Bethlehem Tp Wants Running Bamboo to Run Away

Melissa Shafer and Tom Nolan review agenda

At their August 3 meeting, Bethlehem Township Commissioners voted 4-0 to advertise changes to their Weeds and Noxious Vegetation ordinance that would require bamboo aficianodos to keep this plant from invading or growing onto adjoining or neighboring properties, usually by installing underground sheathing around what is actually a form of grass. Ordinances in 17 communities throughout Pennsylvania already ban or restrict running bamboo. The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources lists this grass, which actually survived the Hiroshima bomb, as one of the fastest growing and most invasive flora in the world.

These concerns were brought to the Board's attention at their last meeting by artist Sean Delonas, a former Page Six Cartoonist at The New York Post. But he was repeatedly interrupted by Commissioner Michael Hudak, who eventually stated "I'm done" and walked out of the meeting.

Hudak is apparently still done. He was absent from the August 3 meeting. But Commissioner Marty Zawarski was just getting started. He began the meeting by publicly apologizing to Delonas for the way that he was treated by Hudak. "[Delonas] was treated in a manner that I felt was inappropriate on so many levels ... . I want to extend my apologies for what happened and I will try to make sure that no resident is treated like this again."

Delonas thanked Commissioners, and informed them that he and his neighbor are working together to solve the bamboo problem. Tom Nolan hopes that the Ordinance will educate residents about the danger of invasive bamboo.

In other business, Commissioners voted 4-0 to seek $50,000 in funding for a joint stormwater study with Freemansburg Borough. Half of this money is being sought from the Pa. Municipal Assistance Program. The other half is being requested from Northampton County's newly created Community Investment partnership program.

Manager Melissa Shafer and Zawarski also reported on a recent trip to Lancaster, which is considered a model of successful stormwater reduction. Lancaster upgraded what it calls its "gray infrastructure," which is what it calls its pipes and pumps. But Lancaster is also investing heavily in "green infrastructure" designed to reduce stormwater runoff. This includes the introduction of porous basketball courts and parking lots, as well as planting more trees.