James City County, VA Invasive Plant Rules: Bamboo Restrictions (2026)

Section 10-4(b) of the County Code places an affirmative duty on the owner of any occupied or vacant, developed or undeveloped property, within platted subdivisions and areas zoned residential, business, commercial or industrial, to cut grass, weeds, running bamboo and other foreign growth as often as needed to prevent it from becoming a breeding or harboring place for insects, reptiles and rodents, or from creating another hazard or nuisance. Land zoned for or actively used in farming is excluded from the duty. Running bamboo is treated the same as grass and weeds: there is no permit, setback or planting prohibition, only a maintenance obligation once it is growing on the property.

Enforcement runs through section 10-5. Upon a complaint from any responsible person that section 10-4 is being violated, the county administrator or a designee investigates and, if a violation is found, issues a written notice directing the owner to correct the condition within a stated period of not more than ten days. If the owner has not complied ten days after service of the notice, the county may send its own crew to cut the bamboo, grass or weeds, charge the cost to the owner, collect it the way taxes are collected, and record a lien against the property if it is not paid.

Section 10-7 sets the penalty structure for chapter 10 violations generally: a civil penalty of up to $50 for a first violation, rising to up to $200 for later unrelated violations within 12 months, with each business day of a continuing violation counted separately, subject to a 12-month cap of $3,000 for residential property and $6,000 for commercial or industrial property. Three civil penalties against the same owner for similar violations within 24 months elevate later violations to a Class 3 misdemeanor.