There’s a new form of trespass in town, and it can stump the most diligent property owner. It can also stump surveyors trying to locate it. It hides as it travels underground, emerging significant distances away from its starting point, and can erupt through the earth at a phenomenal daily rate. While it has been common in some areas, bamboo is making its prolific mark in others and creating legal problems for those who harbor it.
My township recently issued a citation against new homeowners for the trespass of bamboo from their yard into a neighbor’s domain. The prior owner (their grantor) had been issued a citation but didn’t bother to tell the new folks, who were unhappily surprised with a 30-day notice to cut it back at least 20 feet from the property line and remove it from the neighbor’s lot.
Containing or removing bamboo requires digging down to remove the horizontally running roots, or rhizomes, often two feet deep or more. Any little piece of rhizome can generate a new plant, sprouting many inches per day. For those who wish to keep some bamboo on their property, a subterranean wall needs to be installed at least two feet deep, made of something that won’t allow roots to penetrate. The best material is stainless steel, which doesn’t come cheaply, but other barriers may suffice if thick enough, deep enough, and non-porous. This plant is powerful, able to break its way through concrete to destroy foundations, pools, and pavement.
The new homeowners were not happy to learn that just removing this invasive would cost over $8,000, not including damage to fences and nearby tree roots that could hike the end cost to $12,000 to $15,000.
How does this involve surveyors? We measure things, and distances of encroachments onto other properties and infringements into setbacks are among those things we measure. My township is not the only locale with ordinances reining in what is classified as “running bamboo.” Not everyone bans it completely, though. Some allow existing plants to remain but further than ten feet from property lines and rights-of-way. Some only allow it if the roots are kept in an above-ground planter, barrel or other container. Fines can vary widely, from $100 per day to $1,200 per offense (with each day of ongoing violation considered a new and separate offense). Check your own state and municipality.
To be sure, not all bamboo is evil. There are clumping varieties, which tend to keep a smaller and more manageable footprint. They do spread, but slowly. It is the running bamboo with root systems that, once planted, will sprawl endlessly. Last year I read about an incident in England with the neighbor’s running bamboo finding a weakness in a homeowner’s foundation to push through into the main living area. The resulting damage required excavation of the entire ground floor of the house for a cost of about $130,000. Considering that bamboo grows fastest in wetter climates, the neighbor’s plant had plenty of natural help in growing out of control.
All of this means being aware of what these invasive plants look like. Their presence can thwart real estate transactions, instigate litigation, trigger local fines and penalties. Surveyors aren’t expected to be botanists, recognizing the different types of bamboo as invasive or restrained, but we can look for general characteristics.
Bamboo is a perennial grass with a straight woody stem featuring multiple joints encircling each stem. Different varieties grow in thicker or thinner clumps, making a poor distinction between running and clumping bamboos. Some bamboo has green stems, some are nearly black. Leaves are generally long and narrow, similar to a willow’s in shape but with veins running the length of the leaves from base to tip. Leaf clusters of varying numbers grow on thin grassy branches sprouting from the joints of the main woody stalk. Online plant identification images can help.
Bamboo is not the only plant surveyors need to recognize and report. Legal disconnects regarding marijuana make this plant’s presence problematic for title insurance companies. A common exception from coverage reads as follows:
NOTICE: Please be aware that owing to the conflict between federal and state laws concerning the cultivation, distribution, manufacture or sale of marijuana, the Company is not able to close or insure any transaction involving land that is associated with these activities.
With the proliferation of decals, patches, and advertisements, it probably isn’t necessary to describe what this plant looks like. For the uninitiated, the compound leaves form a shape similar to a Japanese maple leaf, with toothed edges and strong veining. Again, online help abounds.
The point is that it’s not just the neighbor’s prize rosebush planted too close to where we need to set a corner marker that we have to worry about. Surveyors should pay attention to some of the other leafy presences on site because they may affect our client’s interests.