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Resident urges enforcement of borough bamboo ordinance after regrowth damages irrigation
Summary
Jordan Rosen told the Borough of Old Tappan council that bamboo from a neighboring property is encroaching on his yard, damaging irrigation and threatening trees he planted after professional mitigation; he asked the borough to enforce the 2017 ordinance carve‑outs and for staff to locate prior code‑enforcement records.
Jordan Rosen, a borough resident, told the mayor and council he paid a professional company in 2020 to excavate and remove a 50‑foot stand of bamboo but said it has returned from a neighbor’s property and is damaging irrigation and trees. “We are here today to discuss the borough’s ordinance on bamboo and its enforcement,” Rosen said as he described ongoing rhizome encroachment and repeated damage to drip irrigation.
Council members reviewed the borough’s 2017 ordinance and noted an exception for plantings that predated that law. Council members instructed staff and the borough attorney to search for a paper trail of prior code‑enforcement activity and any agreements tied to the neighbor’s earlier mitigation. The mayor said staff and counsel would “dive into the ordinance,” and a council member asked the zoning officer to re‑examine prior notices and correspondence Rosen said the borough had issued. Rosen said he had been told code enforcement had previously planned to issue an official summons but later “backpedaled,” and he asked for confirmation of next steps.
The council did not take immediate enforcement action during the meeting; members said they would research the earlier enforcement record, consult the zoning officer and attorney, and follow up with Rosen. The issue remains unresolved pending staff and attorney review.
