No special treatment shown in Lodi, EVER ........
So on June 28th, 2017, the Mayor & Council published an ordinance to create a Public Tree Board to care for Public & Private trees in Lodi.
The Taxpayers are not yet aware of who the Board consists of, but, maybe our illustrioustree arborist volunteer, you know the one who gets paid to drive around and look at trees, will be the Chairman of the Board.
Okay, back to the bamboo;
Bamboo is actually a grass, but people make the mistake of thinking it is a tree. There are over 1000 species, not all are invasive. If planted correctly, there is no real problem, you can google that. However, some species can grow as big as trees, so maybe our TREE BOARD can look into this....
SPECIAL TREATMENT FOR THE LICATA FAMILY.
Please read this letter from Boro Manager Caruso to Frank Licata, note the date, it almost coincides with the above ordinance being passed.
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Within the first sentence " the issues you are experiencing on YOUR property" indicates that a property touching upon the Licata's property is growing bamboo.
The Boro Manger did not want to contact the property owner about the bamboo, (which would have been a civil thing to do), and again a quote, " once WE KNEW the ordinance was going to be introduced", indicating they spoke of the issue at some earlier point in time.
"I did not want there to be any allegations or inferences that the ordinance was passed specifically because of your property"....
LOL, it was, we all know it, NO OTHER resident complained about bamboo being grown near or next to their property.
So now that an Ordinance about growing bamboo is in place, the Borough of Lodi and its taxpayers have to grant some relief to the Licata's. (for FREE)
Normally, in the real world, as a property owner I would have go through a legal process to get relief, meaning, if there were no ordinance in effect, I would have notify my neighbor verbally about the bamboo growing into my property, if that does work, notify the neighbor in writing, and then call an attorney (not a Borough one though, and pay for him yourself)). But now the Licata's DO NOT have to do that, they just need to notify the Boro Manager, and our tax-paid Boro Employees do the rest.
How convenient that the northjersey.com "reporter" just happened to publish this article.
http://www.northjersey.com/story/news/bergen/lodi/2017/06/21/lodi-may-soon-join-towns-bamboo-regulations/412699001/
"Although Lodi is only dealing with one property owner when it comes to bamboo, Caruso said he is aware of issues in other towns, and the borough needs to be proactive. Caruso would not reveal where the bamboo was planted in Lodi."
SPECIAL TREATMENT, AGAIN.. (remember the One-Way street issue)
So lets see what happens.....
Now to my issue.......
I think there should be an ordinance in place to handle the "STONE LAWNS" in town. They are a potential hazard to pedestrians walking on the sidewalk. I liken it to slipping on marbles. It is a an uneven surface to step on, anyone walking with a walker, using a wheelchair, or a cane can easily slip and fall. Children picking up the stones and throwing them about, also a danger, and it does not fit into the rest of the neighborhood.
As a citizen, homeowner and taxpayer, I believe I should should have the same treatment the Licata's get, you know special, and while your at it have the tree commission plant some trees on that Boro property area between the sidewalk & curb, just like everyone else on the block has.....
Well, have a great week-end.