[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Selectmen of the Town of
Orange 3-11-2014. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Town of Orange, through the Board of Selectmen, has determined
that running bamboo, as defined herein, is a nuisance. The purpose
of this chapter is to preserve and protect private and public property
from the damaging spread of running bamboo grasses and to protect
indigenous plants and the wildlife they support from the invasive
spread of such bamboo.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A distance of at least 100 feet from any abutting property
or public or private right-of-way.
The Zoning Enforcement Officer and/or the Inland Wetlands
and Watercourses Enforcement Officer may enforce the provisions of
this chapter.
Any written notice by, from or on behalf of the Town, notifying the running bamboo owner(s) that they are in violation of this chapter and directing them to cure or fix the violation. Such notice shall conform with § 195-8 of the Town Code and shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the owner(s) listed on the current tax address on file with the Town. A copy may also be posted on the property in question.
Receipt of the notice required herein shall be three days
after the date of mailing of said notice, or, if applicable, posting
of the notice on the property in question, whichever is earlier.
Any bamboo in the genus Phyllostachys, including Phyllostachys
aureosulcata, including rhizomes.
Any property owner(s) who, or which, have running bamboo
planted in the ground on their property, even if the Bamboo has spread
onto their property from an adjoining property.
The Town of Orange, New Haven County, State of Connecticut.
A.Â
Pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes § 7-148 (c) (7)
(E), Running Bamboo is determined to be a nuisance, and the planting
of running bamboo is prohibited in the Town.
B.Â
Any existing running bamboo may not be replanted or replaced after
any such existing running bamboo has died or been removed.
C.Â
Any person who plants or replants running bamboo within the Town
limits after the effective date of this chapter shall be in violation
of this chapter and shall be subject to the penalties set forth herein.
A.Â
Any running bamboo already in existence on any property within the
Town limits as of the effective date of this chapter, may remain on
such property, subject to the following regulation: running bamboo
shall not be permitted to exist within any Buffer Zone.
B.Â
Running bamboo owner(s) shall take all necessary measures to ensure
that any running bamboo on their property does not exist within any
Buffer Zone. Such measures shall include, but are not limited to,
cutting down running bamboo existing in the Buffer Zone and physically
removing or applying herbicide the rhizomes or spraying any regrowth
for several years until the running bamboo is dead and, if the removal
of the running bamboo is impracticable, then by installing a barrier
of impenetrable material and placed no less than 25 feet from the
property line at a sufficient depth to prevent any growth of running
bamboo within any Buffer Zone.
C.Â
No person shall cause running bamboo or the rhizomes of running bamboo
to be deposited, discarded or otherwise placed into compost or mulch
or disposed of at the Town Transfer Station.
D.Â
This chapter shall not be deemed to alter any rights at common law,
as provided by P.A. 13-82 or otherwise, that any property owner(s)
may have to recover the cost of removal of running bamboo on their
own property from another property owner from whose property the running
bamboo has spread.
A.Â
If running bamboo on any property grows in or into any Buffer Zone
or if running bamboo is discovered to have been deposited, discarded
or otherwise placed into compost or mulch, the Town, through its enforcement
officer(s), shall give notice to the running bamboo owner(s), as required
by this chapter, that the said owner(s) are responsible for the extermination
or removal of such running bamboo from the Buffer Zone.
B.Â
Any running bamboo owner(s) receiving notice under this chapter shall
remove all running bamboo that is in violation of this chapter within
30 days of the receipt of notice, as defined herein.
C.Â
In the event that any running bamboo owner does not remedy and correct
the violations set forth in any notice issued by the enforcement officer,
then the Town, in accordance with Connecticut General Statutes § 7-148(c)(7)(E),
may, upon the action of the Board of Selectmen, abate and remove any
running bamboo that is in violation of this chapter, take all reasonable
action to eradicate its regrowth and restore any real property to
its natural condition. The running bamboo owner(s) shall be liable
to the Town for the costs of the abatement and removal of the running
bamboo.
Any property owner, whether a person, firm, corporation, or
other legal entity, violating any of the provisions of this chapter
shall be subject to the following penalties, upon conviction of such
violation:
Any property owner receiving notice under this chapter may contest his or her liability before a citation hearing officer in accordance with § 195-8 of the Town Code.
