[RP TownTalk] Fences - the tall and the short of it

Wed Oct 18 11:19:54 UTC 2006

Some observations in response to Carol's message:

(1) The legislation allows the council to overrule, in any individual  
instance, any of the restrictions in the existing ordinance. This means  
that special cases, such as yours, Carol, will be considered, and  
almost certainly approved by the council. And it also means that people  
who live close to their neighbors won't be able to put up a 6 foot  
fence between the side of their house and the next one without asking  
for permission first. For people whose houses are close to their  
neighbors (the majority of single family homes in town), this means no  
one will have to look out their window at a tall fence 6 feet from  
their window unless they know about it and approve of it first.

(2) The reason this legislation is important is that at the moment, the  
council spends a LOT of time at meetings discussing fences.  
Councilmember Oppenheim has proposed this legislation so that the rules  
are clear, and the council can instead spend more time on more  
important issues. Time spent in meetings discussing fences is time that  
can't be spent discussing other things.

(3) Though it pains me to say it, our local government doesn't have any  
control whatsoever over the school system. If you are concerned about  
the schools, you need to work with the county council or the school  
board.

-Sarah

On Oct 18, 2006, at 6:56 AM, CAROL DE PRATO wrote:

> All though I did not attend the meeting....I do hope that it will not  
> be a town ordinance to have only 4 foot fencing on my side yard.  As  
> some of you know, I am the only house on 44th place and to take down  
> my 6 foot fencing would expose me to 2 parking lots.  I realize I am a  
> special case.
> ---I was just curious, why is the town seem to be worried so much  
> about dead chickens and fencing when we have a more important things  
> to worry about, like improving our town school, preventing all the  
> gang activity, and keeping the area around Riverdale plaza clean and  
> safe so people like my 80 year old mother (who has lived in Riverdale  
> 66 years) will feel safe to go to the CVS to get her prescriptions.
> Just my humble opinion........
> Carol DePrato
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Rob Oppenheim
>> To: TownTalk
>> Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2006 11:21 PM
>> Subject: Re: [RP TownTalk] Fences - the tall and the short of it
>>
>> Fence Meeting Status
>>  
>>
>> The fence meeting on Monday 10/16 went well and will be
>> continued next week, probably on Thr Oct 26 at 8 pm although
>> the date and time is not yet firmly set (It might get switched
>> to Tuesday Oct 24.)
>>  
>> We have not finished discussing fences and have not yet
>> discussed hedges.
>>  
>>
>> Two people have spoken strongly against allowing tall side yard
>> fences and no one has yet spoken (at the meeting) in favor of
>> allowing them. So the likely outcome will be to limit side yard
>> fences to 4 feet and rear yard fences to 6 feet.
>>  
>>
>> I will try to find the time tomorrow to summarize other discussions
>> from the fence meeting. Here is the tall vs short fence summary.
>>  
>>
>> Arguments for banning tall fences run along these lines
>> 1) Less Friendly -- tall fences inhibit over-the-fence conversations.
>> 2) Aesthetics -- tall fences are ugly and block open views.
>>  
>>
>> 1) Friendliness vs Privacy
>>  
>>
>> I love saying hello to my neighbors over the rear fence. (I have great
>> neighbors). And I would certainly not want a privacy fence around any
>> part of my yard.
>>  
>> For others, their home is their castle and they want to be left alone  
>> in
>> a private comfortable setting. Away from what they view as prying  
>> eyes.
>> A privacy fence is important to their comfort.
>>  
>> So how do we legislative between people who love open friendly
>> neighborhoods and those who prefer more private settings?
>>  
>>
>> My feelings are:
>> The front yard has the greatest impact on all, so I am OK with  
>> requiring
>> shorter open fences in the front yards. (Actually, I would prefer no  
>> front
>> yard fences at all, but so far, that has not caught on here in RP).
>>  
>>
>> For the side and rear yards, I lean toward respecting property rights
>> and allowing the owner to choose between open and private yards.
>>  
>>
>> Your views on this need to be heard!
>>  
>> 2) Aesthetics
>>  
>>
>> There are some very attractive tall fences and some pretty ugly ones
>> too and some house styles do not lend themselves to tall side fences
>> at all, but is that a good reason to outlaw such fences for all homes?
>>  
>> Legislating aesthetics is always problematic as people have different
>> views on what is or is not aesthetic. The proposed fence code requires
>> rot resistant materials be used, so at least one source of the uglies
>> would be eliminated.
>>  
>>
>> -Rob
>>
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