43
Poison ivy declared nuisance in Niles
BY Jordan Cohen
NILES
City council has decided that December is the right time to act against poison ivy, even though the vilified vegetation does not grow in the winter.
Generations of parents have warned their children about the perils of poison ivy, notorious for causing itching rashes and occasional allergic reactions The plant has a status all its own and gained notoriety as the title of a popular song in the late 1950s, which encouraged liberal uses of Calamine Lotion to treat the rashes.
Poison ivy, however, cannot grow during winter’s chill. That did not stop Niles council, which this month passed legislation giving poison ivy a designation that even the state of Ohio does not give it: public nuisance.
Council’s ordinance adds poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac to the list of “noxious weeds” that fall under the category of public nuisance. Ohio does not include poison ivy and its fellow irritants among noxious weeds, according to Terry Dull, city law director,
“The state, however, does not have any laws that would keep municipalities like Niles from defining poison ivy as a noxious weed,” Dull said.
December would seem to be an unusual time to be concerned about poison ivy, but council’s interest was spurred after hearing complaints about unchecked vegetation from several residents last October.
Albert Metz of Bentwillow Drive said that a vine of poison ivy had grown nearly 25 feet on a dead tree that toppled onto his property from Fairlawn Avenue. Metz said he and his wife suffered poison ivy reactions when they went to remove the tree, but the problem was worse for another family member.
“My brother suffered personal injury from it and had to be hospitalized,” Metz told council at the time.
Metz had complained to Mike Burke, city health director, who told him that he was powerless to order the property owner to get rid of the poison ivy because the plant was not included among the noxious weeds.
“I never knew that this was not a nuisance,” said Councilman Steve Papalas, D-at large. “I thought that was common sense.”
Councilman David Wilkerson, whose 1st Ward includes Bentwillow and Fairlawn, said that Burke began contacting the state and universities about the city’s concerns.
“A lot of people got educated about this,” Wilkerson said, adding that the property owner eventually had the poison ivy eliminated through chemical sprays.
Poison ivy, oak and sumac now join other vegetation previously declared public nuisances in Niles including “brush, burrs, vines, Russian and Canadian thistles…six or more inches in height growing between April 1 and Nov. 1.” Property owners could face fines if the nuisance is not removed.
“This will allow [the health director] the ability to address complaints,” said Robert Marino, council president. “There should be no excuses in the future.”