Resident hedges his bets against grass issue

The root of the problem for one Longboat Key resident is whether the 20-foot-tall bamboo behind beside his home is classified as a grass or a hedge.

The answer would determine whether the bamboo should be trimmed to 1 foot or be allowed to remain as is.

“If bamboo is a grass, it can’t be more than 12 inches long or it’s a town code violation,” Kertzer said.

Kertzer says the bamboo towers over his home and should be cut down. Kertzer says Robert Krosney and his wife, Reina Berman, refuse to cut the other side of the bamboo, which sits in their yard.

Town planner Steve Schield, however, said there is no issue with the bamboo.

“Bamboo is not a typical turf grass, but it’s a part of the grass family,” Schield said. “In my opinion, bamboo grown in that manner would be considered a hedge plant because it’s not a turf. Hedges that sit in Longboat Key side yards have no town regulations.”

Kertzer, however, is upset with Schield’s opinion of the bamboo and wants some regulation on the bamboo, which he says is invasive, infiltrating his property and destroying his plants.

Kertzer is also upset that Krosney called the Longboat Key Police Department April 14, to complain that he was cutting the bamboo near the property line.

Kertzer believes it’s a conflict of interest for Krosney, chairman of the Longboat Key Code Enforcement Board, to call in complaints that could lead to an agenda item for the code board to review.

Town attorney David Persson however, said it’s not an issue for Krosney to make complaints. But if a complaint made by any member of the code board were brought forth for the board to review, that member would have to recuse himself from making a decision on the matter.

Krosney told the Longboat Observer he made the April 14 complaint, because Kertzer was cutting bamboo that was planted on Krosney’s property.

“There are no side yard hedge height requirements on Longboat Key,” Krosney said.
 

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].