In December 2021, Middletown Township Council passed an ordinance requiring a 10-foot buffer between any bamboo and an adjacent property. Township officials say that 13 properties have been impacted by the ordinance, of which seven had interventions by the township. Some residents who have received notice from the township felt that they had been singled out. Mark Kirchghasser, president of Middletown Township Council, noted that the discussion by township council took place for seven years before the ordinance’s final adoption. He pointed out that bamboo, while acting as an effective privacy screen, can be exceptionally invasive. He gave an example of a resident who had cut bamboo far back from a roadway, but the roots began coming through the roadway approximately 10 feet away.
Source: Daily Times; 10/8/2023