Cuyahoga Falls adds 7 nuisance plants to city ordinance

Do you know what plants are growing in your Cuyahoga Falls backyard? Some of them might look pretty — such as the pink and white flowers on field bindweed — but may be harmful to their plant peers.

The City of Cuyahoga Falls recently approved the addition of seven “nuisance” plants to its codified ordinance.

Sorry burdock, thistles, leafy spurge and field bindweed. 

You too, tree of heaven, sumac and bamboo.

Cuyahoga Falls City Council approved the change at its Jan. 27 meeting, said Planning Director Rob Kurtz. Currently, the code classifies ragweed, poison ivy and poison oak as nuisances, as well as “any other noxious or poisonous weeds or vines” and “any weeds which are spreading or maturing seeds, or about to do so.”

“All of the new plants added, due to how aggressively they spread, can harm and reduce a diverse population of native plants from being established,” explained Bryce Pulley, a public utilities and community outreach coordinator for the city, via email.

Council also approved the removal of goldenrod from the list because it’s beneficial to pollinators.

In conservation circles, Pulley said “invasive” is typically synonymous with “aggressive.” Often, he added, people conflate “invasive” with “non-native,” but native plants — like sumac, ragweed and thistles — can also be invasive. (See the table below for more information.)

The push to add more plants to the code was an effort to make the codified ordinance consistent with the Cuyahoga Falls General Development Code, which prohibits the use of the aforementioned plants in naturalized landscaping. A naturalized landscape utilizes native plants and trees to create an environment that is similar to a landscape found in nature. 

The code changes do not mean residents and business owners must immediately remove these plants from their properties. Kurtz said they only become an issue if they are negatively impacting a space, such as spreading onto another property or the sidewalk.

“It’s gonna be based on a complaint or an inspection,” he said, “maybe a drive-by inspection.”