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Solicitor advises Northfield to delay bamboo ordinance action pending new state law
Summary
At the Feb. 24 Northfield work session, Solicitor Facenda said recent New Jersey legislation on invasive species — including running bamboo — may preempt local rules and recommended leaving the city's bamboo ordinance unchanged until the state law takes effect; enforcement in the interim is left to the Code Enforcement Officer.
At the Feb. 24 work session, Solicitor Facenda told the City Council that the State of New Jersey recently passed an invasive species prohibition act that specifically addresses running bamboo and could supersede lower-level local ordinances.
Facenda recommended the council leave Northfield's existing bamboo ordinance unchanged for now rather than adopting or amending local rules before the state law takes effect. When Municipal Clerk Mary Canesi asked whether the Code Enforcement Officer should continue enforcing the local ordinance in the interim, Solicitor Facenda said, "it should be up to the Code Enforcement Officer to enforce as he sees fit." The solicitor framed the recommendation as a legal precaution to avoid conflicts between local and state law.
Council members did not take a formal vote on the bamboo ordinance at the work session. Facenda's recommendation and the council's decision to defer further action mean any local amendments or enforcement policy changes will await the delivery and implementation dates of the new state statute or further legal guidance.
The item will return to a future meeting for any formal action once more is known about the scope and effective date of the state legislation.
