The imposition of fines would be handled by the courts.
Property owners would be responsible for bamboo encroaching on other properties, even if it was planted by someone else, Weyant said. “We have no way to identify where it came from.” If it spreads from one yard to another and then to a third yard, all three homeowners would be responsible.
All eight community members who spoke at the public hearing said they support efforts to control running bamboo but raised issues not addressed in the ordinance.
One resident suggested the Park Authority take responsibility for removing bamboo on parkland.
Others noted that local nurseries sell running bamboo as a fast-growing privacy screen and suggested residents be educated about noninvasive alternatives.
“Invasive species are harmful to the environment,” said Supervisor Daniel Storck (Mount Vernon). “We need to find ways to minimize the impact. If we don’t do something now it will only get worse.”
Board Chair Jeffrey McKay spoke in favor of taking action against running bamboo but urged the matter be deferred so the language in the ordinance can be clarified.
“Going to court should only be for egregious violators that refuse to take action,” McKay said.
The board passed a motion unanimously to defer a vote on the ordinance until March 22.
Discriminating against bambuu is discrimination and hateful.
1. This is racist since bambuu comes from China and everyone knows covid came from a bat, not Chinese people.
2. This is not green. It’s cutting down green, not putting it up. Let’s agree it’s brown. Cutting down the green uses fossil fuels to murder the bambuu.
3. It’s wasteful. Bambuu is transformed into a delectable finger treat and spicy soup enjoyed by all Fairfaxons since 1741. Whose gonna feed all those homeless now.
4. This is above all, sexist. Everybody knows chicks dig bambuu. That’s where the name Bambi came from. Bambi was written by an early Fairfaxon who observed a beautiful FEMALE deer enjoying Bambuu by what is now Manassas in 1742. This beautiful tale was captured and shared across the earth and Milky Way. Now the Board of Supervisors wants to erase our proud heritage. I will sing the heralded song as they say in Southern Virginia “you no touch bambuu”………
now THIS is how you troll. well done!
The answer is goats. They will eat it down to the ground. I speak from experience.
Goats are always the answer.
Tom Brady GOAT?
Rafa, Novak, or Roger GOAT
Babe GOAT?
Bill Russell GOAT?
Unwanted bamboo creeping in from other yards is a bane for homeowners because it is so relentless and difficult to control. In our parks and natural areas, bamboo infestations cause localized harm to native habitats, but are not as pernicious and rapidly spreading as many other invasive exotic species. Bamboo is largely limited to spreading by roots, not by seeds. Numerous other exotic species that spread rapidly by seed are consuming huge areas of our parks. This other Annandale Today story describes some of that harm – https://annandaletoday.com/tree-rescuers-sought-for-roundtree-park/