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HomeMy WebLinkAboutProposal for a New Fencing Ordinance - S Grubb & E Mount, 10.19.2009.PDFProposol for q New Fencing Ordinqnce Presenfed lo the Truslees of lhe villoge of coyugo Heights By Solly Grubb qnd Elizqbefh Mount Mondoy, October 'lg, 2009 We ore presenting to you tonight o proposol for o New Fencing Ordinonce. we hove provided o pocket of informotion which includeso detoiled informotion oboui the current fencing ordinonce. whot constitutes q fenceo gUoies from villogers who support o chonge in the ordinonce, ond. o droft of the new ordinonce we ore proposing We understond thoi if you occept our proposols the wording of the ordinonce will hove io be reviewed by the villoge Attorney, Rondy Moicus. The Fencing Ordinqnce is obout the oestheiics of the Villoge. The originol intention wos, I understond, to mointoin the open noture of ttre Villoge ond toprevent individuol home owners from surrounding their properties with solid Bfi high stockode fences ond wolls. The physicol chorocter of the Villoge hos chonged. Few of the pork-like vistos ond views ore leff. We now hove lorge numbers of deer wondering of will,leoving their scqt on lowns, spreoding deer iicks, crossing roods ond cousingoccidents, ond eoting our gordens. Coyugo Heights is now o porodise for deer - Shrublond heovily over grozed bydeer which delighi in tosly treots from villoge gordens. This hqs resulted in mony property owners putfing up fences to protect theirproperties ond plontings, mony of which ore wilhout opprovol from the Zoningofficer, ond mony thot do not meei the zoning ordinonce requirements regording distonce from front, side ond reor properfy lines. We must either forget obout the fencing ordinonce oltogether, or bring it up todote to meet current needs of the Villoge. The CURRENT Fencing Ordinonce is determined by different sections of fheVilloge Zoning Ordinonce Seciion 6 - Yord Requirements Seciion 7 - Building Coveroge Section g - Fences ond Wolls Section l0 - Troffic Hozords Seclion 6 &7 - Yord Size ond Building Coveroge Front Yord must be of leost 25 ft deep Side Yord must be of leost '15 ft deep Bock Yord must be of leost 15 ft deep When o side yord foces onto o street it is treoted os o front yord ondmusi be 25 ff deep. This opplies to corner properties Section 9 - Fences ond Wolts The provisions of (the current ordinonce) sholl not opply to fences ondwolls not over four feef in height obove the nqiurol grode Fences over four feel in height ore permitted only when set bock to 25ft from the front property line, ond l5 feet from the reor ond sldeproperty lines. Seclion l0 - Troffic Hqzqrds No structure, fence or plonting sholl be mointoined so os to obstruct the view from vehicles upon o street in o monner dongerous io troffic Building Permils At the present time building permits ore NOT required {Article 34 New York Stote Building code Enforcement Low) for the buiiding of fences,but. . . A code vorionce lS required for o fence over 4 ft in height thoi is lessthon 25 fi from the front property line, ond less thonlSftlrom side ond reor property lines. Whqt is o Fence? A fence is ony ortificiolly constructed, verticol structure, of ony moteriol orcombinotion of mqteriols, intended os o borrier to prevent escope or intrusion, io mork o boundory or the proximity fhereof, to ensure privocy, or to oct os o suppori for vegetotion when the support is wider thon 4ft. QUOTES from Frustrated Vittage Gardeners, Neighbors and pedestrians ' ln this ecanomic climate, it behooves me to think that the vitlage is willing to spend outrageous amounts ofmoney to cull or sterilize the "herd". If each homeowner who iants to feice in their back yurai i, allowed todo this in a tasteful and creative fashion,.the deer can go in peace; ,o ,ittiig woutdbe necessa ty, and nosterilization would be needed. Ihose who want the deier in their yards rm iru, them and enjoy them. youwould eliminate the hostility of the animal lovers who so adamanity *unito protect the deer. I do not wantto live behind an I foot solid fence. But there are creative ways to put up fencing that is g0% see through sothat the climate of the neighborhood can be maintained. ' liust feel so sad livi!]g in lhe viltage. .l don't feel respected or protected. That is why we a1 put up fences -to protect ourse/ves from the eating, the poop, and the tiixs. t won't be able to sett my house to a family forall the deer poop let alone ticks that are probably present. When t am not just so angry, I cry... 'The scat on the lawn is also anissue. My nephew and niece are not ailowed to visit and play in my yardbecause I cannot keep,up with the scat. And,'we all *ofty about deer ticks. I don,t even want to thinkabout when I have grandchildren or try to seli my house to a famity. ' one of the main reasons for living in the Vittage is the attractiue tandscaping - which, if this year is anyindication, will not outlast the arguments and imptementation of "deer controi', ' At least one prominent landscaper says she witt not design a new, serious perennial bed in the vilbge foranyone who is not prepared to put up a fence. ' I do not want a fence that excludes passersby or separates me..from my neighbors. Ihrs is why t put up anopenwork fence, witho(tt which I could not qarden. tixe most Vittagrrr, ,y hisband and I are pro,ud of ouryards, happy to share them with visitori3d onil too eager to pont them" out in our real estate ads. ' Many of us are not prepared to wait years while the divided qopulation argues about what if anything to doabout the problem and to have our faxes raised permanently'foi a "possibl6" and ,,eventual,, sotition. Manyof the fabulous gardens in our village could benefit from the currenity available and minimalry obtrusive deerfences - and even have trees and bushes ptanted to totatly obscure the fences from view as I have. '..7.o say "let them plant deer resistant plants" is ridiculous - as fhose of us who have spent thousands onthis well know' Deer are very adaptabie and will eat viriually anything when their favorites are unavaipbp ' I have became disenchanted with cayuga Heights.... I have always enjoyed doing the things that bringimprovement to my property but am mor6 and riore getting fhe sens e that my contribution may not beappreciated here... ' when I finally put up my fence, I was amazed fo see plants flourish I didnT even remember I hadl ' I have a small yard, and had to give ug growing vegetables because I couldn't fence the plot following thesefbacks that are part of the viilage ordinAnee. - - ' I hate to iust sit around and wait for the board to make up its mind while my yard filts up with scat and ticks.who knows when their-controversial program will start, m'uch less when it mignt ,tr,ke effect? l,d far ratherbuild whatever kind of fence l can afford-than to be taxed for a program I don't support. And I want to bui6it soon, before / /ose heart, and have it be LEGAL. '"While lh in favor of changes to the VC-H fencing ordinance, l've decided that tjust want to ,,lay low,, andcontinue to protect mysetf and property from the 6eer by myself. I wish you and- Sally the best in pursuit of agreat goal." New Fence ordinonce proposed by solly Grubb qnd Elizqbeth Mount For the purpose of this ordinonce, o fence is ony or.tificiolly construcied, verticolstructure, of ony moteriol or combinotion of moteriols, intended os o borrier topreveni escope or intrusion, to mork o boundory or the proximity thereof, toensure privocy, or to oct os o support for vegetotion when fhe suppori is widerthon 4ft. . Fences up lo four feet in height moy be erected onywhere on o propertyrighf up to oll properfy lines. o Fences over four feet in heighi ore oilowed without opprovor/permit onrywhen set bock to the some yord requirements os for buildings - thot is 25feet from the front property line, ond l5 feet from side ond rlor propertylines' In cose of corner lots, the front property line requirement sholl opplyto eoch street obutting the property. where the reor property line obuts ostreet, front property rine requirements shoil orso oppry. . Fences of up lo 8 feel in height moy be erected on side ond bockproperty lines when o property owner hos writien ogreemenf fromimmediote neighbors bordering the side ond '."o, oi the properfy. ' Approvol/Permits to erect 8ft high fences to keep out deer will be grontedin the following insionces. Existing fences up to four feet in height less thon25 ft from the froni properiy line, ond less thon l5 ft from the side ond reorproperfy lines, moy be extended to Bft in heighi provided the extendingmoteriol is 9a% open ond ony supports ore inside ihe fence. New fences8fi in height moy be erected less thon 25 ft from the front properiy line,ond side property line of o corner property obutting o street, provided thefence is 60% open, ony supporis ore inside ihe fence, ond the fence isproperly lcndscoped with trees or shrubs. Exomples of oppropriofefencing moteriols ond types of fences moy be obtoined from the VillogeEngineer's office bui will not include solid fencing, wolls or choin-linkfencing. o The height of fences will be meosured from the noturol grode level withony berm, retoining woll, or ony other structure upon which the fence isploced being included in the height of the fence. Exomples of howmeosurements ore token moy be obtoined from the Villoge Engineer'soffice.