https://bloomington.in.gov/crm/tickets/view?ticket_id=204405 Closed by Gretchen Knapp A comment was entered in reply to the anonymous poster.

https://bloomington.in.gov/crm/tickets/view?ticket_id=204405 Gretchen Knapp commented on this case. Thank you for your inquiry. The Parks Department works to keep invasive species out of all public lands (though that is challenging in wet weather such as this year, over the many acres Parks maintains). In addition, the Planning Department reviews all developments to ensure that invasive plants are removed and new plantings do not contain invasives. These two efforts combined are responsible for keeping many, many acres invasive free. When it comes to monitoring invasive plants across all the private homes and businesses in the city, however, the City has very limited resources, and we'd like to be more transparent about that with the public. The HAND department, which handles rental inspections and monitors/tickets for excessive growth and for snow removal, does not have any staff trained to recognize invasive plants. More urgently, their compliance staff are booked many months in advance to carry out rental inspections. That work is a critical function for Bloomington's housing and must come first. The City does not have the capacity to follow up with every individual report of a single invasive plant sighting in someone's yard. Large stands of bamboo would certainly receive attention, but for reports of a single plant here and there, it's unlikely that the City will be able to respond consistently and fairly. Helping residents across the city understand what invasive plants are and pointing them out for removal may be matters better suited to neighborhood associations and gardening groups.

https://bloomington.in.gov/crm/tickets/view?ticket_id=204405 Anonymous assigned this case to Gretchen Knapp You can use the link to follow progress on this case.