Allentown, PA Invasive Plant Rules: Bamboo Restrictions (2026)

Section 393-9C, added to the Neighborhood Improvement chapter by Ordinance No. 15396 on September 20, 2017, prohibits any property owner from planting, growing, maintaining or allowing running bamboo on their land, or letting it spread to or from an adjoining property, unless the owner can prove to the City's or a court's satisfaction that three conditions are all met. First, the bamboo must have existed at that location before the September 2017 ordinance took effect. Second, no part of the bamboo plant or its root system can sit closer than 20 feet to any property line, utility easement or public right-of-way.

Third, the bamboo must be isolated from all other vegetation by a physical barrier made of high-density polypropylene or polyethylene at least 40 mils thick, joined with stainless steel clamps or closure strips, installed at least 30 inches deep, with at least 3 inches protruding above ground and slanted outward from bottom to top so roots can't grow over the top. When running bamboo is removed, the plant and its root system must be disposed of in a sealed container in an ecologically sensitive manner (§ 393-9C(2)).

Because the section sits inside the general Neighborhood Improvement chapter, violations are enforced the same way as other Chapter 393 offenses: by police officers or other authorized public officers, with tickets that escalate for repeat offenses within a 12-month period.