Williams Township adopts tighter enforcement, higher fines in bamboo ordinance amendment

Williams Township's board adopted an amendment to the township's bamboo ordinance, shortening compliance periods for encroaching bamboo and removing an automatic pre-citation notice for new plantings.

At a public hearing, presenter Dave Keatley summarized the draft changes, saying the first change "removes requirement of a notice of violation to be issued prior to filing the citation for anyone who plants or grows bamboo after the 2017 date." Keatley told the board the amendment also would cut compliance time for pre-2017 plantings that have encroached into setbacks from six months to 20 days and would reduce a prior administrative-payment option that had allowed a $20-per-violation payment in lieu of mitigation. "Instead of limiting the fines at $300, it would allow you to collect up to $1,000 if the district judge convicted somebody and felt that it was appropriate to impose that fine," Keatley said.

After the hearing drew no public comment, the board closed the hearing and moved to a voice vote. The board approved the ordinance amendment (Ordinance 2026-02), and the presenter said the amendment would become effective immediately if adopted that night.

Why it matters: The changes shorten the time property owners have to remedy encroaching bamboo and remove a simple administrative payment option, signaling the township's intent to press for quicker mitigation of spreading bamboo and to give courts broader discretion on penalties.

What happens next: The ordinance was presented, the board adopted it by voice vote, and the township will implement the revised enforcement procedures. The ordinance file was advertised as required and copy was made available at the Northampton County Law Library prior to the hearing, according to the presenting remarks.

Quote: "The 1st part removes requirement of a notice of violation to be issued prior to filing the citation for anyone who plants or grows bamboo after the 2017 date," Dave Keatley said during the hearing.

Additional detail: The presenter noted the earlier ordinance gave a six-month compliance period for older encroachments and a 60-day compliance period for plantings after 2017; both periods were reduced to as little as 20 days under the draft, though the township retains discretion to grant longer compliance durations.