<div dir="ltr">I was involved in revising Hyattsville's fence ordinance a decade ago. The city's Code Enforcement Advisory Committee drafted proposed revisions that were presented to the Council. I can't remember precisely whether those were voted down or whether there was so much opposition expressed by Councilmembers that they weren't brought to a vote. In any case, I thought some of the reforms merited serious consideration by the Council and spent quite a bit of time refining the proposal to reflect current engineering standards as well as the tenor of the City's diverse culture.<div>
<br></div><div>My vague recollection -- which, again, might not be accurate after all these years -- is that the committee's draft included a ban on chain link fencing in the front yard. In any case, I definitely recall that some residents asked that this prohibition be included in our ordinance -- specifically citing Riverdale Park's ban on chain link. (Which is why I was initially bewildered by the discussion here.) I conducted an informal poll of residents about several aspects of front-yard fencing, including chain link. A large majority of respondents in my unscientific survey supported banning chain link; however, a significant minority opposed this. Also, then-Mayor Gardiner expressed his opposition to banning chain link fencing, citing its prevalent use in his West Hyattsville neighborhood.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Because I didn't feel there was really a consensus in Hyattsville to prohibit chain-link fencing, and that by far the most important goals of such an ordinance were health and safety, not aesthetics, my proposed ordinance did not contain a ban of chain-link fencing in residential front yards. No Hyattsville Council-drafted legislation ever contained such a ban. My bill was passed by the Council in late 2004.</div>
<div><br></div><div>I think every community has its own standards about what is acceptable and not acceptable in aesthetics. And it is true that socio-economic factors tend to play a role in these cultural attitudes. It is therefore perhaps unsurprising that University Park and College Park ban front-yard fences altogether, while Riverdale Park allows them but bans chain link, and Hyattsville has nothing but height and visibility-through restrictions. I don't think there is anything wrong with any of these approaches.</div>
<div><br></div><div>The important thing is that the safety of our citizenry is enhanced by fence regulation -- particularly of our children. By prohibiting fencing in the front yard that is overly tall or not visible through, cars entering and exiting driveways and intersections can adequately see pedestrians (especially children, who also are least likely to be careful passing these vehicular intersection points).</div>
<div><br></div><div>Chris Currie</div><div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Message: 1</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 04:23:12 -0800 (PST)</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">From: Nina Faye <</span><a href="mailto:ns_faye@yahoo.com" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">ns_faye@yahoo.com</a><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">></span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">To: "James D. Holmes" <</span><a href="mailto:jdholmes@comcast.net" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">jdholmes@comcast.net</a><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">>,</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"> "</span><a href="mailto:towntalk@riverdale-park.org" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">towntalk@riverdale-park.org</a><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">" <</span><a href="mailto:towntalk@riverdale-park.org" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">towntalk@riverdale-park.org</a><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">></span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Subject: Re: [RP TownTalk] Fwd: Re: Ordinance 2014-OR-01</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Message-ID:</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
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<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">I do not know the specifics of the proposed Riverdale fence ordinance, but I can tell you that we had a Council some years ago in Hyattsville that tried to outlaw residential chain-link fences.? The citizens made it very clear that we thought it was a silly effort to legislate aesthetics and was over-regulation.? We are still trying to rectify some other silly things that Council did, but the anti-chain-link fence ban went nowhere.? I, personally, might prefer the "look" of other fencing, but?our current home came with chain-link.? It has?been very handy for keeping small children and pets either in or out of the yard.? It also works well as a support for peas, beans, gourds, morning glories, etc.</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
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