BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) - A majority of Bethlehem City Council members are backing an ordinance restricting the growing of a fast-growing variety of bamboo in the eastern Pennsylvania city.

The council voted 5-2 Tuesday in favor of the ordinance on first reading. A second and final vote is scheduled in two weeks.The measure would prevent residents from planting running bamboo, a fast-spreading variety. Residents who already have such bamboo in their yards could keep it, but they must build barriers to prevent it from spreading onto neighboring properties and keep it at least 20 feet away from property boundaries, easements and rights of way.The ordinance wouldn't apply to clumping bamboo, which doesn't spread as quickly, and would be enforced only if a neighbor complains, not if a passer-by reports a bamboo problem.