By Richard L. Gaw
Staff Writer

For the past several years, the plant species known as bamboo has bamboozled the quality of life in Kennett Township, and at the May 7 Board of Supervisors meeting, the board voted to authorize the advertising of a new ordinance designed to do something about this encroaching and invasive plant.

By a 2-0 vote – supervisors Geoffrey Gamble was not present at the meeting – Dr. Richard Leff and Patricia Muller gave their approval to advertising Ordinance 311 that amends Chapter 232 of the township code regarding bamboo grasses. Under the ordinance, exterior bamboo shall not be planted, maintained, or otherwise permitted to exist within 40 feet of the edge of a property, and all existing bamboo within 40 feet of the edge of a property must be removed.

Further, property owners must ensure that existing bamboo on their property is maintained and not allowed to encroach or grow upon any adjoining or neighboring property, including all public property and right-of-way. Any bamboo existing anywhere else on a property may not be replanted or replaced if existing bamboo dies, uprooted or is destroyed. 

The final vote is expected to be reached at a future Board of Supervisors meeting. 

As part of their findings, the township’s Planning Commission has cited scenarios in the township where a neighboring property’s bamboo has caused damage to underground septic and pipes. Left unchecked and poorly maintained, bamboo has been known to cause severe damage to homes; roots can clog and rupture underground pipes, crack water lines, destroy patios and driveways and threaten biodiversity, cause soil erosion and disrupt water cycles.

Katelynn Morgenstern, director of Planning and Zoning, said that the issue has been discussed by the township’s Planning Commission, who is working in partnership with the Environmental Advisory Council in researching methods to control the spread of bamboo, and will provide resources on cost effective options available on the township’s website, www.kennett.pa.us. 

Public Works Director Ted Otteni said that during heavy precipitation, bamboo becomes top heavy and has the capacity to fall off into roads, thus forcing some vehicles into the oncoming lane. The plant can also break vehicle mirrors and windshields, Otteni said.

“It’s a growing problem, and it’s proliferating, unchecked,” he said.

“The approach to enforcement is really a personal one to make sure people stop planting it and become educated about the challenges that are caused by bamboo,” said Manager Alison Robbins. “We understand that bamboo removal is done over time, and we plan on taking a caring approach.”

In other township business

The board authorized township Solicitor David Sander to draft an ordinance to update the township’s current sign regulations. The action was borne out of concerns expressed by township residents about temporary signage in the township. 

“The concerns were raised about an existing sign in the township and in reviewing the zoning ordinance specific to the sign regulations, I noticed that some of the provisions of the radiance did not consider Supreme Court rulings around First Amendment (rights) for the use of signage in townships,” Morgenstern said. “The difficulty is that in attempting to enforce our zoning code as written is that we as a township may potentially infringe upon First Amendment rights of township residents. The concern was raised that the ordinance as written will need to be modified and updated to properly consider the recent court rulings to ensure that we’re not infringing upon First Amendment rights.”

Morganstern said that the rulings from both the Supreme Court and the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court are quite clear regarding content neutrality related to signage.

“There are certainly areas that we know for sure that need to be modified and revised,” she said. “There are, however, other provisions of the code that I haven’t studied closely that I would like to seek the support of the Solicitor, in order to ensure that the other areas of the code where I am not so sure are, in fact, compliant.”

Morganstern said that the sign in question had no political affiliation but was temporary and situated on private property.

The township has appointed David Michener to the Southeastern Chester County Refuse Authority (SECCRA) Board of Directors, with a term expiring on May 7, 2030.

Kennett Library Board President and Kennett Township resident Collis Townsend thanked the Board of Supervisors for their support of the library both in the capital campaign to build the new library in Kennett Square Borough and in helping to fund operating expenses. Townsend will give a formal presentation about the library at an upcoming Board of Supervisors’ meeting. 

The next Board of Supervisors meeting will be held on May 21.  

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email [email protected].