[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of Newtown as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Adopted 10-14-1974 as Article 1113 of the Codified Ordinances
of Newtown Township 1973]
A.
No owner or person in possession of any land or real property shall
permit any weeds or similar vegetation, not edible or planted for
some useful or ornamental purpose, so as to exceed a height of 12
inches or to become a nuisance, to grow or remain on lots in any residential
area within 20 feet of the dividing line between a lot and a street
or a proposed street on which the lot abuts or within 100 feet of
any building, structure or flammable material. These provisions shall
not be construed nor are they intended to prohibit the growth or maintenance
of wooded areas in their natural state.
[Amended 4-24-1995 by Ord. No. 1995-2]
B.
No property owner or person in possession of any premises in the
Township shall maintain trees or hedges that obstruct the proper lighting
of the streets, sidewalks and highways or permit trees, hedges or
tall grasses to grow along the sidewalks in front of their lots so
as to obstruct the use of the sidewalks or highways.
Whenever any lands or lots in the vicinity of buildings in the
Township have thereon tall grasses or weeds or similar nonedible vegetation
that may, in the judgment of the Township Manager, constitute a fire
hazard or whenever any tree or trees, hedges or tall grasses upon
or along the highways and streets or elsewhere within the limits of
the Township become an obstruction to public travel, either upon the
sidewalks or the roadways of the highways and streets, or whenever
any tree or trees obstruct the proper lighting of the highways, streets
and sidewalks of the Township, the Township Manager shall notify the
owners or occupants of the land or lot in front of or upon which such
tree or trees, hedges or grasses and weeds stand to remove the obstruction
or fire hazard within five days. If the owners or occupants neglect
or refuse to do so after notice as aforesaid, then the Township Manager
may cause the work to be done at the cost of the property owner. The
expense of the necessary labor for doing the work, together with a
penalty of 10%, shall be charged against and paid by such delinquent
property owner, and in default of payment, the same shall be collected
by action in the name of the Township, as debts of like amount are
collected, or by the filing of a municipal lien against the property
of such owner. The notice provided for by this section may be served
on the property owner by leaving the same at his place of residence,
or if he has no residence in the Township, then by leaving the same
with the tenant or occupant of the premises and mailing a copy thereof
to the owners at their last known address, or if the premises are
vacant or unoccupied, by posting the notice on the premises and mailing
a copy thereof to the owners as aforesaid.
[Amended 4-24-1995 by Ord. No. 1995-2]
Any person, firm or corporation violating any provision of this
chapter shall, upon conviction, be punishable by a fine not exceeding
$1,000 for each offense, plus costs of prosecution, and, in default
of payment of such fine and costs, shall be imprisoned for a term
not exceeding 30 days.
[Adopted 11-10-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-04]
The purpose of this article is to preserve and protect private
and public property from the damage and spread from bamboo grasses,
protect indigenous plant materials from invasive spread of bamboo
and maintain the general welfare of the residents of Newtown Township.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any type of the roughly 1,450 species of bamboo known throughout
the world from the grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe
Bambuseae. Fallopia japonica, commonly known as Japanese knotweed,
although not bamboo, is an invasive plant that resembles bamboo that
is also considered bamboo for the purposes of this article.
Any property owner or resident who has planted and/or grows
bamboo, or maintains bamboo on his property, or permits bamboo to
grow or remain on the property even if the bamboo has spread from
an adjoining property. Any owner of, or tenant in possession or control
of, a property on which bamboo is found will be considered a bamboo
owner.
Any sympodial or pachymorph rhizome structure bearing bamboo,
including but not limited to Fargesia, Thamnocalamus, Chusquea, and
Borinda. Clumping bamboos are also fast-growing but not as invasive
as running bamboo. However, the thick root system can be very damaging
to roads and other structures.
Any monopodial or leptomorph rhizome structure bearing bamboo,
including but not limited to Phyllostachys, and Pseudosasa as well
as Golden Bamboo and Arrow Bamboo. Japanese knotweed shall be considered
running bamboo for the purposes of this article. Running bamboo is
extremely fast-growing and highly invasive.
For purposes of the article, bamboo found growing upon a property
shall constitute presumptive evidence that the bamboo was planted
and/or grown with the consent of the bamboo owner.
Upon the effective date of this article, the planting of running
bamboo shall be prohibited within the Township. Any person or entity
that hereafter plants, causes to be planted, or permits or allows
to be planted running bamboo shall be deemed to be in violation of
this section, and shall be subject to such penalties as are set forth
herein.
Any bamboo that has been planted or otherwise permitted to grow
on any property within the Township prior to the effective date of
this section, or any clumping bamboo planted or permitted to grow
after the effective date of this section, may remain on such property
subject to compliance with this section.
A.
Bamboo shall not be maintained or otherwise permitted to exist within
the greater of area within 10 feet of the bamboo owner's property
line or 40 feet of the edge of the pavement or traveled portion of
any public roadway in the Township;
B.
Any bamboo owner whose property contains bamboo shall remove and
abate the growth of the bamboo within the greater of the area within
10 feet of their property line or 40 feet of the edge of the pavement
or traveled portion of a public road in the Township;
C.
Each bamboo owner shall be responsible to ensure that the bamboo
planted or growing on the property does not encroach or grow upon
any adjoining or neighboring property or properties, including public
property and Township rights-of-way;
D.
Prior to planting any clumping bamboo, as regulated by this section,
all property owners or tenants in possession must provide a written
certification from a certified Pennsylvania horticulturist or other
similarly qualified individual that the bamboo being planted is a
clumping bamboo and is being planted in accordance pursuant to regulations
of this section.
E.
Each bamboo owner shall be required to take such reasonable measures
to prevent such bamboo from invading or growing into the aforementioned
setbacks and adjoining properties, which shall include at a minimum
installation of sheathing comprised of metal or other material impenetrable
by bamboo at least 30 inches deep within the property line or lines
where the bamboo is planted or is growing to prevent such invasion.
A.
In the event that bamboo growing on a bamboo owner's property invades
or grows on an adjoining or neighboring property that is owned or
held on behalf of the Township, or to within 40 inches of the paved
or traveled portion of any public roadway in the Township, the Township
shall notify the bamboo owner in writing that the bamboo must be removed.
If the bamboo is not removed within 30 days of the notice, the Township,
at its discretion, may remove or arrange for the removal of such bamboo,
to the extent it does not comply with the regulations of this article.
B.
The bamboo owner shall be liable and responsible to the Township
for all costs incurred in removing the bamboo and may be assessed
against the property of the bamboo owner.
Any running bamboo either planted or caused to be planted or
existing on a property prior to the effective date of this article
may not be replanted or replaced in kind once such said running bamboo
is or has become, for any reason, dead, destroyed, uprooted or otherwise
removed.
Any person, firm, corporation or entity violating any provision
of this article shall, in addition to the other charges hereinbefore
provided for each offense, upon summary conviction before any Magisterial
District Justice, pay a fine of not exceeding $1,000 for each offense,
plus costs of prosecution, and in default of said payment of the fines
and costs, the violator may be sentenced to the county jail for a
term of not more than 30 days. Each and every day in which any person,
firm, corporation or entity is in violation of this article shall
constitute a separate offense.
